I wrote this for our reception last night, and it was very well received, so I thought that whoever's still reading this might appreciate it.
The Top 10 Reasons Why You, Yes, YOU, Should go Volunteer in New Orleans
10. The weather. Especially when it's winter in Canada.
9. The chance to run into celebrities like Brad Pitt and Justin Timberlake.
8. Bourbon Street. You have to experience it at least once in your life.
7. The in-jokes you can create on the 18-hour bus ride.
6. The empowering feeling of using a skill-saw for the first time.
5. Camp Hope. Bad food, cans of FEMA water, singalongs in the communal showers, and a sense of spirit that is inspiring.
4. Who knew that a sense of community could emerge between a group of near-strangers? Not just including our group, but our new friends on the Habitat staff as well.
3. You know that feeling in your gut when you see images of Katrina destruction on TV or on the web? It's 10 times more unbelievable in person.
2. The stories you hear and the locals you meet and will never, ever, forget.
1. Because you can. Like blood, your heart is in you to give.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Photographs
Hello - Here are some photos of our trip.
Thanks to all of our sponsors, especially:
Cooperators Insurance, Senior Management Group -University of Windsor, Alumni and Development -University of Windsor, Tecumseh Laser Centre -Joanne Duff,
University Staff, Faculty, Friends and Family of the Habitat Team!
Beth
Please join us at our reception on Wednesday, March 21 from 4:30 til 7:30 Katzman Lounge, Vanier Hall, University of Windsor.
Thanks to all of our sponsors, especially:
Cooperators Insurance, Senior Management Group -University of Windsor, Alumni and Development -University of Windsor, Tecumseh Laser Centre -Joanne Duff,
University Staff, Faculty, Friends and Family of the Habitat Team!
Beth
Please join us at our reception on Wednesday, March 21 from 4:30 til 7:30 Katzman Lounge, Vanier Hall, University of Windsor.
Students ready for action
Mike & Danielle
Laura
Thanks to our Sponsors! One of our 3 houses -after a full week of work
Home Sweet Home!
Brooke and I donning our lucky work gloves.
My new friend from Musician's Village, David Fountain. He has the most contageous laugh of anyone I've ever met!
Enjoying the New Orleans Spirit
Me, Sandy, Brooke and Sandra (aka the GPS ladies at the front of the bus)
Monday, March 5, 2007
On returning home...
It's 4:30pm. At this time last week, I was probably napping, exhausted after a hard day's work. Today, despite getting up much earlier than I would normally choose to, I find myself unable to be productive. I've spent most of the day slacking about on the internet to avoid the homework I failed to do during the week, and the only thing I accomplished was getting my laundry done.
One of the reasons I'm finding it hard to focus on homework is that it no longer seems that important- the script I have to write for Theatre for Young Audiences right now is not about to make a direct impact on someone's life in the way that our stairs and insulated houses will. I find myself staring at our photos and wearing Mardi Gras beads rather than forcing myself to fit back into the mold I have here.
Dear NOLA- I miss you.
One of the reasons I'm finding it hard to focus on homework is that it no longer seems that important- the script I have to write for Theatre for Young Audiences right now is not about to make a direct impact on someone's life in the way that our stairs and insulated houses will. I find myself staring at our photos and wearing Mardi Gras beads rather than forcing myself to fit back into the mold I have here.
Dear NOLA- I miss you.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
one hour from home (12:00 Sunday)
Hi:
Once we get through customs and make a quick stop at the duty free, we should be in the vanier circle around 1:30.
Thanks for following our journey!!
The Habitat Gang
Once we get through customs and make a quick stop at the duty free, we should be in the vanier circle around 1:30.
Thanks for following our journey!!
The Habitat Gang
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Saturday adventures in NO
This is my first attempt at blogging from my blackberry.
Lancer mens basketball just won again. Way to go boys!!!
Blogging Thoughts from Mississippi
Here we are in Merridan Mississippi having a bite to eat. It's 8:49 pm Saturday night. Everyone jumped off the bus and headed over to McDonald's.
I decided to go it alone and head down to Arby's. Ahhhhh, some alone time finally. No chatting, giggling, conversations. Just me, myself and I. Time to think quietly. Time to consider the week I just experienced. What follows below are some random. thoughts:
But first I'll tell you how we spent the last 24 hours. Last night we headed back to Bourbon Street to collect some more beads and hear some more of that great jazz music. We finally got some cajun cooking!!! Some of us headed for the Gumbo Shop. We started with some Alligator sausage and some great New Orleans Albita beer and topped it off with some seafood gumbo and cajun rice.
We ran into groups of the students in different areas of the city. Well moms, dads, aunts, uncles and grandparents, I'm proud to report that everyone was very well behaved and a lot of hard earned fun was had by all. True U of W ambassadors all week long. Even some of the Habitat builders joined the students on Bourbon Street.
We headed back for our last night in the Habitat Hilton and I went to bed happy knowing that it would be my last day of having to deal with overflowing toilets and plunging them. Apparently the septic truck comes to the school four times a day to siphon out the waste! The problem got a little worse on Friday as more spring breakers arrived and the population grew to as many as 700.
As a result of the problems with the school conditions, they made the decision this week to halt all further renovations and instead move the operation down the road and demolish this building. I guess the students' hard work on painting the Lancer logo on the wall will soon be destroyed.
After packing up our very messy dorm room and loading it all on the bus, we headed back downtown. We had the pleasure of taking a two hour steam boat cruise down the Mississippi River. The day was picture perfect with sunny skies and a high of 72 degrees! The river bank is largely industrial, but is filled with a rich history which was narrated to us as we moved along.
After disembarking, we moved on to a guided bus tour around the city. More great history and information about the city, a visit to one of the aboveground cemetaries made this a great way to see the city and the areas damaged by Katrina (80 percent of the city).
So after that we got back on Casey's bus and headed out of the city around 6:00 tonight.
Since being here we have seen the best and worst of the city. We've been both tourists and workers. We've been each others' friends, co-workers, problem solvers, coaches and mentors. We've been inspired and inspired others.
I've tried to make it my mission this week to get toi know each of the students and to commit their names to my memory. Since I have a terrible memory for names this has been quite the challenge. As of tonight, when I wasked to the back of the bus and tested myself, I was pleasantly surprised that I remembered 27 out of the 31 names! I'll have them all by tomorrow.
So back to some more thoughts. Although there are literally thousands of people coming to NO each week to help rebuild, and because there is so much to rebuild, it's easy to think that we can't make that much of a difference. However, seeing how fast we were able to work as a team to move a huge and intimidating pile of sand, it confirms that we each can work together to collectively make a difference. Plus, the the people here are so appreciative of our efforts and are always telling us so. One of the greatest ways they showed us they appreciate is when they drove down our build site and honked, waved and shoiuted "thanks". Pretty simple, pretty powerful. So I guees I learned that it's important to always say thanks because it does make people feel good, from the dishwasher to the builder.
Last summer I had the pleasure of visiting my grandfather's hometown in Ireland for two weeks. While there we saw some beautiful scenery, met wonderful people and delighted in the traditional tastes of gourmet food.
In some ways this trip was a huge contrast as you can imagine. But, in other ways it was just as interesting. Before I left, I knew very little about the deep culture and traditins of New Orleans and assumed that this trip had but one purpose to work on helping rebuild. Having had the opportunity to get to know the spirit and resilience of the people of Louisiana has definitely made me realize that I will be back again. At the risk of sounding like a travel agency, even if you never think that you would be able to help with a build project, I would highly recommend getting to know this city.
Well, we are now in Alabama and it's getting late. I think I will try and curl up on this double bus seat and get some sleep. One more night and then I get my bed back. Just imagine how all those people missed their beds.
G'night!
Lancer mens basketball just won again. Way to go boys!!!
Blogging Thoughts from Mississippi
Here we are in Merridan Mississippi having a bite to eat. It's 8:49 pm Saturday night. Everyone jumped off the bus and headed over to McDonald's.
I decided to go it alone and head down to Arby's. Ahhhhh, some alone time finally. No chatting, giggling, conversations. Just me, myself and I. Time to think quietly. Time to consider the week I just experienced. What follows below are some random. thoughts:
But first I'll tell you how we spent the last 24 hours. Last night we headed back to Bourbon Street to collect some more beads and hear some more of that great jazz music. We finally got some cajun cooking!!! Some of us headed for the Gumbo Shop. We started with some Alligator sausage and some great New Orleans Albita beer and topped it off with some seafood gumbo and cajun rice.
We ran into groups of the students in different areas of the city. Well moms, dads, aunts, uncles and grandparents, I'm proud to report that everyone was very well behaved and a lot of hard earned fun was had by all. True U of W ambassadors all week long. Even some of the Habitat builders joined the students on Bourbon Street.
We headed back for our last night in the Habitat Hilton and I went to bed happy knowing that it would be my last day of having to deal with overflowing toilets and plunging them. Apparently the septic truck comes to the school four times a day to siphon out the waste! The problem got a little worse on Friday as more spring breakers arrived and the population grew to as many as 700.
As a result of the problems with the school conditions, they made the decision this week to halt all further renovations and instead move the operation down the road and demolish this building. I guess the students' hard work on painting the Lancer logo on the wall will soon be destroyed.
After packing up our very messy dorm room and loading it all on the bus, we headed back downtown. We had the pleasure of taking a two hour steam boat cruise down the Mississippi River. The day was picture perfect with sunny skies and a high of 72 degrees! The river bank is largely industrial, but is filled with a rich history which was narrated to us as we moved along.
After disembarking, we moved on to a guided bus tour around the city. More great history and information about the city, a visit to one of the aboveground cemetaries made this a great way to see the city and the areas damaged by Katrina (80 percent of the city).
So after that we got back on Casey's bus and headed out of the city around 6:00 tonight.
Since being here we have seen the best and worst of the city. We've been both tourists and workers. We've been each others' friends, co-workers, problem solvers, coaches and mentors. We've been inspired and inspired others.
I've tried to make it my mission this week to get toi know each of the students and to commit their names to my memory. Since I have a terrible memory for names this has been quite the challenge. As of tonight, when I wasked to the back of the bus and tested myself, I was pleasantly surprised that I remembered 27 out of the 31 names! I'll have them all by tomorrow.
So back to some more thoughts. Although there are literally thousands of people coming to NO each week to help rebuild, and because there is so much to rebuild, it's easy to think that we can't make that much of a difference. However, seeing how fast we were able to work as a team to move a huge and intimidating pile of sand, it confirms that we each can work together to collectively make a difference. Plus, the the people here are so appreciative of our efforts and are always telling us so. One of the greatest ways they showed us they appreciate is when they drove down our build site and honked, waved and shoiuted "thanks". Pretty simple, pretty powerful. So I guees I learned that it's important to always say thanks because it does make people feel good, from the dishwasher to the builder.
Last summer I had the pleasure of visiting my grandfather's hometown in Ireland for two weeks. While there we saw some beautiful scenery, met wonderful people and delighted in the traditional tastes of gourmet food.
In some ways this trip was a huge contrast as you can imagine. But, in other ways it was just as interesting. Before I left, I knew very little about the deep culture and traditins of New Orleans and assumed that this trip had but one purpose to work on helping rebuild. Having had the opportunity to get to know the spirit and resilience of the people of Louisiana has definitely made me realize that I will be back again. At the risk of sounding like a travel agency, even if you never think that you would be able to help with a build project, I would highly recommend getting to know this city.
Well, we are now in Alabama and it's getting late. I think I will try and curl up on this double bus seat and get some sleep. One more night and then I get my bed back. Just imagine how all those people missed their beds.
G'night!
Friday, March 2, 2007
Friday -last day on the site. We all want to stay another week or more. I want to learn more building skills!!!
So, today began again at 5:30. Everyday we hear the alarm clock buzz and awake from our bunks quickly to get ready. I'm amazed at how well all these young people get up at such a dreadful hour. Plus, they are so worn out by the end of the day, they are in bed by 10:30 or earlier! It's not what you expect from a group of residence students!
Today we finished installing the fascia and soffets on the side porch and then spent quite a fair bit of time slugging a load of sand from the front yard to the side. I love moving dirt (or sand in this case). I like "operating the wheelbarrel". It feels so good to be outside working after such a long winter of being lazy and inactive. I can't wait for spring back home now.
After the build today, we ended early and walked through Musician's Village and got to see all of the finished houses. There are people living in them. I took a great photo today. It's a simple close up shot of one of the side porches of a Habitat home. Next to the porch is a bike lying on its side and a Fisher Price Basketball net beside it. Why would I choose this as a favourite? Because it's shows the fruits of our labours. That's what it's all about -giving families their simple, normal lives back after so much tragedy.
This was such a rewarding week on all accounts. I can't say enough good things about it. I will do a wrap up blog when I return home -perhaps Sunday or Monday when I'm back home at my comfortable computer. I'm back beside this vending machine and my feet are freezing. Tonight we head out to Bourbon Street and if I don't get some N'AWLIN's food, I'm going to be very upset. I've yet to have any!
Although I'm beat right now, I'm sure I will perk up. Tomorrow we will arise at 7:00, pack our things, take a 2 hour boat cruise and a 2 hour tour of the city. Then we will head back to Windsor on the bus. We should be home Sunday morning but I can't recall the time at this point. Beth
So, today began again at 5:30. Everyday we hear the alarm clock buzz and awake from our bunks quickly to get ready. I'm amazed at how well all these young people get up at such a dreadful hour. Plus, they are so worn out by the end of the day, they are in bed by 10:30 or earlier! It's not what you expect from a group of residence students!
Today we finished installing the fascia and soffets on the side porch and then spent quite a fair bit of time slugging a load of sand from the front yard to the side. I love moving dirt (or sand in this case). I like "operating the wheelbarrel". It feels so good to be outside working after such a long winter of being lazy and inactive. I can't wait for spring back home now.
After the build today, we ended early and walked through Musician's Village and got to see all of the finished houses. There are people living in them. I took a great photo today. It's a simple close up shot of one of the side porches of a Habitat home. Next to the porch is a bike lying on its side and a Fisher Price Basketball net beside it. Why would I choose this as a favourite? Because it's shows the fruits of our labours. That's what it's all about -giving families their simple, normal lives back after so much tragedy.
This was such a rewarding week on all accounts. I can't say enough good things about it. I will do a wrap up blog when I return home -perhaps Sunday or Monday when I'm back home at my comfortable computer. I'm back beside this vending machine and my feet are freezing. Tonight we head out to Bourbon Street and if I don't get some N'AWLIN's food, I'm going to be very upset. I've yet to have any!
Although I'm beat right now, I'm sure I will perk up. Tomorrow we will arise at 7:00, pack our things, take a 2 hour boat cruise and a 2 hour tour of the city. Then we will head back to Windsor on the bus. We should be home Sunday morning but I can't recall the time at this point. Beth
The Lunch Ladies
Hi All:
Following are some photos for you to see of Thursday's events, but I'm having difficulty putting them where they need to be. I wish it was easier to post photos, but without a mouse and the ability to drag the photos in place, it's too time consuming.
Following are some photos for you to see of Thursday's events, but I'm having difficulty putting them where they need to be. I wish it was easier to post photos, but without a mouse and the ability to drag the photos in place, it's too time consuming.
I guess I have some catching up to do. I tried to post yesterday in the middle of a thunder storm and lost everything I typed, so here we go again. Yesterday, Brooke, Sandra and I remained at Camp Hope to help out because the Kitchen Nazi (MAN is he a nasty man -could it be because he works 7 days a week from!) needed some extra help.
We started by cleaning up breakfast and then we inventoried all of the leftover sandwiches and made 300 more and then scooped peanut butter and jelly into bins. After that we set out to make the tuna salad. We opened can after can of tuna and then donned our gloves and started mixing. After that, as you can imagine, we smelled rather funky.
We started by cleaning up breakfast and then we inventoried all of the leftover sandwiches and made 300 more and then scooped peanut butter and jelly into bins. After that we set out to make the tuna salad. We opened can after can of tuna and then donned our gloves and started mixing. After that, as you can imagine, we smelled rather funky.
It was interesting to walk the halls of this building after we were done lunch duty. Each group of visitors has left a message on the walls. Some are very powerful and gave me goosebumps. I took photos of several of the ones that moved me.
After serving lunch, we had the opportunity for a little down time since the tornado warnings and torrential downpours made for a shorter work day. A few of the girls wanted to get all "purdied up" for the concert so I gave a couple of them a make up treatment.
Shauna looked as though she had undergone Extreme Makeover. When we were done with her, she had make up, nice hair and a great little outfit. Shauna says she's not one to fuss over her appearance, so this was a major transformation from her usual tight bun and no make up. Check her out.
As for the concert, it was located in the arena right beside the dome where all the New Orleans "refuges" were placed during the hurricane. The "nosebleed" seats made it a bit difficult to hear. Pink gave a great show but by the time Justin Timberlake came on, I was on the bored side. Sorry, I'm just not a fan. I actually fell asleep! I know, I know, how can you fall asleep at a concert? As did someone else in my group who is also over 40 and shall remain nameless (see photo above and look on the left hand side. I'll write about today's adventures above this one.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
"We're all in this together..."
We did indeed get rained out today- we got the stringers cut for our second set of stairs, just in time for the Weather Network to toss us a tornado warning, which convinced the Habitat crew to pack it in for the day.
Everyone's running around getting ready for the Justin Timberlake concert. While we've dressed so reservedly for the past week, suddenly the mascara and hair products come out. It's somewhat ridiculous, considering we're sitting in the nosebleed seats, but it's good to see everyone so excited- it may just be what we need to pump us up for the last day of work tomorrow.
I love the sense of togetherness that has evolved over the course of this trip, and the way we have all fused together. You can see it in the way everyone lends things to each other while they're getting ready for this concert, but also in the way we converse, have singalongs in the showers, and encourage each other while we work. While a lot of what we've seen and experienced this week has been rough, I think that having such a supportive team behind us has been instrumental in getting through it, and has greatly improved our morale at the work site. So I guess this post is really just a thank you to our teach, for sticking together through thick and thin and being great people to work with.
Tomorrow- the last day of work, the Bourbon Street encore, and Cafe du Monde. Also, the President is in town, apparently. Though frankly, if he were to be involved in our next celebrity sighting, I'm not sure that any of us would have any kind words to share...
Everyone's running around getting ready for the Justin Timberlake concert. While we've dressed so reservedly for the past week, suddenly the mascara and hair products come out. It's somewhat ridiculous, considering we're sitting in the nosebleed seats, but it's good to see everyone so excited- it may just be what we need to pump us up for the last day of work tomorrow.
I love the sense of togetherness that has evolved over the course of this trip, and the way we have all fused together. You can see it in the way everyone lends things to each other while they're getting ready for this concert, but also in the way we converse, have singalongs in the showers, and encourage each other while we work. While a lot of what we've seen and experienced this week has been rough, I think that having such a supportive team behind us has been instrumental in getting through it, and has greatly improved our morale at the work site. So I guess this post is really just a thank you to our teach, for sticking together through thick and thin and being great people to work with.
Tomorrow- the last day of work, the Bourbon Street encore, and Cafe du Monde. Also, the President is in town, apparently. Though frankly, if he were to be involved in our next celebrity sighting, I'm not sure that any of us would have any kind words to share...
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Team Time
Speaking of Team Time, which I will explain later, way to go to the Lancer's Men's basketball game which they won against Guelph 69-61 Go Lancers! And thanks to Mike Havey for keeping us updated on the score throughout the game during our Team Time tonight.
I'm writing tonight's blog from a corner of the mess hall hidden behind a vending maching -the only electrical outlet in this very large room besides the ones in the kitchen which is off limits to the campers (and trust me, you DON'T wanna mess with the cook here!). Our dorm room is much too dark to plug into and all of the other computer addicts are hoarding the other one outlet in the tv room. Brooke just described me as looking like a bad kid stuck in the corner. I'm facing a wall that's half brick with pipes, cords and studs and the other half which has been freshly drywalled. The group is currently in the team room watching Act III of When the Levee Broke.
Camp Hope is beginning to see some improvements though. This school had 9 feet of water and so it had to be gutted. Today all of the pails catching the water in the bathroom sinks have been removed because the sinks have been repaired. The toilets have been working all day and it's the first day that I've not had to use the plunger -for those of you who know me, you will understand that this is the PERFECT therapy for my OCD!
Survival!
Another night where I couldn't quite turn my mind off. I got to sleep after12:30 but mostly just rested and thought about that overwhelming day until the alarm sounded at 5:30 am.
By 6:00 we were lined up to prepare our lunch. The usual on the menu. One white plastic bag filled with a bag of unsalted peanuts in the shells, an orange, apple, banana and a pretty basic white bread sandwich with a little meat and cheese. But I'll tell you, when you are on the job site working hard, that sandwich tastes mighty good at 11:30! Breakfast consisted of some very runny grits prepared by the "Canadians" as we are now referred to. I passed on those. Had a bite of a sausage, a half a bagel, coffee and one single, disgusting swig of very sour milk (although the expiration date claimed to be good til March 5th).
Off we went on the bus. And let me just pause to say a HUGE thank you to Casey, our bus driver from Chatham, ON. Casey has been with us since midnight on day one and comes and picks us up at 7 am, drives us to the site, picks us back up at 3:00 drives us back to the school and then often comes back to get us at night for our outings! That's a long day. Plus, Casey has stuck around to help on the build site, taken the bus to the store to replenish our bottled water and gone way beyond the call of duty. Tomorrow Casey will join us at the Justin Timberlake concert. Casey, in the words of the students, YOU ROCK!
As the Habitat team was explaining the rules of the game for the third day in a row, Whitney and I decided to wander down the street to the Musician's Village. There is a very cool couple of houses that the locals have turned into a mini museum of musical artifacts but they still live in them too. Musicians who have visited since the hurricane leave treasures for them to display. The man who showed us around, David Fountain was so excited to let us in and tell us about the place -even though it was 7:30 am. He was actually giddy with excitement and talking a mile a minute with such a thick New Orleans accent that we really couldn't understand a thing he was saying. But we were so enthralled with his cute little giggle that we began video taping our visit on our cameras. We were only able to spend about 10 minutes with him because our bus was heading over to the build site. We really enjoyed that little morning side trip. Wandering away from the build times has been very rewarding for all of us because it's the way you get to meet the local people and hear all of their stories.
When we arrived to the site, we were assigned to the shrimp coloured house (they call it the red house, but it's actually shrimp coloured )-after all this IS New Oreans!
I worked with a Team of ladies that consisted of myself, Brooke, Danielle from Res and Beth from Vermont. When we were given our assignment I really thought there is NO WAY I will be able to do this without screwing it up. You see, I truly believed I was going to spend the week with a paint brush in my hand since it's really my only skill and some would argue that I'm not very skilled at that either.
I must say, I was very proud that I broadened my construction repetoire. Okay, my dear husband Jim, sit down when you read this.....
We were in charge of measuring, cutting and installing the fascja and soffit under the front porch (thanks to supervisor Pete for telling me how to spell that correctly for this blog). Yup, that's right! Just the four of us. I feel my voice is just a little deeper after this and I'm grunting now and then like Tim the Tool Man Taylor. We really had to problem solve for this one and work together. Our supervisors had a lot more faith in us than we did. But, once he showed me how to run the skill saw, I was up and running. We were all VERY proud of our accomplishments and were rewarded with being assigned to the side porch as well. Stop laughing men! Yes, we have photos.
As soon as 3:00 came, it began to rain hard for the first time. We headed back to Camp Hope, showered and rested before dining on mystery meat spaghetti (which closely resembled the chili served on day one and two). Thank goodness for the salad bar -hard to mess that up!
Probably my favourite part of today was Team Time. This is where we all hang out in our dorm room (by the way there are 3 guys to our 32 women!), and discuss a topic. Today we discussed this question....."If you were to go back home and try to convince someone why they should come to New Orleans to help out, what would you say to him or her?".
The answers were amazing, inspiring, and completely impressive. I was filled with goosebumps and pride in this group of young adults. Some answers included:
I couldn't agree more.
Beth
I'm writing tonight's blog from a corner of the mess hall hidden behind a vending maching -the only electrical outlet in this very large room besides the ones in the kitchen which is off limits to the campers (and trust me, you DON'T wanna mess with the cook here!). Our dorm room is much too dark to plug into and all of the other computer addicts are hoarding the other one outlet in the tv room. Brooke just described me as looking like a bad kid stuck in the corner. I'm facing a wall that's half brick with pipes, cords and studs and the other half which has been freshly drywalled. The group is currently in the team room watching Act III of When the Levee Broke.
Camp Hope is beginning to see some improvements though. This school had 9 feet of water and so it had to be gutted. Today all of the pails catching the water in the bathroom sinks have been removed because the sinks have been repaired. The toilets have been working all day and it's the first day that I've not had to use the plunger -for those of you who know me, you will understand that this is the PERFECT therapy for my OCD!
Survival!
Another night where I couldn't quite turn my mind off. I got to sleep after12:30 but mostly just rested and thought about that overwhelming day until the alarm sounded at 5:30 am.
By 6:00 we were lined up to prepare our lunch. The usual on the menu. One white plastic bag filled with a bag of unsalted peanuts in the shells, an orange, apple, banana and a pretty basic white bread sandwich with a little meat and cheese. But I'll tell you, when you are on the job site working hard, that sandwich tastes mighty good at 11:30! Breakfast consisted of some very runny grits prepared by the "Canadians" as we are now referred to. I passed on those. Had a bite of a sausage, a half a bagel, coffee and one single, disgusting swig of very sour milk (although the expiration date claimed to be good til March 5th).
Off we went on the bus. And let me just pause to say a HUGE thank you to Casey, our bus driver from Chatham, ON. Casey has been with us since midnight on day one and comes and picks us up at 7 am, drives us to the site, picks us back up at 3:00 drives us back to the school and then often comes back to get us at night for our outings! That's a long day. Plus, Casey has stuck around to help on the build site, taken the bus to the store to replenish our bottled water and gone way beyond the call of duty. Tomorrow Casey will join us at the Justin Timberlake concert. Casey, in the words of the students, YOU ROCK!
As the Habitat team was explaining the rules of the game for the third day in a row, Whitney and I decided to wander down the street to the Musician's Village. There is a very cool couple of houses that the locals have turned into a mini museum of musical artifacts but they still live in them too. Musicians who have visited since the hurricane leave treasures for them to display. The man who showed us around, David Fountain was so excited to let us in and tell us about the place -even though it was 7:30 am. He was actually giddy with excitement and talking a mile a minute with such a thick New Orleans accent that we really couldn't understand a thing he was saying. But we were so enthralled with his cute little giggle that we began video taping our visit on our cameras. We were only able to spend about 10 minutes with him because our bus was heading over to the build site. We really enjoyed that little morning side trip. Wandering away from the build times has been very rewarding for all of us because it's the way you get to meet the local people and hear all of their stories.
When we arrived to the site, we were assigned to the shrimp coloured house (they call it the red house, but it's actually shrimp coloured )-after all this IS New Oreans!
I worked with a Team of ladies that consisted of myself, Brooke, Danielle from Res and Beth from Vermont. When we were given our assignment I really thought there is NO WAY I will be able to do this without screwing it up. You see, I truly believed I was going to spend the week with a paint brush in my hand since it's really my only skill and some would argue that I'm not very skilled at that either.
I must say, I was very proud that I broadened my construction repetoire. Okay, my dear husband Jim, sit down when you read this.....
We were in charge of measuring, cutting and installing the fascja and soffit under the front porch (thanks to supervisor Pete for telling me how to spell that correctly for this blog). Yup, that's right! Just the four of us. I feel my voice is just a little deeper after this and I'm grunting now and then like Tim the Tool Man Taylor. We really had to problem solve for this one and work together. Our supervisors had a lot more faith in us than we did. But, once he showed me how to run the skill saw, I was up and running. We were all VERY proud of our accomplishments and were rewarded with being assigned to the side porch as well. Stop laughing men! Yes, we have photos.
As soon as 3:00 came, it began to rain hard for the first time. We headed back to Camp Hope, showered and rested before dining on mystery meat spaghetti (which closely resembled the chili served on day one and two). Thank goodness for the salad bar -hard to mess that up!
Probably my favourite part of today was Team Time. This is where we all hang out in our dorm room (by the way there are 3 guys to our 32 women!), and discuss a topic. Today we discussed this question....."If you were to go back home and try to convince someone why they should come to New Orleans to help out, what would you say to him or her?".
The answers were amazing, inspiring, and completely impressive. I was filled with goosebumps and pride in this group of young adults. Some answers included:
- The idea that we are making a difference and that every little contribution is helping these people even though it seems to be such a daunting and unreachable goal to fix this place up.
- Sometimes in life we may have goals that we want to accomplish but then something comes along and inhibits our ability to reach those goals -even if it's temporary, so we might have to rethink our original plan.
- Talking to the locals and hearing their stories makes us appreciate how much we have and how much we take for granted.
Sometimes we need to be reminded that everything we have and take for granted can be taken from us in a flash.- We live in a world of pride that rewards strength and as a result, we are all a little afraid to show weakness and dependence. The people of New Orleans need our help and they are asking us to help and this takes a lot of courage.
I couldn't agree more.
Beth
On the worksite...
Though I'm learning a lot here, one of the things I might be learning is that I'm much better at writing and talking than building things, and that might just have to be ok. Luckily, Habitat is happy to accept any help they get and haven't been ready to throw me off the worksite yet.
However, we still managed to finish the edges (we can't plank it yet until we get some more materials), and it's pretty amazing to see a finished product. I know how to build a staircase now, even if I am better at explaining the process than actually using the tools (Michelle can handle that from now on).
I spent the day working with Michelle, Steph, and Sandy building a set of stairs for one of the three houses we're working on (we're working at three houses on Clouet street, a few blocks from the core Musician's Village). Sometimes, it feels very disorganized- perhaps a by-product of having so many volunteers from so many different places that can only stay there for a week or a month at a time. Trying to do things on a tight budget to make the houses as cheap as possible for the homeowners also means that the materials aren't always first class, and today the drill and won't didn't quite feel like cooperating with me- I stripped screws so badly we had to cut the tops off rather than reverse them out.
However, we still managed to finish the edges (we can't plank it yet until we get some more materials), and it's pretty amazing to see a finished product. I know how to build a staircase now, even if I am better at explaining the process than actually using the tools (Michelle can handle that from now on).
Tomorrow, we might get rained out. I'd much rather get a lot more work done than spend a day sitting around camp when we have so little time here, but my shoulders are aching from a combination of a sunburn, sleeping on a cot, and using muscles I'm not used to using, so maybe some downtime and a chance to do some different jobs around camp is a really good idea.
Our group has been so postively received here. I always feel much more patriotic once I'm outside of Canada, though I haven't travelled much. The Habitat staffers we're working with are constantly commenting on how much they love working with us, with our enthusiasm and ability to work so well with each other. They say they love working with Canadians, as we're always an amazing group to work with. We're giving away pins and other Canadian paraphenalia, which people are always so excited to receive. I love that we have such a reputation, and that ability to help bring smiles to people's faces.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Visit to the Ninth Ward
Feb 27
Where do I begin...?
Let me start by saying that I'm typing this from a bunk bed with very, very little lighting. As Whitney writes in her journal she has graciously allowed me to sit on her bed with her so I can reach the plug with this laptop and share the flashlight. Plugs and lights in our "classroom" are at a premium. I should also warn you that what follows is quite lengthy and probably has spelling errors -yes, me the editing Queen with typos! I'm roughing it here folks. I really can't leave any of these details out of it and I could certainly have gone on even longer.
Today was a day I won't soon forget. The people I met, the things I saw, amazing yes.
The 5:40 am wake up call was not a difficult one for me because I had woken up around 3:30 and just spent the time thinking in peace. By 5:00, I could smell the bacon wafting into our "classroom dorm".
Let's start with last night first.
Our group headed out to Bourbon Street. What an absolutely wild place. Drinking in the streets, people throwing beads down from the many balconies, bourlesque shows, jazz bands, voodoo shops, psychics and a million others sights and sounds. I managed to catch a half dozen or so beads and no I never "flashed" anything more than my bellybutton! One guy even threw a t-shirt at me and at first, seeing a flash of white fabric made me think that perhaps they were his shorts - never know in The Big Easy! Turned out to be a t-shirt with very large red lettering on the back that read, "RELAX, it's just sex!" The students got a kick out of me wearing this as we walked down the street. I didn't think the folks in Camp Hope would appreciate me coming back wearing that since this is a Christian based camp.
Sandy, Sandra, Brooke and I enjoyed a New Orlean's daquarie followed by a "Huge Ass Beer" and some great jazz music. Yup, that's right folks, we broke the rule but remained respectable.
Not exactly the kind of place that you want to go to when you have to observe a curfew. But we were back on the bus before 10:00 an back to the camp by 11:00 like good little volunteers.
So, onto today...
We met at the site and got our instructions for the day. When the Habitat workers announced that they had a surprise for us, we all waited in anticipation. The students were elated to learn that we were each given a ticket to the Justine Timberlake concert for Thursday night. You should have heard the shreiking. I had to be reminded that JT was a former member of NSYNC and NOT the BackStreet boys as I had thought. Duhh!!! What can I say, I'm 41! At least I knew that he was a popular singer.
Although Kelly, my 15 year old daughter has yet to send me any emails, when I told her and Lauren the news about JT, it didn't take them long to reply back to me and tell me how jealous they were that I was going to see him! Kelly suddenly has a renewed interest in my trip. Or at least she will until Friday morning.
So, onto the build site. Today I spent the day with several other women in our group and a new friend from Vermont named Beth (Why are all my friends named Beth???) We managed to insulate one full house plus half of another and move stuff and help here and there. After we do the insulating, the contractors come in and drywall and mud (are you proud of my terminology Jim??) the entire home in 3 hours. So, I assume that tomorrow we will be painting.
It's amazing the number of people we have met who just jumped in their cars or on a plane all alone or with a friend to come and pitch in. They are all so impressed with our group of 34 and everyone continually comments on our spirit and enthusiasm. It's true, Windsor students are truly the BEST! We are meeting some fantastic volunteers and Habitat staff and I am immensely proud of our students!
At lunch time, a group of us wandered through the neighbourhood and took photos and chatted with the few remaining in the neighbourhood of the Upper Ninth Ward. Many are living in FEMA trailers and attempting to get their homes. Many are still waiting for insurance.
We met a family today who live next door to one of the three homes we are building. The granddaughter is in her 30's, and she was joined by her father and her 76 year old grandmother- the actual home owner. Grandma has been living with daughter in Texas since Katrina hit. Grandma is an amazing positive woman who got out only with the clothes on her back and is just so grateful to be alive that she shows no sadness and only has praise for her creator. She has lived in this modest "shotgun" style home (picture a long narrow home with one room into the next into the next and the next with no hallway to separate it. She described having lived at this home through Hurricane Betsy in 1965 and how at that time the water came to the level of the porch.
This time however, the water rose to the top of the gutters (or eavestrough or eavesdrop as I like to say to drive Jim nuts -hey Jim!). The water remained at that level and then slowly drained to about 6 feet after 5 full months.
This woman (and many, many others we spoke to) won't even entertain the idea of packing up and moving out.
Back home I know what you are all thinking. WHY would they stay? WHY wouldn't they just pack it up and move somewhere new? Why? Because this woman's roots are so deeply rooted in the culture and history of New Orleans, the neighbourhood and above all her home, that it would be simply incomprehensible to her to leave. It's not as if her granddaughter hasn't pleaded with her to come and live with her in Dallas, but she simply won't even speak of it.
So, the family will help her to tear down and rebuild despite having to make all of these arrangements while living in another state. But, with no insurance settlement, no reliable contractors available, they remain at an indefinite standstill. They wait, and wait and watch the small amounto of rebuilding happening around them through programs that this particular old woman will never qualify for. Habitat requires the home owner to be making a certain amount of money (but not too much money), and in several hundred hours of "sweat equity" and in exchange they get a $75,000.00 house interest free for 20 years (approximate cost to them is $500.00 per month).
The scene just over in Musician's Village by stark contrast almost looks like something out of a Dr. Seuss movie with the rows of crayola coloured houses. It gives hope for new beginnings, new music and new spirit in the city.
At the end of our long work day, we stopped in the lower Ninth Ward -the area most devastated by Katrina and bordering on the famous levee that broke. What was one a vibrant community is now completely vacated save for just one single FEMA trailer and many empty lots where houses simply washed away and only porches and cement blocks remain. Some houses have clearly been pushed into thers and one remains sitting right on top of another -a year and a half after the hurricane!
The most stunning sight was a simple one. A 30 something black man worked diligently to mow his grandmother's lawn. He had his many tools out trimming and cutting and you know the yard didn't look much unlike a well groomed area of Tecumseh or Windsor Ontario. It was as if he was just mowing and caring for his home in any neighbourhood in good ole US of A. And when he finished, he might just go into his home, pour himself a glass of lemonade and sit on his porch and drink it. Only, there was nothing inside to go into. This house wasn't in living condition and no one was coming home to it today. Yet, this man has so much pride and intestinal fortitude that he continues to take are of the usual everyday business of life to try an maintain some sort of normalcy.
My first thought upon seeing him was to think, what an absolute exercise in futility. Then I realized, that the routines of everyday life are what is so critical to our existence and sense of self worth. Even through the destruction, this man realizes that his grandmother is depending on him and he still has tremendous pride in his community.
We chatted with him for a bit, but it was plain to see that he was intent on getting the job done. He was a busy guy -probably fitting this in beteween many other comittments that day.
As we moved along, intent on staying in groups, we all soon wandered separately. For me, it was about having some quiet time to take in everything I was seeing. We all commented that we felt a bit guilty and intrusive as we snapped photos. However, we are told that we are encouraged to do so to bring their story back to others who will hopefully be inspired to help them to rebuild and express outrage at a government who has left them literally high and dry.
I filled my memory card with snapshots of the everyday mundane items and artifacts that were at one time such a part of their lives. Kitchen mixing bowls, vases, a mouldy toy box filled with toys, a stuffed Koala bear on the curbside, a cabbage patch doll in a front doorway -a year and a half later! These personal artifacts remained untouched and respected by those who've come since Katrina visited on August 29, 2005. A memorial sacred ground of sorts. Perhaps the homeowners will one day return to collect the treasures strewn among the many seashells left behind. A church remains in the Ninth Ward. The interior is completely destroyed except strangely enough a painting of Jesus Christ ironically wading through water and yet, the portrait is in nearly pristine condition. Come to your own conclusion on this one.
After a half an hour or more, we came to the levee and stood just staring. Across the street only cement porches with attached metal railings remain. Sea shells, mould, wilted ceiling fans, broken bits of records, a casino card with a name imprinted. People's precious treasures.
Had the day ended then, I could have fell into an exhausted slumber. The day was however only half over.
Tonight half of our group had kitchen duty. I washed dishes with Vanessa (my fellow blogger), Sandy, Sandra, Brooke, Amanda, Fleur (came with our group but lives in New Zealand!) and others. The tedious chore was made easier as the folks dropped off their dirty dishes and every single one of them took the time to say "thanks" -just for washing their dishes that night. I must remind myself to do this for my fellow Camp Hopers when next they do my dishes.
Then in came Mr. John Boone. This is when the real stories of the day began. You see many residents of St. Bernard's Parish stop by each night to join the volunteers for dinner and share their stories. This my friends who've asked me is why I'm HERE in "primitive" Camp Hope with daily overflowing toilets, showering with tepid water and eating corn flakes encrusted chicken. The real people of New Orleans are HERE, they are NOT in the hotels or motels.
By being here, I have the priveledge of being a part of this historic event.
Mr. Boone (John) comes to this centre daily and sometimes from 6 am til 11:00 at night. While here, he shares his stories, his photos, his heartache, his vivacious personality, his Cajun cooking skills and his KP skills from days gone by. John, a white, curly haired gentleman with a fantastic New Orleans drawl knows so much of the history of this area and shared so much, I spent 3 hours washing dishes and actually waved my fellow volunteer dishwashers away when they offered to take over for me.
I think Vanessa will agree with me when I say that so far, washing dishes with John Boone
has been the most hearwarming and heartwrenching part of this trip so far. John has lost all of his belongings, many friends and acquaintances to the storm and then an additional 7 close friends as a result of their committing suicide after the storm because they just couldn't cope. This is the part of the hurricane death toll that's not always reported.
John himself held a gun to his own head, but somehow mustered up the courage not to pull the trigger. I told him that I was really glad for that. He is married, but seems to spend a lot of time here anyway. Weathering a hurricane and living in a FEMA trailer can't be the easiest on a marriage. I know after a week of camping with Jim, the kids and the dog, frankly I can't wait to get away from them and find my own space.
Today John powerwashed and bleached what's left of his interior -likely studs. It won't get rid of all the mould. Nothing will. But still, for John and his wife, this is the beginning of the rebuild. How do they get through it? In his words, by coming to Camp Hope and sharing his stories and photos. John holds a special place in his heart for Canadians and came into the kitchen especially to give us each a kiss and hug for being here. You see, John recalls that the first few days after Katrina, it was the Canadians who arrived first to help -even before his own country!
After that visit, I was ready for some "alone time" to reflect and write. But, listening to the students share their individual stories of the day during team time was just too interesting not to stay. Everyone was touched in so many different ways.
As the day draws to an end (it's 11:51 N.O. Time), I feel more recharged than ever and am finding it tough to settle down my mind.
I wonder what tomorrow will bring.....
Good night and count your blessings tonight. I know I will.
Beth
Where do I begin...?
Let me start by saying that I'm typing this from a bunk bed with very, very little lighting. As Whitney writes in her journal she has graciously allowed me to sit on her bed with her so I can reach the plug with this laptop and share the flashlight. Plugs and lights in our "classroom" are at a premium. I should also warn you that what follows is quite lengthy and probably has spelling errors -yes, me the editing Queen with typos! I'm roughing it here folks. I really can't leave any of these details out of it and I could certainly have gone on even longer.
Today was a day I won't soon forget. The people I met, the things I saw, amazing yes.
The 5:40 am wake up call was not a difficult one for me because I had woken up around 3:30 and just spent the time thinking in peace. By 5:00, I could smell the bacon wafting into our "classroom dorm".
Let's start with last night first.
Our group headed out to Bourbon Street. What an absolutely wild place. Drinking in the streets, people throwing beads down from the many balconies, bourlesque shows, jazz bands, voodoo shops, psychics and a million others sights and sounds. I managed to catch a half dozen or so beads and no I never "flashed" anything more than my bellybutton! One guy even threw a t-shirt at me and at first, seeing a flash of white fabric made me think that perhaps they were his shorts - never know in The Big Easy! Turned out to be a t-shirt with very large red lettering on the back that read, "RELAX, it's just sex!" The students got a kick out of me wearing this as we walked down the street. I didn't think the folks in Camp Hope would appreciate me coming back wearing that since this is a Christian based camp.
Sandy, Sandra, Brooke and I enjoyed a New Orlean's daquarie followed by a "Huge Ass Beer" and some great jazz music. Yup, that's right folks, we broke the rule but remained respectable.
Not exactly the kind of place that you want to go to when you have to observe a curfew. But we were back on the bus before 10:00 an back to the camp by 11:00 like good little volunteers.
So, onto today...
We met at the site and got our instructions for the day. When the Habitat workers announced that they had a surprise for us, we all waited in anticipation. The students were elated to learn that we were each given a ticket to the Justine Timberlake concert for Thursday night. You should have heard the shreiking. I had to be reminded that JT was a former member of NSYNC and NOT the BackStreet boys as I had thought. Duhh!!! What can I say, I'm 41! At least I knew that he was a popular singer.
Although Kelly, my 15 year old daughter has yet to send me any emails, when I told her and Lauren the news about JT, it didn't take them long to reply back to me and tell me how jealous they were that I was going to see him! Kelly suddenly has a renewed interest in my trip. Or at least she will until Friday morning.
So, onto the build site. Today I spent the day with several other women in our group and a new friend from Vermont named Beth (Why are all my friends named Beth???) We managed to insulate one full house plus half of another and move stuff and help here and there. After we do the insulating, the contractors come in and drywall and mud (are you proud of my terminology Jim??) the entire home in 3 hours. So, I assume that tomorrow we will be painting.
It's amazing the number of people we have met who just jumped in their cars or on a plane all alone or with a friend to come and pitch in. They are all so impressed with our group of 34 and everyone continually comments on our spirit and enthusiasm. It's true, Windsor students are truly the BEST! We are meeting some fantastic volunteers and Habitat staff and I am immensely proud of our students!
At lunch time, a group of us wandered through the neighbourhood and took photos and chatted with the few remaining in the neighbourhood of the Upper Ninth Ward. Many are living in FEMA trailers and attempting to get their homes. Many are still waiting for insurance.
We met a family today who live next door to one of the three homes we are building. The granddaughter is in her 30's, and she was joined by her father and her 76 year old grandmother- the actual home owner. Grandma has been living with daughter in Texas since Katrina hit. Grandma is an amazing positive woman who got out only with the clothes on her back and is just so grateful to be alive that she shows no sadness and only has praise for her creator. She has lived in this modest "shotgun" style home (picture a long narrow home with one room into the next into the next and the next with no hallway to separate it. She described having lived at this home through Hurricane Betsy in 1965 and how at that time the water came to the level of the porch.
This time however, the water rose to the top of the gutters (or eavestrough or eavesdrop as I like to say to drive Jim nuts -hey Jim!). The water remained at that level and then slowly drained to about 6 feet after 5 full months.
This woman (and many, many others we spoke to) won't even entertain the idea of packing up and moving out.
Back home I know what you are all thinking. WHY would they stay? WHY wouldn't they just pack it up and move somewhere new? Why? Because this woman's roots are so deeply rooted in the culture and history of New Orleans, the neighbourhood and above all her home, that it would be simply incomprehensible to her to leave. It's not as if her granddaughter hasn't pleaded with her to come and live with her in Dallas, but she simply won't even speak of it.
So, the family will help her to tear down and rebuild despite having to make all of these arrangements while living in another state. But, with no insurance settlement, no reliable contractors available, they remain at an indefinite standstill. They wait, and wait and watch the small amounto of rebuilding happening around them through programs that this particular old woman will never qualify for. Habitat requires the home owner to be making a certain amount of money (but not too much money), and in several hundred hours of "sweat equity" and in exchange they get a $75,000.00 house interest free for 20 years (approximate cost to them is $500.00 per month).
The scene just over in Musician's Village by stark contrast almost looks like something out of a Dr. Seuss movie with the rows of crayola coloured houses. It gives hope for new beginnings, new music and new spirit in the city.
At the end of our long work day, we stopped in the lower Ninth Ward -the area most devastated by Katrina and bordering on the famous levee that broke. What was one a vibrant community is now completely vacated save for just one single FEMA trailer and many empty lots where houses simply washed away and only porches and cement blocks remain. Some houses have clearly been pushed into thers and one remains sitting right on top of another -a year and a half after the hurricane!
The most stunning sight was a simple one. A 30 something black man worked diligently to mow his grandmother's lawn. He had his many tools out trimming and cutting and you know the yard didn't look much unlike a well groomed area of Tecumseh or Windsor Ontario. It was as if he was just mowing and caring for his home in any neighbourhood in good ole US of A. And when he finished, he might just go into his home, pour himself a glass of lemonade and sit on his porch and drink it. Only, there was nothing inside to go into. This house wasn't in living condition and no one was coming home to it today. Yet, this man has so much pride and intestinal fortitude that he continues to take are of the usual everyday business of life to try an maintain some sort of normalcy.
My first thought upon seeing him was to think, what an absolute exercise in futility. Then I realized, that the routines of everyday life are what is so critical to our existence and sense of self worth. Even through the destruction, this man realizes that his grandmother is depending on him and he still has tremendous pride in his community.
We chatted with him for a bit, but it was plain to see that he was intent on getting the job done. He was a busy guy -probably fitting this in beteween many other comittments that day.
As we moved along, intent on staying in groups, we all soon wandered separately. For me, it was about having some quiet time to take in everything I was seeing. We all commented that we felt a bit guilty and intrusive as we snapped photos. However, we are told that we are encouraged to do so to bring their story back to others who will hopefully be inspired to help them to rebuild and express outrage at a government who has left them literally high and dry.
I filled my memory card with snapshots of the everyday mundane items and artifacts that were at one time such a part of their lives. Kitchen mixing bowls, vases, a mouldy toy box filled with toys, a stuffed Koala bear on the curbside, a cabbage patch doll in a front doorway -a year and a half later! These personal artifacts remained untouched and respected by those who've come since Katrina visited on August 29, 2005. A memorial sacred ground of sorts. Perhaps the homeowners will one day return to collect the treasures strewn among the many seashells left behind. A church remains in the Ninth Ward. The interior is completely destroyed except strangely enough a painting of Jesus Christ ironically wading through water and yet, the portrait is in nearly pristine condition. Come to your own conclusion on this one.
After a half an hour or more, we came to the levee and stood just staring. Across the street only cement porches with attached metal railings remain. Sea shells, mould, wilted ceiling fans, broken bits of records, a casino card with a name imprinted. People's precious treasures.
Had the day ended then, I could have fell into an exhausted slumber. The day was however only half over.
Tonight half of our group had kitchen duty. I washed dishes with Vanessa (my fellow blogger), Sandy, Sandra, Brooke, Amanda, Fleur (came with our group but lives in New Zealand!) and others. The tedious chore was made easier as the folks dropped off their dirty dishes and every single one of them took the time to say "thanks" -just for washing their dishes that night. I must remind myself to do this for my fellow Camp Hopers when next they do my dishes.
Then in came Mr. John Boone. This is when the real stories of the day began. You see many residents of St. Bernard's Parish stop by each night to join the volunteers for dinner and share their stories. This my friends who've asked me is why I'm HERE in "primitive" Camp Hope with daily overflowing toilets, showering with tepid water and eating corn flakes encrusted chicken. The real people of New Orleans are HERE, they are NOT in the hotels or motels.
By being here, I have the priveledge of being a part of this historic event.
Mr. Boone (John) comes to this centre daily and sometimes from 6 am til 11:00 at night. While here, he shares his stories, his photos, his heartache, his vivacious personality, his Cajun cooking skills and his KP skills from days gone by. John, a white, curly haired gentleman with a fantastic New Orleans drawl knows so much of the history of this area and shared so much, I spent 3 hours washing dishes and actually waved my fellow volunteer dishwashers away when they offered to take over for me.
I think Vanessa will agree with me when I say that so far, washing dishes with John Boone
has been the most hearwarming and heartwrenching part of this trip so far. John has lost all of his belongings, many friends and acquaintances to the storm and then an additional 7 close friends as a result of their committing suicide after the storm because they just couldn't cope. This is the part of the hurricane death toll that's not always reported.
John himself held a gun to his own head, but somehow mustered up the courage not to pull the trigger. I told him that I was really glad for that. He is married, but seems to spend a lot of time here anyway. Weathering a hurricane and living in a FEMA trailer can't be the easiest on a marriage. I know after a week of camping with Jim, the kids and the dog, frankly I can't wait to get away from them and find my own space.
Today John powerwashed and bleached what's left of his interior -likely studs. It won't get rid of all the mould. Nothing will. But still, for John and his wife, this is the beginning of the rebuild. How do they get through it? In his words, by coming to Camp Hope and sharing his stories and photos. John holds a special place in his heart for Canadians and came into the kitchen especially to give us each a kiss and hug for being here. You see, John recalls that the first few days after Katrina, it was the Canadians who arrived first to help -even before his own country!
After that visit, I was ready for some "alone time" to reflect and write. But, listening to the students share their individual stories of the day during team time was just too interesting not to stay. Everyone was touched in so many different ways.
As the day draws to an end (it's 11:51 N.O. Time), I feel more recharged than ever and am finding it tough to settle down my mind.
I wonder what tomorrow will bring.....
Good night and count your blessings tonight. I know I will.
Beth
From Bourbon Street to the Lower Ninth Ward to stories of survival...
The last 24 hours have been a roller coaster of emtions. We have seen two completely different sides of New Orleans- sides which seem unbelivably discordant with each other.
First, Bourbon Street. I have come to the conclusion that every city needs a street like Bourbon Street. While the street is largely bars, souvenir stories, and strip clubs, there is such a sense of soul here. I love the open air bars, jazz music waftting through the windows and into the street. There is a sense of togetherness, which we experienced by dancing with strangers in shops, posing with locals for photos, and catching Mardi Gras beads from the balconies above.
We had a great time there, and weren't quite ready to come back to camp. But that's the side of town that was cleaned up in prepartion for the tourists...
After work this afternoon, we took a detour through the lower Ninth Ward, the area right beside the levee. It's hard to imagine these two areas existing in the same city. Little to no work has been done in the lower ninth- foundations are sometimes the only hint that a house was once in that spot. This isn't because they've been demoed, but because they've floated away.There are houses on other houses, hours on fences, and houses on top of cards. Hydro poles stand at odd angles, wires strewn in trees and on the ground. People's possessions are still strewn everywhere- plates, mugs, cds, the things we leave behind. The most moving of this human detrius is that left behind by children- dolls, books, jewellery; lying on the ground with no one nearby. This is what remind me that people were once here, what shakes me up inside and reminds me that this is all real, and not a crazy movie.
But it has been one and a half years. Not a few weeks, not a few months, but nearly two years. We had a few tornadoes in my hometowen this summer- while the devastation was not nearly comparable, clean-up seemed to happen so quickly. Should plates, dolls, and wires still be everywhere here? I was never a fan of the current US administration before, but our walk in the lower ninth infuriated me at the same time as it deeply saddened me. The FEMA trailers in which peole are forced to live are ridiculously tiny, and have only one window- in hopes that residents will be encouraged to move out of them faster. Even those may be taken away on March 1 if the residents don't have a building permit. The stories of those who live here and even the corrupt local government are filtered through layers of government propaganda before we see it on the news. I can't help but think that if this had happened in an election year or even in Bush's first term, things would have unfolded in a drastically different way. Instead, billions of dollars are being pumped into a war in Iraq, while the people here still struggle to survive.
While the accomodations here at Camp Hope are somehwat spartan, we are really fortunate that the dining hall shares food with the residents of St. Bernard Parish. While wahsing dishes this evening, Beth and I had an unbelievable conversationw ith John Boon. (Well, Beth had the conversation. Though I thought I would be full of questions upon meeting those who had lived through Katrina, in reality I find myself overwhelmed and speechless). He has seven books of pictures out in his van, and I really hope we get a chance to see some of them. We all think about the casualties the hurricane and ensuing floods casued directing, but hear few stories of what happened later. I hadn't stopped to consider how many suicides have occured as a result of the overwhelming stress and sheer disbelief at what happened. John told the story of seven of them, as well as his own attempt. However, he also told amazing tales of survival, and had such a strong spirit. Currently living in a FEMA trailer on his property, he has been known to catch alligators in order to cook and eat them, is the only person who sells grilled oysters at local festivals, and once he heard I was a vegetarian, proved he also knows a great sounding recipe for red beans and rice. You can't help but be inspired by someone like that, who can still smile and be such an amazing storyteller in the face of all of this.
He came into the dishwashing area to give us all a hug and a kiss when he learned we were Cnaaidna, as he was so grateful that the Canadians were the first to arrive after Katrina. I could've cried right there.
I want to stay longer, for moments like these. I want to see more of the city than just the camp and the worksite, to hear stories and learn as much as possible. One week isn't nearly enough.
Me at the levee...sometimes it's all a lot to take in.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Day 1 on the site...
The Musicians VillageThings I Learned Today...
-it's still dark at 5:30am. This makes it hard to wake up.
-Sleeping on an air mattress also makes it difficult to get up.
-New Orleans is awfully hot in February.
-Buses sometimes get stuck in the mud, and then you get to ride in the bright pink Habitat bus.
-it's still dark at 5:30am. This makes it hard to wake up.
-Sleeping on an air mattress also makes it difficult to get up.
-New Orleans is awfully hot in February.
-Buses sometimes get stuck in the mud, and then you get to ride in the bright pink Habitat bus.
Whee!
-When you work with insulation, you get to wear a mask like the Grey's Anatomy surgeons.
Steph's pretty much the coolest person I know. -How to insulate the wrong way
-How to insulate the right way.
-When 300 people are attempting to shower, the water gets cold. (And sometimes there are newts in the shower! I saw one!)
Today was fulfilling. I was mostly painting, and then just insulating, but it still feels good to do something useful, especially when you take a walk around the area and see how much there is to be done.
Tonight, we hit up Bourbon Street for some eating, shopping, and sightseeing fun before getting up before dawn tomorrow morning again. Hopefully, we'll get to take a tour of the area we're working in tomorrow- while we've seen some pretty unbelievable things from the road, it's different seeing it all up close.
We found this while on a walk, down the street from where we're working.
Sometimes, pictures just speak for themselves.
Tired and sore but ready for more!
So, after a very interesting dinner last night that was not unlike what I would imagine prison to be like.....picture sectioned plastic plates and chili with chunks of hamburger and a bean salad flavoured with peanut oil! Okay, that was hard for me to take because I love to cook and I love to eat. How did we get through it? We pictured the folks (see I'm talking southern now!) on the rooftops for four days straight and thought about how much they would have loved that meal.
Slept in our dorm like a baby again. Although I'm told some young women took my photo as I lay asleep with my Walmart eye mask on! I WILL get even ladies!
This morning we were awakened at 5:40, threw our work clothes on, lined up in the prison oops, I mean mess hall, packed our lunches, grabbed some grits (I must admit, I can't do grits!) and off we went on the bus.
The 20 minute bus ride took us into the upper ninth ward where there is a fair amount of destruction and it appears that the poverty was quite high even prior to Katrina. Musician's Village, where we worked today was very cheerful looking. All of the houses have been painted different colours. This particular Habitat project was started by the musicians, Harry Connick Jr and many others. The intention is to bring the musicians back to New Orleans by providing them with housing. From there, our group headed out to another neighbourhood a couple of miles up the road. We had to share a bus with some others and some of us hitched a ride in the back of the habitat pick up because our coach bus got stuck in some sand.
We spent the day reorganizing 4 large transport containers of materials. Siding, wood, trim, shingles, insulation, furnaces, 5 gallon paint pails, and on and on and on and on. Our crew of 30 worked all day and organized and reorganized. It was hard but rewarding labour. Many of us have some sunburns despite applying sunscreen. Some of the students painted, insulated and others shingled a roof.
I think we've earned our showers, let's just hope there's enough to go around (and hot water). We will be donning our Co-operators Insurance shirts tonight and taking a good corporate shot for this very generous insurance company. Those backpacks have been incredibly helpful. After the photo shoot, it's off to Bourbon Street.
Last night Bradd Pitt, tonight, who knows who we will see.
Well, there is a strong scent of hard working Habitat worker somewhere close by me so I must close now.
Beth
Slept in our dorm like a baby again. Although I'm told some young women took my photo as I lay asleep with my Walmart eye mask on! I WILL get even ladies!
This morning we were awakened at 5:40, threw our work clothes on, lined up in the prison oops, I mean mess hall, packed our lunches, grabbed some grits (I must admit, I can't do grits!) and off we went on the bus.
The 20 minute bus ride took us into the upper ninth ward where there is a fair amount of destruction and it appears that the poverty was quite high even prior to Katrina. Musician's Village, where we worked today was very cheerful looking. All of the houses have been painted different colours. This particular Habitat project was started by the musicians, Harry Connick Jr and many others. The intention is to bring the musicians back to New Orleans by providing them with housing. From there, our group headed out to another neighbourhood a couple of miles up the road. We had to share a bus with some others and some of us hitched a ride in the back of the habitat pick up because our coach bus got stuck in some sand.
We spent the day reorganizing 4 large transport containers of materials. Siding, wood, trim, shingles, insulation, furnaces, 5 gallon paint pails, and on and on and on and on. Our crew of 30 worked all day and organized and reorganized. It was hard but rewarding labour. Many of us have some sunburns despite applying sunscreen. Some of the students painted, insulated and others shingled a roof.
I think we've earned our showers, let's just hope there's enough to go around (and hot water). We will be donning our Co-operators Insurance shirts tonight and taking a good corporate shot for this very generous insurance company. Those backpacks have been incredibly helpful. After the photo shoot, it's off to Bourbon Street.
Last night Bradd Pitt, tonight, who knows who we will see.
Well, there is a strong scent of hard working Habitat worker somewhere close by me so I must close now.
Beth
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Two, two, two posts in one!
Two posts that I wrote on paper between bus rides today...
Isn't the work attire attractive? Check out my decorated gloves!
What drives us to volunteer?
Why do we volunteer?
As a species, we are supposedly all about survival. As university students, we have barely been surviving all term. Walking like a zombie from class to class, sleepwalking from paper to paper. I've been burnt out since January. And yet...
What motivates us to give up a week of relaxing? We paid to travel on a bus for 18 hours, to wake up at 6am each morning, to perform manual labour we are not traned to take on. And yet...
There is more to life than simply surviving, than keeping your head about the water and thinking only for yourself. An integral part of the human condition is the pull we all feel towards on another. We've all experienced this pull towards someone else's tragedy. You're driving along the highway. You see a car accident, and can't help but slow own. You're wondering what happened, who was involved, are they all ok?
And sometimes, if you know there's a need, you pull over. And you help.
It's wired into us. There's an urge to create an equilibrium- if you're ok, we're ok. And when you personally are given the opportunity to help bring about this balance, it tugs at your heart. You have to take it, because you know that, while you're making sure that everyone else is ok, you'll be bringing yourself closer to ok, and a better person for it.
Why do we volunteer?
Because we're human.
First Impressions
Images have always spoken louder to me than words. Images seen in person, rather than on a screen, are even more powerful.
On some streets, I feel as though we are in a post-apocalyptic sci-fi flick. There are X's on the doors of most of the houses- as Mike explained to us last week, the X's have spaces for the date the house was checked, who checked it, and how many bodies were found inside. These X's are the strongest connection to this post-apocalyptic image that keeps floating around in my head. It was, I suppose, an effective system at the time, but now it's a chilling reminder.
So far, we've only seen 0s. I can't imagine what my reaction will be when we finally see a 1.
I hate how the big corporations had the resources to clean up first. Thousands of homes in ruin, yet we've seen a pristine McDonald's and a Wal-Mart. I know the economy needed to restart quickly, but is this what society is to become- corporate buildings towering over us while our homes are piles of rubble?
The group would kill me if I failed to mention the other important happening in our lives today. Sometimes, when you go here...
And are trying to take pictures of these...
You keep running into this guy...
Celebrity sighting in under 24 hours = pretty cool day.
Isn't the work attire attractive? Check out my decorated gloves!
What drives us to volunteer?
Why do we volunteer?
As a species, we are supposedly all about survival. As university students, we have barely been surviving all term. Walking like a zombie from class to class, sleepwalking from paper to paper. I've been burnt out since January. And yet...
What motivates us to give up a week of relaxing? We paid to travel on a bus for 18 hours, to wake up at 6am each morning, to perform manual labour we are not traned to take on. And yet...
There is more to life than simply surviving, than keeping your head about the water and thinking only for yourself. An integral part of the human condition is the pull we all feel towards on another. We've all experienced this pull towards someone else's tragedy. You're driving along the highway. You see a car accident, and can't help but slow own. You're wondering what happened, who was involved, are they all ok?
And sometimes, if you know there's a need, you pull over. And you help.
It's wired into us. There's an urge to create an equilibrium- if you're ok, we're ok. And when you personally are given the opportunity to help bring about this balance, it tugs at your heart. You have to take it, because you know that, while you're making sure that everyone else is ok, you'll be bringing yourself closer to ok, and a better person for it.
Why do we volunteer?
Because we're human.
First Impressions
Images have always spoken louder to me than words. Images seen in person, rather than on a screen, are even more powerful.
On some streets, I feel as though we are in a post-apocalyptic sci-fi flick. There are X's on the doors of most of the houses- as Mike explained to us last week, the X's have spaces for the date the house was checked, who checked it, and how many bodies were found inside. These X's are the strongest connection to this post-apocalyptic image that keeps floating around in my head. It was, I suppose, an effective system at the time, but now it's a chilling reminder.
So far, we've only seen 0s. I can't imagine what my reaction will be when we finally see a 1.
I hate how the big corporations had the resources to clean up first. Thousands of homes in ruin, yet we've seen a pristine McDonald's and a Wal-Mart. I know the economy needed to restart quickly, but is this what society is to become- corporate buildings towering over us while our homes are piles of rubble?
The group would kill me if I failed to mention the other important happening in our lives today. Sometimes, when you go here...
The Audubon Aquarium of the Americas
And are trying to take pictures of these...
Fishies! Penguins! Eels! Oh my!
You keep running into this guy...
Brad Pitt. No, seriously, look again. Brad Pitt. Only Whitney has a pic of his face, we'll steal that later.
Celebrity sighting in under 24 hours = pretty cool day.
Day One
It's been a pretty long day. Managed to sleep pretty well for a bus ride. We changed drivers somewhere around midnight somewhere around Kentucky. The next thing I knew, after fits of tossing and turning I woke up at 6:00 and we were almost there.
We got to Camp Hope in St. Bernard's parish around 9 or 10 this morning. Had a couple of hours to get to see the place -a converted school torn down to the studs. Actually, it's not nearly as bad as what I had pictured. It's sort of like camping, but we all have bunks or cots and since I brought a blow up mattress, I think I will be pretty comfortable. We spent the afternoon at the Acquarium where some of the students spotted a very exciting movie star. You will have to check back to the blog later to see who it was. Perhaps a photo will be posted.
Now we are back at the camp, had our orientation, will soon have dinner and a pretty low key evening to prepare for our 6am wake up call to head to the build site for 7:00.
Beth
We got to Camp Hope in St. Bernard's parish around 9 or 10 this morning. Had a couple of hours to get to see the place -a converted school torn down to the studs. Actually, it's not nearly as bad as what I had pictured. It's sort of like camping, but we all have bunks or cots and since I brought a blow up mattress, I think I will be pretty comfortable. We spent the afternoon at the Acquarium where some of the students spotted a very exciting movie star. You will have to check back to the blog later to see who it was. Perhaps a photo will be posted.
Now we are back at the camp, had our orientation, will soon have dinner and a pretty low key evening to prepare for our 6am wake up call to head to the build site for 7:00.
Beth
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Rolling out of Windsor
Well, we are all packed and ready to go.
It's funny that Vanessa posted the photo of the bandaids. It ocurred to me in the middle of the night that I should pack some.
I enjoyed my last luxurious sleep and am about to enjoy my last luxurious warm shower for 8 days. We meet for lunch at the U at 12:00 and pull out of the Vanier Circle at 1:00.
See you in the big easy!
Beth
It's funny that Vanessa posted the photo of the bandaids. It ocurred to me in the middle of the night that I should pack some.
I enjoyed my last luxurious sleep and am about to enjoy my last luxurious warm shower for 8 days. We meet for lunch at the U at 12:00 and pull out of the Vanier Circle at 1:00.
See you in the big easy!
Beth
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Meeting with Mike
Feb 21, 07
Tonight we had our last meeting and Mike Tower joined us. Mike is a residential and commercial contractor in Windsor and in the past 15 years, he's volunteered for more than 70 Habitat projects. Most recently, he just spent 7 weeks in New Orleans. Although he showed his wife, daughter and son 2 thousand photos before they arrived later in the trip, they were devestated by what they saw. Mike shared some of those photos with us and answered a lot of our questions. What we saw was shocking but so important for us to prepare. Mike told us that there are no building codes or standards and the new homes are being built without any foundations. There are numbers spray painted on the front doors coded to indicate the number of people who died in each one. He said when he first arrived, he was scolded for using too much lumber to ensure the homes were built to the same standards as ours here. There are still so many homes that are in terrible, terrible condition, covered in mould that should be condemned and yet, people continue to live in them because they have no where else to go. Imagine the respiratory illnesses! There are houses toppled on top of other houses and this covers an area the size of about 5 citys of Windsor's size. The stories of the actual levvy and how flimsy it was built is very disturbing.
I rented the Spike Lee documentary called When the Levvy Broke and watched it last night. After watching the first CD you definitely get the sense about how these people have truly been left to their own devices. If you haven't see it, go rent it!
To cheer us up after Mike's talk, we discussed the positive side as to why we are doing this and how it will make a difference to the people who don't want to leave because they have such a rich hertiage and history invested in the area. So, if by reaching out to them, even just a little, I guess we an help with the changes.
We were all given work gloves tonight, donated by our Physical Plant department. Sandy brought in some fabric paints and we all decorated our gloves. We did the raffle for the prize draws and two lucky people in my office won some beautiful gift baskets.
It sounds like Camp Hope will be quite primitive, there are only 4 showers and we shouldn't expect any hot water. The sleeping quarters are quite primitive as well. I just hope there is enough electricity and perhaps a web connection so that we can blog our experiences. We will also be keeping hand written journals while we are away too.
Well, it's time to wrap things up and prepare to pack.
Beth
Tonight we had our last meeting and Mike Tower joined us. Mike is a residential and commercial contractor in Windsor and in the past 15 years, he's volunteered for more than 70 Habitat projects. Most recently, he just spent 7 weeks in New Orleans. Although he showed his wife, daughter and son 2 thousand photos before they arrived later in the trip, they were devestated by what they saw. Mike shared some of those photos with us and answered a lot of our questions. What we saw was shocking but so important for us to prepare. Mike told us that there are no building codes or standards and the new homes are being built without any foundations. There are numbers spray painted on the front doors coded to indicate the number of people who died in each one. He said when he first arrived, he was scolded for using too much lumber to ensure the homes were built to the same standards as ours here. There are still so many homes that are in terrible, terrible condition, covered in mould that should be condemned and yet, people continue to live in them because they have no where else to go. Imagine the respiratory illnesses! There are houses toppled on top of other houses and this covers an area the size of about 5 citys of Windsor's size. The stories of the actual levvy and how flimsy it was built is very disturbing.
I rented the Spike Lee documentary called When the Levvy Broke and watched it last night. After watching the first CD you definitely get the sense about how these people have truly been left to their own devices. If you haven't see it, go rent it!
To cheer us up after Mike's talk, we discussed the positive side as to why we are doing this and how it will make a difference to the people who don't want to leave because they have such a rich hertiage and history invested in the area. So, if by reaching out to them, even just a little, I guess we an help with the changes.
We were all given work gloves tonight, donated by our Physical Plant department. Sandy brought in some fabric paints and we all decorated our gloves. We did the raffle for the prize draws and two lucky people in my office won some beautiful gift baskets.
It sounds like Camp Hope will be quite primitive, there are only 4 showers and we shouldn't expect any hot water. The sleeping quarters are quite primitive as well. I just hope there is enough electricity and perhaps a web connection so that we can blog our experiences. We will also be keeping hand written journals while we are away too.
Well, it's time to wrap things up and prepare to pack.
Beth
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
T-2 days...
I got a chance to do an interview with Enver at CJAM last night, as part of his MLPC Radio show, which has been covering the Katrina disaster since it began. The interview, if you're interested, can be found here. There are also 3 other fantastic interviews packed into that hour-long show, and I learned a lot while I was there listening in. It was a great experience, and I hope everyone enjoys listening to it as much as I enjoyed being there.
I'll also be going back after we return from New Orleans to talk about what we experienced and how it matched with my expectations before leaving, so make sure to stay tuned. :)
I'll also be going back after we return from New Orleans to talk about what we experienced and how it matched with my expectations before leaving, so make sure to stay tuned. :)
Monday, February 19, 2007
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Sunday night
Feb 18, 2007
Had a great day with the kids and some great times at with my sister's just hanging out having some wine and celebrating her upcoming 50th birthday. My family has been extremely supportive of the adventure that I will soon take and all are excited to hear of the adventures that I will experience.
Yesterday we received another cash donation of $1,000.00 for our trip from Tecumseh Laser Centre. Thanks so much Joanne Duff! We have also received $1,000.00 from Alumni and Development at the U of W and the Cooperators Insurance Company has donated 40 long sleeved t-shirts, 40 back packs and $1,000.00! Incredible how this has made its way through the whole Windsor community. Friday we did a live radio interview on AM 800 CKLW and we are so thankful for the opportunity to publicize our fundraising with their help!
I checked out a map of our destination on mapquest today and also checked out the average temperatures in New Orleans for this time of the year. Since it's so far down south, I expected it would be slightly warmer, but it will still be warmer than here.
I'm excited about the upcoming week as we prepare for the trip. It's been interesting to begin thinking about what to pack. It's not my typical packing trip. Usually, going down south means packing my best clothes, evening wear, considering which swim suits I will wear, etc, etc. But now, it means, scouring through my closets and those of my sisters' for junky old pants and t-shirts fit for painting and staying warm as a first priority. I might actually head to Value Village for some old pants since I purged all of mine about 5 months ago, prior to knowing I would be taking such a trip. My sisters are kind of grossed out by this idea, but I think it's a humbling experience. Think about the people in New Orleans who at this point would likely die for the opportunity to shop at a Value Village.
We have another group meeting on Wednesday night where we will make our final preparations for the trip.For now, I must attempt to fit two weeks of work into one and tie up a great deal of loose ends before I can go away so I can "relax" and "enjoy" this experience without worrying about work.Stay tuned for more......Beth
Posted by Beth at 6:16 PM 0 comments
Labels: donations and packing, Family time
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Fundraising
February 15, 2007
Our fundraising efforts are going very well, but we have a long way to go. The University of Windsor community has so far helped us to raise over $9,000.00 but we have our work cut out for us. We have 8 days to go and LOTS more money to raise.The U of W residence students have been terrific. When Sandy (our fearless leader) asks for volunteers to fundraise, pretty well every hand in the room raises up at our meetings. While I'm home sleeping, these young people are out in the freezing cold, barbecuing hot dogs for their hungry room mates at midnight. What an impressive site. It's amazing to imagine that 35 students have given of their time, personal money and spring break plans to help those less fortunate. These are definitely our leaders of tomorrow and I'm really proud to be going along with them.
We are hopeful that we can garner more support from some corporate community sponsors. With financial support and a donation of 40 company t-shirts, we're hopeful we can take some great photos on the Katrina build site and provide those photos to the sponsor for their website to show others how they supported the University of Windsor and the Windsor community who cares about those in need.So, on the home front, my husband Jim is a bit jealous. He really wants to come along, and as a self-proclaimed Mike Holmes wannabe (he is actually quite handy and I would liken him to a Mike Holmes/McGyver combo), it's killing him not to be able to join us. But alas, someone must stay at the homestead and torture the kids with Hamburger Helper and Wendy's (because that's the only time they get it).
As for my back, it's on the mend but still a bit tender. I'm hoping with my exercises, treadmill workouts and Yoga, I'll be fit and ready to pick up anything (less heavy than a large screen tv that is). Perhaps a hammer?
Well it's late and since my daughter disconnected her computer on me as I was writing this the first time, this is in fact my second posting of the evening. (Hmm, perhaps a week in a cold school room dorm will be a vacation afterall!)
bye for now!
By the way, if you want to send a financial contribution, you may do so by sending a cheque to The University of Windsorc/o Mike ClarkUniversity Advancement401 Sunset AveWindsor, ONN9B 3P4
Posted by Beth at 7:24 PM 0 comments
Labels: Fundraising
Monday, February 12, 2007
13 Days to Go
So, only 13 more days of a comfortable sleep and then it's one night in a bus and and several nights on a cot sleeping in a converted school without heat. But, how cold could it be? Afterall it's down south right. Can't be as bad as here! After spending a very cold couple of nights in a cabin at a horse camp last fall in the pouring rain, I should be ready for anything. Luckily I have lots of good camping gear to keep me warm and from experience, sleeping with a winter touque is always a good idea.
So, the donations continue to pour in from friends and family members. I'm amazed at the generosity clear across the Windsor campus. I can't walk anywhere on campus without someone mentioning our upcoming trip or slipping a donation into my palm.I sure hope my back gets better soon so I'm not totally useless on the Habitat build site.
On the weekend I attempted to help my husband carry a tv out to his truck and underestimated the weight. I'm now suffering from a painful sprain that better be healed soon. Thank goodness for my friend Dr. Mike at Chiroworks who should have me better soon.
Here comes the snow storm! I guess I won't have to shovel this time.
Beth
Posted by Beth at 5:21 PM 0 comments
Labels: 13 days to go
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Getting Ready
February 7, 2007
Hello Readers:
Welcome to my first ever blog documenting our exciting upcoming trip to New Orleans from my perspective.
As the Director of the Educational Development Centre at the University of Windsor, I'm extremely excited to be accompanying my fellow colleagues (Brooke, Sandy, Sandra) and 30 plus residence students on this trip. I'm also a tad bit nervous, since I've never done anything like this before and quite frankly, I'm afraid of what I will see in terms of the destruction of the area. Sounds selfish, but I think it also shows that this isn't something I just jumped into before thinking it over long and hard.
As a full time working mother of two girls, with a very supportive husband, I'm really looking forward to sharing the adventures of my trip with my family and friends through this blog. They in turn are likely looking forward to 8 days of life without mom and eating junk food; since I'm a bit of a fanatic on healthy food.
I will try to make it as lively as possible.
Let's begin...Last night, we hosted a bowl-a-thon to raise funds for the trip. It was a huge success! We had 86 participants from the University community (students galore, staff and faculty!). A great time was had by all and after adding up sales of tickets, pledges, a 50/50 draw and silent auction table, and almost $1,500.00 dollars was raised for the cause! We even had league bowlers dropping by and dropping off money! The Mardi Gras theme added some extra fun to the event. Thanks to all of you who participated in this event.Many other fundraising activities are planned as the event comes closer. The campus and community support has been simply amazing!
I'm off to the University for a 10 pm group meeting of the Katrina participants. Ugh, it's late, it's freezing out and my favourite show Lost is beaconing me,,,, but alas, busy University students can only meet late at night, so off I go across the city. I'm anxious to hear from the guest speaker who will be telling us all about his recent trip to help the hurricane survivors!Have a great night!
Beth
Sunday night
Feb 18, 2007
Had a great day with the kids and some great times at with my sister's just hanging out having some wine and celebrating her upcoming 50th birthday. My family has been extremely supportive of the adventure that I will soon take and all are excited to hear of the adventures that I will experience.
Yesterday we received another cash donation of $1,000.00 for our trip from Tecumseh Laser Centre. Thanks so much Joanne Duff! We have also received $1,000.00 from Alumni and Development at the U of W and the Cooperators Insurance Company has donated 40 long sleeved t-shirts, 40 back packs and $1,000.00! Incredible how this has made its way through the whole Windsor community. Friday we did a live radio interview on AM 800 CKLW and we are so thankful for the opportunity to publicize our fundraising with their help!
I checked out a map of our destination on mapquest today and also checked out the average temperatures in New Orleans for this time of the year. Since it's so far down south, I expected it would be slightly warmer, but it will still be warmer than here.
I'm excited about the upcoming week as we prepare for the trip. It's been interesting to begin thinking about what to pack. It's not my typical packing trip. Usually, going down south means packing my best clothes, evening wear, considering which swim suits I will wear, etc, etc. But now, it means, scouring through my closets and those of my sisters' for junky old pants and t-shirts fit for painting and staying warm as a first priority. I might actually head to Value Village for some old pants since I purged all of mine about 5 months ago, prior to knowing I would be taking such a trip. My sisters are kind of grossed out by this idea, but I think it's a humbling experience. Think about the people in New Orleans who at this point would likely die for the opportunity to shop at a Value Village.
We have another group meeting on Wednesday night where we will make our final preparations for the trip.For now, I must attempt to fit two weeks of work into one and tie up a great deal of loose ends before I can go away so I can "relax" and "enjoy" this experience without worrying about work.Stay tuned for more......Beth
Posted by Beth at 6:16 PM 0 comments
Labels: donations and packing, Family time
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Fundraising
February 15, 2007
Our fundraising efforts are going very well, but we have a long way to go. The University of Windsor community has so far helped us to raise over $9,000.00 but we have our work cut out for us. We have 8 days to go and LOTS more money to raise.The U of W residence students have been terrific. When Sandy (our fearless leader) asks for volunteers to fundraise, pretty well every hand in the room raises up at our meetings. While I'm home sleeping, these young people are out in the freezing cold, barbecuing hot dogs for their hungry room mates at midnight. What an impressive site. It's amazing to imagine that 35 students have given of their time, personal money and spring break plans to help those less fortunate. These are definitely our leaders of tomorrow and I'm really proud to be going along with them.
We are hopeful that we can garner more support from some corporate community sponsors. With financial support and a donation of 40 company t-shirts, we're hopeful we can take some great photos on the Katrina build site and provide those photos to the sponsor for their website to show others how they supported the University of Windsor and the Windsor community who cares about those in need.So, on the home front, my husband Jim is a bit jealous. He really wants to come along, and as a self-proclaimed Mike Holmes wannabe (he is actually quite handy and I would liken him to a Mike Holmes/McGyver combo), it's killing him not to be able to join us. But alas, someone must stay at the homestead and torture the kids with Hamburger Helper and Wendy's (because that's the only time they get it).
As for my back, it's on the mend but still a bit tender. I'm hoping with my exercises, treadmill workouts and Yoga, I'll be fit and ready to pick up anything (less heavy than a large screen tv that is). Perhaps a hammer?
Well it's late and since my daughter disconnected her computer on me as I was writing this the first time, this is in fact my second posting of the evening. (Hmm, perhaps a week in a cold school room dorm will be a vacation afterall!)
bye for now!
By the way, if you want to send a financial contribution, you may do so by sending a cheque to The University of Windsorc/o Mike ClarkUniversity Advancement401 Sunset AveWindsor, ONN9B 3P4
Posted by Beth at 7:24 PM 0 comments
Labels: Fundraising
Monday, February 12, 2007
13 Days to Go
So, only 13 more days of a comfortable sleep and then it's one night in a bus and and several nights on a cot sleeping in a converted school without heat. But, how cold could it be? Afterall it's down south right. Can't be as bad as here! After spending a very cold couple of nights in a cabin at a horse camp last fall in the pouring rain, I should be ready for anything. Luckily I have lots of good camping gear to keep me warm and from experience, sleeping with a winter touque is always a good idea.
So, the donations continue to pour in from friends and family members. I'm amazed at the generosity clear across the Windsor campus. I can't walk anywhere on campus without someone mentioning our upcoming trip or slipping a donation into my palm.I sure hope my back gets better soon so I'm not totally useless on the Habitat build site.
On the weekend I attempted to help my husband carry a tv out to his truck and underestimated the weight. I'm now suffering from a painful sprain that better be healed soon. Thank goodness for my friend Dr. Mike at Chiroworks who should have me better soon.
Here comes the snow storm! I guess I won't have to shovel this time.
Beth
Posted by Beth at 5:21 PM 0 comments
Labels: 13 days to go
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Getting Ready
February 7, 2007
Hello Readers:
Welcome to my first ever blog documenting our exciting upcoming trip to New Orleans from my perspective.
As the Director of the Educational Development Centre at the University of Windsor, I'm extremely excited to be accompanying my fellow colleagues (Brooke, Sandy, Sandra) and 30 plus residence students on this trip. I'm also a tad bit nervous, since I've never done anything like this before and quite frankly, I'm afraid of what I will see in terms of the destruction of the area. Sounds selfish, but I think it also shows that this isn't something I just jumped into before thinking it over long and hard.
As a full time working mother of two girls, with a very supportive husband, I'm really looking forward to sharing the adventures of my trip with my family and friends through this blog. They in turn are likely looking forward to 8 days of life without mom and eating junk food; since I'm a bit of a fanatic on healthy food.
I will try to make it as lively as possible.
Let's begin...Last night, we hosted a bowl-a-thon to raise funds for the trip. It was a huge success! We had 86 participants from the University community (students galore, staff and faculty!). A great time was had by all and after adding up sales of tickets, pledges, a 50/50 draw and silent auction table, and almost $1,500.00 dollars was raised for the cause! We even had league bowlers dropping by and dropping off money! The Mardi Gras theme added some extra fun to the event. Thanks to all of you who participated in this event.Many other fundraising activities are planned as the event comes closer. The campus and community support has been simply amazing!
I'm off to the University for a 10 pm group meeting of the Katrina participants. Ugh, it's late, it's freezing out and my favourite show Lost is beaconing me,,,, but alas, busy University students can only meet late at night, so off I go across the city. I'm anxious to hear from the guest speaker who will be telling us all about his recent trip to help the hurricane survivors!Have a great night!
Beth
One week...
For months, we've been counting down the days on both our fingers and our toes, and now the time seems to have just slipped right through our fingers. In one week from this very moment, we'll be almost done with our first day of building. This seems incredible, considering that I've spent most of today sitting on my couch, alternately studying for a midterm tonight and goofing off on the internet. I think the fact that I've wasted so much time today is concrete proof that, in the immortal words of Ms. Frizzle, "it's time to get messy, take chances, and make mistakes!" What better way is there to do that than by learning new things, helping others, and sucking every moment out of the experience while you're there?
See you in less than a week, New Orleans! Here we come.
See you in less than a week, New Orleans! Here we come.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Rock 'n' Bowl for Hurricane Katrina
February 8th, 2007
Tuesday night was our first Team event. We held a Rock 'n' Bowl for Hurricane Katrina at Bowlero Family Fun Centre to raise money for our Habitat for Humanity trip. The theme was Mardi Gras and people were dressed in bright vibrant colours and everyone got beads to wear. We all had a great time and made alot of money at the same time. We also had a 50/50 draw, prize draws, and refreshments. A few of the Floor Representatives from my building, Alumni Hall, made a team and we took on Team Electa. The competition was great and it was all for fun, but just to throw it out there, Team Alumni won. I just can't wait for our trip, only 16 days until we load the bus and head down South.
Tuesday night was our first Team event. We held a Rock 'n' Bowl for Hurricane Katrina at Bowlero Family Fun Centre to raise money for our Habitat for Humanity trip. The theme was Mardi Gras and people were dressed in bright vibrant colours and everyone got beads to wear. We all had a great time and made alot of money at the same time. We also had a 50/50 draw, prize draws, and refreshments. A few of the Floor Representatives from my building, Alumni Hall, made a team and we took on Team Electa. The competition was great and it was all for fun, but just to throw it out there, Team Alumni won. I just can't wait for our trip, only 16 days until we load the bus and head down South.
Fundraising
February 4th, 2007
Thursday's BBQ went well and boy was it cold out there. I can't believe all the people who came out and bought food at those tempuratures. Our BBQ on Friday was going well and then we ran into some problems when we ran out of propane. We had some pretty upset people who were unable to get food, but they understood that there was nothing we could do. I mean there are no stores open at 2:00am that we could go to to get a new propane tank. Tuesday is going to be our first Team activity. We are going bowling and have invited everyone to join in the fun. Even if people can't go to the actual event participants have pledge sheets and are getting support from friends and family members. All proceeds will be going towards Habitat for Humanity and our trip down to New Orleans.
Thursday's BBQ went well and boy was it cold out there. I can't believe all the people who came out and bought food at those tempuratures. Our BBQ on Friday was going well and then we ran into some problems when we ran out of propane. We had some pretty upset people who were unable to get food, but they understood that there was nothing we could do. I mean there are no stores open at 2:00am that we could go to to get a new propane tank. Tuesday is going to be our first Team activity. We are going bowling and have invited everyone to join in the fun. Even if people can't go to the actual event participants have pledge sheets and are getting support from friends and family members. All proceeds will be going towards Habitat for Humanity and our trip down to New Orleans.
The Count Down Begins
January 29th, 2007
Only 26 days until we pack up the bus and head down to New Orleans. I can't believe that we leave in less than a month. New Orleans is going to be so much fun. We've been doing so much fundraising so far and have made quite a bit from each activity. The BBQ's are my favourite. Too bad it's gotten so cold outside. But that doesn't seem to stop all the students from coming out and buying food. Our Rock 'n' Bowl is coming up and should bring in alot of money.
Only 26 days until we pack up the bus and head down to New Orleans. I can't believe that we leave in less than a month. New Orleans is going to be so much fun. We've been doing so much fundraising so far and have made quite a bit from each activity. The BBQ's are my favourite. Too bad it's gotten so cold outside. But that doesn't seem to stop all the students from coming out and buying food. Our Rock 'n' Bowl is coming up and should bring in alot of money.
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