Leslie- from Sunday 5/28/06

Sunday 5/28/2006

"Southern Hospitality"

I needed time to myself to relax and reflect on my week and I also had some homework to do for my internship. I went to Starbucks, which is about a 20 minute walk from "base." I don't appreciate those little luxuries of life until you're sitting there in the big comfy chair drinking your coffee. Don't get me wrong, most of the city is still in ruins but we're in the area that only had wind damage- no flooding.

I decided to take a cab back because it was dark and it was unsafe for me to walk back by myself that late. I called the cab company around 8pm and they told me a cab would be at Starbucks within 5-10 minutes. Well, 8:10 came... 8:15, 8:20, 8:25, 8:30... so I called the cab company again. They said it would be entered again and it would be another 5-10 minutes. By 9pm I was in a panic, I mean, I was stranded in a foreign city. I walked across the street to the gas station and saw a cab driver filling up his tank. I asked him where he was going and it was nowhere near where I needed to go. At that point despite my attempts to hold them back, I burst into tears. The driver told me to come on and ride along. He would make an extra trip because it upset him to see me crying.

I got in the car and he asked me where I needed to go and I told him the address and said "Hands On." When he rememered what Hands On was, he told me his wife of 45 years drowned in Katrina and his house was completely flattened - he lost everything. He was talking to me quite a bit about Katrina's aftermath the time we were in the car and how it affected him. When he dropped me off at my street I asked him how much I owed him and he just chuckled and said "You're down here helping us... you're one of the few. From now on if I happen to drive you again it's always on the house." He waited to make sure that I got inside safely before driving away. I had felt so unsafe on that street corner waiting for my cab and was in so much distress. He was able to calm me down and also share with me his story. I returned to Hands On feeling better that night, I had so much appreciation for that man and the city of New Orleans. It didn't take much looking to find someone who was willing to lend me a helping hand. I have experienced so much gratitude from the people here. I am constantly wondering why so many others neglect to help. I know that their spirits are shaken but I respect that they are still this strong.

New Orleans, thank you for welcoming me into your city.

NOLA DAY!

TOday was a very informative, but intersting day I must say. We did not do any Guts today, We received money from Earl Schwartz to do educational things. We all decided to go on the Gray Line tour, which covers parts of the Katrina disaster in a 3 hour tour. It was amazing. The man who led the tour, Joe, knew a lot about the city and the individual people that have lived in NEw Orleans. He took us around to various spots of the city and described some of the damage that occurred. Also he noted on some of the event shtta happened. he talked about where he was at during the storm. He actually went to the hotel that was right next to the Superdome and waited out the storm. He says that he did not know anything about the water, because no one did. All he remembers was staying inside of the hotel, and experiencing the breaking of the windows, because the roof of the superdome was flying off and hitting the hotel. It was pretty eery to hear his story. he also talked about what happened at the convention center. People were dying in from and inside of the building. It was so sad to hear baout that because the whole time I was listening I was trying to picture myself in the situation. It was very hot on those days and there was no food or water, let alone no air conditioner, so people were suffering. People were being seperated from their loved ones so that they could be evacuated. The worst part was that there was over a thousand children who were seperated from their parents, and the last child was just recently reunited with their parents in the last few months. We saw a house that had the typical X that showed what was found in the houses and who searched them, but this house was different however. It had to X's, because a lot of the national guards were searching the houses in boats and were unable to get into the houses because the water was too high. Then when the water went down, it was searched 2 weeks later and 2 bodies were found at that time. At the end he let us know that 3 dollars from our ticket price was going to a charity of our choice, and we had five to choose from. i chose to donate to the SPCA which helps in recovering Animals. He also gave us a template of a letter to write to our congresspeople, I thought that the tour was amazing, and I am going to try and push for that to be included on the CSI trips next spring, it was so informative, and it also gives an opportunity to give a portion to a charity. While being here i am being faced with many obstacles that give me ideas for how to add new twists and experiences to the CSI trips. I would like to a see a community outreach of some form. Last trip we did a lot of gutting, and that is great and next year, when it calls we should definitely continue. However I see a lot of opportunities to help the community outside of gutting. If we could find places in the ommunity to volunteer we could do that. For example we could work with the school, and help pass out tests or somehting like that, the schools are always looking for people to help. A group of us Hamline students were walking down the street the other day and the prinicipal of the school invited us in for sandwiches I would love to take a full day with the kids and read and play, we could do something so awesome. There is also a lack of workers down here when it comes to sanitation. The parks are open, but there are no workers to pick up the trash that people leave, after they have finished their picnics. We could do that. I am trying to brainstorm as many ideas as possible and if I pitch them properly hopefully people will see them as interesting ideas. I am tired but still in good spirits.
TOny Wilson

Toni's Update, ver. 2.0

And here we go....again.

My flight down here was fine (there was a little turbulence, but the person next to me didn't make the flight so I had room to spread myself out). I got to HONO and Brittany and Andreas came out to catch me up on the happenings and help me set up my tent. BTW, bringing a tent was definately one of my better ideas. Thumbs up for me. W00t.

The original NCCC team pulled out a few weeks (or something) ago. Kind of sad. I'll miss Sally and Steph and Kenda and everyone. Nic and Kristin and Allison are still here, though, so its all good.

We Hamliners are taking the Grey Line tour this morning. We have to leave in 13ish minutes, so I'm gonna go make sure the rest of us are up.

-Toni

School Gutting

Today was our fifth day here and instead of the usual house gutting or de-molding experience, we had a new challenge: school gutting. Pre-Katrina New Orleans had around 120 schools (I'm not sure if that is 120 elementary schools or all k-12) and now, 9 months after the hurricane only 20 of those 120 have re-opened. So today, myself and 30-40 other HandsOn and AmeriCorps volunteers began gutting a nearby elementary school. This was a very overwhelming project. There are so many classrooms with so many desks, books, art supplies, papers, toys, and tables that we worked for hours and only a few classrooms actually got cleared out. I cringed everytime I had to throw out a brand new chair or a package of never used books. Although it seemed like all these things were perfectly fine, the mold spores are quite the nasty little problem. In a building such as a school, mold from the very bottom can produce spores that float up, into the ventilation and throughout the entire building. Therefore, books that, to the naked eye were perfect, actually may have had mold spores everywhere on or in them. I relalized how much work it will take to gut and rebuild this one elementary school and when I started thinking about it, I became very overwhelmed. Not only for myself and the rest of the volunteers on site that day but for everyone who will contribute to the re-opening of all New Orleans' schools. Having schools open is such a powerful and important thing for a city. Knowing that children would one day (hopefully very soon) be able to return to that building knowing that they dont have to worry about mold or respiratory infections was my motivation today. There were so many times I didnt think I could possibly lift one more stack of books or one more tiny chair I had to think of the children who are not in school now and will return to that or any other New Orleans school soon.

~Brittany Dalzell

Leslie's POST number 2!!!

May 27th 2006

Today was a day like none other... out of all the time spent in New Orleans I've never had a time where I wanted to cry at the actual work-site. We gutted an elementary school today...



We filled three dumpsters in a matter of two hours. When I walked in I saw all of the miniature desks, chairs, and cubbies. What struck me the most however was the chalkboard. "Welcome back to school! August 26th 2005!" All of the classrooms had the date on the blackboard, "August 26th 2005." There were tardy slips on the teacher's desks... "August 22nd 2006- Tardy, Overslept." It was literally frozen in time. It was an emotionally charged experience. With our Tyvek suits on and gas masks it was difficult to give nonverbal communication cues with the other 30 or so people at our site. But I could see it in their eyes. We all could feel the innocence of childhood that was stripped away by the flood waters ever present in the abandoned building. One of the girls from Pennsylvania said it so simply, "We shouldn't have to be doing this... they're just children, where did they all go?"



The second floor didn't get flooded but I went upstairs anyway- simply because of morbid curiosity. It was perfectly intact, chairs still stacked neatly on the desks from the day before the storm. However, one thing sent chills through my bones- the broken glass. What could this all be from? Perhaps the windows broke during the storm because of the wind? But then why would it be in the middle of the building where there was no windows? But then I figured it out... they must have had to punch open the window of each classroom door while searching for dead bodies. The doors were locked so the windows were the only way to get in.



Computers, tardy slips, books and more books, desks, chairs, construction paper, assignments, pencils and crayons... all thrown haphazardly in three large dumpsters facing the building. One time I saw folders with each child's name neatly etched on them in marker... I opened one up and it had all of the assignments from the previous year. Coloring shapes, math problems, and writing practice... all neatly compiled into a folder for each student. Their entire school year heaped onto the tiles, with a topping of mold to insult their academic pursuits even more. Too much work and effort went into those folders... I just couldn't do it. I simply walked away and resumed gutting less personal objects such as piles of moldy paper and rows of chairs. From time to time pockets of flood water would gush out from behind the pieces of furniture. The water was the icing on the cake for conceptualization... when the water gushed out I thought "wow-- this really was in here." I tend to forget about the water until pockets come out like that. I am too busy fighting off the heat, focusing on the project, thinking of all the displaced children, and trying not to touch the mold. When the water comes out of the walls it adds a whole new element to the already emotionally disturbing experience.



This is the first time in awhile I have felt so confused. Usually I understand what I am so upset about, but this is something beyond my comprehension. These aren't isolated incidents, they are the hallmark of the Gulf Coast here in May of 2006. The chalk boards all displayed "August 26th 2005." I still cannot get that date out of my head. If you've ever wondered what it is like to go back in time I suggest you travel to the Gulf Coast. Get here when you can... but apparently there's no need to rush because it is only nine months later and Hands On is gutting their first school. There are simply just not enough volunteers down here to speed things up. There's some volunteers which New Orleans greatly appreciates and welcomes with open arms- but there's just not enough. This is America & right now I feel like I'm living in a third world country.

~Leslie~

leslie

LESLIE: POST #1 Holla!!!~
Leslie's First Post... ever!!!
Today is my 4th day in New Orleans. I wanted to blog earlier but I was unable to get to a computer. Today we went to an animal shelter in Slidell. It was a shelter of abandoned animals that were either left behind or their owners had died during Katrina. There were a few with three legs, and there were even two kittens with only one eye- it was very depressing. I was very moved that this woman took in all these animals and I called my mother back home to see about adopting one and she agreed! His name is Newt and he is between 8-10 lbs, half doxen and half... something else! Because he is so small I will be able to take him back home with me on the plane. (: She expects that I come visit him every week however until August, because she wants me to bond with him prior to taking him back up to Minneapolis so he won't be scared coming home.
I was very ashamed at myself about how little I was affected by the destruction of the city this time. Sure, it is still hideous but it didn't hit me like last time. I was here two months ago, how could I get used to this devestation that fast? I feel very cold. The water lines on the homes, the homes that say "dead bodies" or "no dogs found." Before it filled my eyes with tears and now it doesn't even hit me. After you see devestation for so long it starts to become "normal." I know it's not normal but a part of me just forgets it's destroyed even walking by it because that's all I see. Is that what the government is doing? Is it now normal to them too?!?!
I have been talking to residents as much as possible to hear how this effected them, being that this is what I want to achieve in my independent study (although getting the volunteer perspective may be easier). I've heard a lot of sad stories within 4 days. People are always willing to talk, they've been ignored, they want people to hear their story. A gentleman at the post office told me that he was seeking shelter in the convention center, and from there they all were put on busses to different areas in the United States. He was in Salt Lake City, Utah for a week before he even bothered to ask where he was! All that mattered was that he and his 3 1/2 year old daughter were safe. From there he was sheltered in PA, and now he finally is back home with his old job back, but starting from scratch because he's lost everything. Apparantly his daughter still asks what happened to her kitty... the father says "the kitty is in a new home [meaning heaven] now."
I have a job at Xavier University until August working with kids that were affected by Katrina. Lurelia got the job for me! It will also count as an internsahip for Hamline as long as I pay for the credits. I feel so immoral for getting credits for this... I am benefitting from someone else's loss? And why should Hamline capitalize off of a volunteer program when right now they're not even down here and Lurelia was the one who got me this job in the first place and now Hamline... my transcript will give credit to them! I might be overanalyzing this but the entire concept of Hamline's reaction frustrates me.
Okay, it's time to eat! I will be sure to be better about blogging!!! (-;
~*~Leslie~*~

FEMA

fema drill
Post by ANdreasYesterday I went to a mock evacuation drill put on by Fema. My roll was to act as numerous individuals each time I past through the registration. the objective was to see if Femas database worked. We discovered many glitches while enjoying the fact that we got to make up numerous characters and stories. After seeing if the database system worked we were shiped to an old peoples home where we had to pretend to be at least over 65 and could choose to have some type of disability if we wanted to. Last but not least we practiced boarding an actual Amtrack train adn an actual Greyhound. The most important thing I learned was that in the case of an evacuation if you can not walk or climb stairs you can not easily escape or evacuate your city unless you have acess to a car. we were going to go back to day for a follow up and adress concerns we had while practicing the evactuation yesterday. Yet Fema cancelled at about 9:00 in the morning after we had already made our way to the location of the drill. This only added to my and many otheres concern about femas ability to plan or should I say lack there of. I do though have to give Fema credit for attemptingt to fix the mistakes in its system.-Andreas-

Demolding Experience

Today was the first time that I, ANthony Wilson ever did the demolding part. which for people who do not know, it is the last part of the gutting process. First a team has to go into the house and take out all of the moldy furniture, then the knocking down of the plaster and celings comes, along with taking out the nails, until only the studs are left. Then we have to go through the house with a wire brush and scrape all of the mold off of the studs, then we vaccuum all of the dirt from the studs and scrub the studs witha cleaning solution. After this, the houses are done and the families are able to begin the rebuilding phase of putting their lives back together. It felt really good to finish this process. Over Spring Break all I witnessed was the beginning, of taking out someones home, but this process gave me the hope that things can be rebuilt, and that one day NEw Orleans will be full of life and happy people again, unstead of the despair that is currently upon the city. We worked with a great bunch of students who were from Albright College, in Reading, Pennsylvania. They were led by one girl who is going to be a junior, she organized their whole trip including fundraising. Its amazing the spirit that these individuals have, because all they want to do it help, and learn while they are doing it. It was amazing to hear how supportive there school was in helping them all get to hear, and making a commitment to continually send people to NEw Orleans to learn about the history and to help rebuild. I only wish we could get a commitment from Hamline, but I am not going to stress over it because I know that if I want to help down here I can make it happen, and hopefully help many people along the way. I I was here two months ago and everything looks exactly the same, and I still find myself asking myself the same questions. "How could the trusted officials allow this to look this way one month into hurricane season." This heat is very trying on our bodies, I think we all have agreed. We are taking more breaks than last time, but it is alright because we are supporting each other, because I know we are all working ver y hard and pushing ourselves, we are just making sure that we dont hurt outselves. Well I am going to go and eat some good old Southern chicken, I just have to figure out where.
Peace
TOny WIlson

Nola Day No. 1

This is May 23rd, my name is Eric Petzschke and today I gutted a house. I believe the location of the gutting was located in a surrounding city of New Orleans, but do not take me one-hundred percent on the surety of the location. The importance is the feeling of the area. It felt like what would be expected to be felt gutting a house of any hurricane wrecked area in the New Orleans area, or so my colleagues told me of their other experiences when gutting the houses of New Orleans during spring break. I did not realize that the gutting was as demoliting as it was. I also did not know of the full process. I believed to not make any expectations of what was to come today, and in the end concluded a few noteworthy gutting principles here. I learned such things as the difficulty of tearing down ceilings, though I did not dare doing so today. On of our Hamline student said while he was trying to tear down ceiling, plaster hit him in the noise and he thought it may have led to a sprain. I also learned the fact of the way in which huge piles were created of the "guts" of the gutted house. I thought it was interesting that, though Hands On was working with the people of New Orleans with the gutting, our surrounding neighborhood at Hands On is predominantly black while Hands On is predominantly white. It seems clear that even among those at Hands On, there is work possible towards intergration. I thought of the idea of welcoming many of those surrounding us into the church. I remembered one of my friends telling me of the situation at his church in southern minnesota. The church leaders only wanted a few younger adults to play community basketball games. But the this desire came out when my friend invited a few younger adults to the game. And I wondered, in the light of Nola, would I be stopped from allowing an equal disportion of african americans into Hands On activities? I am not coming to any conclusions, but simply, wondering.

-Eric Petzschke

We're Back!!!

Hello everyone I am very proud to be one of the many Hamline Students returning to New Orleans to continue with the hard word at hand.Several students left Saint Paul yesterday to return to Hands On to gut houses while I will be returning June 3 to be Dean of Faculty of Gulf South Youth Action Corps-a summer program for middle school students housed at Xavier University.Please keep reading our blog and add your questions and comments.We look forward to sharing our experiences with you all.Love to all you guys already back in Crescent City.


MAKE LEVESS NOT WAR!!!


Lurelia Freeman
Post Bacc Education Student