Back home

I feel as though I have been back for a month...It feels like so far away with all the hard work we did and everything we were able to accomplish each day. I want to be back there and help out some more. I feel like it was not enough. I know what we did was a lot, but in the whole scheme of things, it just felt like so little in comparison to what more they need done over there.
I was so proud of everyone on this trip and the bonds we all made with each other. Stephanie made it on the roof and was chiseling away at setting the gables even though it was not in her comfort zone, people were learning things and doing things that they have never done before - like Deepak using the sawzall all day on Day 3 cutting out a lot of the windows and doors - I know Juliette and Kathryn did the same - not sure if they ever used a sawzall before. I have never used any saws of any kind including the circular saw - and when Eric told me to find LUMBER to cut out to the different sizes - I did just that, and once I found them all, I went off on my own to set them in the vise grip. When it was steady and measured out, I cut it with the circular saw with my trusty goggles!
I bought kneepads on one of our trips this week to Home Depot and boy, did it help! I had no idea how much I would have needed them. It was just for little things like those hard to reach angles on the roof/attic where you need to chisel or hammer in nails and needed to kneel on something. Along with leaning up against the ladder - I felt so much better the days after I got the kneepads because they no longer hurt. We all wanted to purchase a nail gun (to donate once we were done) to help get things done faster so we can move on to the bigger things, but it was mentioned that it was not 'volunteer-friendly' so it was probably not a good idea to get and leave. So, we finished up the job the old fashioned way with the hammers, nails, and muscle power :)
I would have never been able to have this time with all these people in one place for this long period of time. I really feel a lot closer to the other 8 members in GTS here at XL because of the time we spent. Each person was tremendously generous in all aspects and we all worked amazingly well together. It was said by one of us that we were all on this trip because we were all compassionately giving to give our time and other things...this could be why we all got along so well and were so supportive of each other. Even when we were nearing the end of the day and heard the music from around the corner that marked (What Eric called) "Ice Cream-thirty", there was always someone to buy the ice cream snacks for the whole team at the site to help give us the boost to finish out the rest of the work for the day. Just a small thing we each did for each other that was such a GENEROUS thing to help us along the way of this week of selfless work. I really and truly enjoyed my time with everyone I worked with this week. Everyone had such a great personality and we worked well together in getting the job done quickly. Even Peter, the foreman was really happy with the progress we made and how well the work moved along each day.
I know there was a lot of little details that we were able to accomplish in the small time we were there and we helped out a lot. I was just hoping to leave it so the roof was all done and we were able to set all the Tyvek up on the walls and roofing. This is why I want to go back - haha, so I can help finish the house, but it won't be fully complete for a few months at least.

This just goes to show that there are so many ways in life that we can all help out and we can all help each other around the world. Again, another small piece of a pie that not just one person or one group of people can accomplish. It needs to be done in thousands and millions of groups to get it done quicker or in a more complete fashion. But we can all do what we can in our every day lives to make the difference and make each day count in the big picture of life. I definitely have a different view on things and my perspective has changed for the better.

Day 4 - And That's A Wrap!!!

Day 4 - Morning News !!!

Day 3 Wrap up with Eric

XL Trip to New Orleans Habitat for Humanity at the Job site
Apr 2008

Day 3 Wrap up with Eric

All the trusses are up (this was the most amazing part)
Doors and windows have been cut
Framing is complete

CHECK!

This has been such an amazing trip all around. Being with the people who are making a difference especially all my colleagues who are just so awesome to be around. Being around supportive and caring people all day long make the day pass so quickly!
When we show up at the job site and have tasks to do for the day - they get done by time we leave. That is something that is hard sometimes in my world, so being able to have a "To Do List" that is complete and all 'checked off" by the end of the day is so rewarding and uplifting. Not to mention it is for a nice woman who is watching the making of her brand new house after this natural disaster and tragedy.

For me, doing all of this carpentry work is something NEW! I used to do little things back in the day when I was little with my dad - you know, the little bird house-type crafts and the Girl Scout crafts with my mom - this is NOTHING compared to that. I helped put up walls, supporting beams, rat runners, trusses (the roof/attic), used a bunch of saws to cut different pieces of wood, and I also helped move these different pieces of wood all over the place with the big guys! When we were heaving the trusses up three ladders yesterday to place them on the top of the house, I thought I was bench pressing an elephant then carrying it with me up the ladder to heave it on top of the house! I didn't know I would have the muscles for such a task - but with two other guys on the sides assisting - it really helped!

I am glad that I get to be here to listen to the locals talk about their story and their life after the Katrina disaster. You get it first hand and from the horses mouth how they had to deal and now how they have to cope with everything. It is still not over for ANYONE - 3 years later. At least we are giving one tiny little hand in what can make a difference. If we weren't here (any of us through Habitat for Humanity or at Camp Hope), then these efforts would take that much longer!

TTYL. ~C

Quotes of the week

Where's DEEPAK????!!!!
Chicken A$$
Are there Gators in there?
I'm looking for LUMBER
Get that camera away
What time is curfew tonight?
Turn RIGHT on North Rampart
I don't know, but its probably time for Beer
Anyone want TrailMix?
Water Break
I want to try the MRE
I think we missed Canal Street
Ice Cream Truck! Its Ice Cream-thirty

Day 2 Wrap up

Video of Day 2 Wrap up

XL group of 9 reviewing work done on Day 2 with with Eric (Habitat for Humanity) foreman/leader

Watch Video on Youtube

Battleground of 1815

We visited an old battle ground and got a few photos of the monument, some beautiful oak trees and an old plantation style house.

After a Hard Day of Work

After spending the day swinging a hammer, carrying supplies, and cutting wood, we gathered for a group photo in front of the house we're working on.

We made some good progress for the first day. Lots of sheating was added to the exterior walls and the interior walls were strenghtened. Hopefully by the end of the week we can get a finished roof on it as well.

Working on Someone's House

We got our assignment for the week and headed over to help build someone's house. We met Eric there, the building supervisor, and got to work after a brief orientation.

Kathryn putting up some sheathing

Getting Ready to Work

We met as a group along with several other groups waiting to see what our assignment would be. Tom was definetly ready for the work at hand.

Here's the group, ready for labor.

Day 2 Highlights

XL Trip to New Orleans
Habitat for Humanity at the Job site
Apr 2008
Day 2 Highlights

Stephanie learns to use a circular saw and a sawzol
Cuts are made in the truss for the gables
The truss(es) for the roof go up - this is worth seeing

Empty Spaces

Everywhere you look there are homes that need to be demolished, are beind demolished or are waiting to be gutted to start renovations. This also applies to businesses which means there aren't any jobs and the local economy is still devastated. What was most noteable to me was the absence of people, traffic and the emptiness of entire neighborhoods. Here are a few photos to illustrate this point.

Walking around the French Quarter

We walked around the French Quarter before the group dinner. Some people did some shopping, others stopped for a refreshing drink and we checked out some of the touristy spots.


We saw what looked like steamboat.

Group Dinner

The entire group met for dinner at Olivier's Creole in the French quarter. It was a delicious mean with lots of local flavor.

We took this opportunity to get a group photo.

Abandoned Houses

We took a bus tour of the areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The tour guide was excellent and a local guy from New Orleans.

There is an unbelievable number of abandoned houses in New Orleans almost 3 years after Katrina. It's really sad to see that so many families and neighborhoods never returned or recovered. With all the home building hopefully that will turn around in the coming years.

Someone let looters know that if they take from this house their life is at risk.

In the Bayou

We visited the LosIsleños Festival which had live music, lots of local food, games, beer and some arts and crafts. We also walked around and look at some of the old buildings.

Camp Hope

Camp Hope is a school that was leased by Habitat for Hunanity and converted into a dormitory style residence. After checking in, getting a brief tour and being assigned to a room we made our beds and settled in.

Live to love in a world of constant change

Monday, April 7, 2008

The XL group got here yesterday from New York / CT / Bermuda

It became evident to us from the ride back from the airport to Camp Hope, the aftermaths of Katrina were still evident 3 years after.

The city is down to 40% of its original population. There are so many homes still boarded up and waiting to be rebuilt. The differences between down town with the fancy hotels (Canal street) and the poor devastated areas where the levy broke was like night and day.

The spirit of caring and service is every where here at Camp Hope.

There are many long term volunteers from all age groups and parts of the country all wanting to make a difference and rebuild New Orleans. Our camp director is a volunteer for last 5 months.

What is touching to me is the 18 - 24 year olds who make up AmeriCorps dedicating 10 months of their life to this and other humanitarian causes. We spoke to one such AmeriCorp volunteer Celia from Georgia who had just graduated from college and was taking a breather by giving 10 months of her life to Habitat for Humanity before moving on with her life

What was also touching were the 800 college students who were here last week. They dedicated their spring break to this humanitarian cause rather than party and drink and do the traditional spring break most college students do.

We spoke to a long term resident who incidentally was our shuttle bus driver, he lost his home to Katrina and had to relocate to another part of town

This is truly an experience that will change our lives for ever. We look forward to making a difference here with our hands and spirit.

More later

Deepak
A quote I found on the message board by a college student
"Live to love in a world of constant change"

Notes from Day 1 (Sunday April 6, 2008)

A bunch of the XL group met at the New Orleans airport at about 1pm and headed toward Camp Hope after jamming massive amounts of luggage into a minivan. The drive was quite interesting with the scenery dramatically changing along the way with varying degrees of devastation. We passed by the Superdome on the highway where hundreds of people huddled waiting for assistance after Katrina passed. While driving to St. Bernard Parish we passed house after house that were no longer someone's home. and were just shells of where a family used to live. So many were so severely damaged that they were uninhabitable. There were missing roofs, windows, doors, siding and in some cases entire walls were gone. It's very sad to see all this and to take notice of all the people who are no longer living in this area. The current population, more than 2 and a half years after Katrina, is 60% less that was it was. There are so many businesses that never rebuilt and many more that just didn't reopen.

We arrived at Camp Hope at about 4pm and met Bruce at the front desk. Bruce is the Assistant Director and has been at Camp Hope for several months as a long term volunteer. He helped check us in as a group, gave a quick orientation and quick tour. As we were checking in there were a few other small groups getting settled. Bruce said that Camp Hope can hold about 800 volunteers and just before Christmas the number of volunteers exceeded that. This week there will be about 180 volunteers staying at Camp Hope with about 50 from AmeriCorps and another 15 are long term Camp Hope volunteers.

After settling in at Camp Hope we took a quick shuttle over to a nonprofit cultural festival with music, food, beer, games and some arts and crafts. They had jumbalaya, gumbo, gator sausage and other local fare. People were dancing and having a good time. We then drove into the French Quarter and walked around Bourbon Street which was quite interesting. The French Quarter was bustling with music, people, lights and other activity. We had dinner at an outdoor eating area with some local jazz musicians playing what sounded like classic New Orleans music. I had chicken and sausage jumbalaya which is a rice based dish. It was very good and a bit spicy. The whole eating experience was very cool and what anticipated such a New Orleans experience would be like. It was a perfect evening to dine out with the temp around a perfect 70 degrees. We met up with a Kathryn and Juliette at the W Hotel. They had lots of goodies for us including t-shirts, backpacks, and other stuff. We had a drink and chatted a bit before heading back to Camp Hope at about 11pm to get some rest.

The first day in New Orleans was eventful and bitter-sweet. This is my first time in New Orleans and I love to see new places with such a rich history. It's just really hard to see what is there along with what probably was with all the devastation and decimated communities.

Day 0 - Tour of Camp Hope

Day 0 (Sunday, April 6th)
Day of Arrival

Bruce, the Assistant Director of Camp Hope gives the XL folks a tour of Camp Hope