NOLA

NOLA was such a mind – blowing experience and I am more than grateful that Pat and Britt were able to allow me to attend the trip despite a few issues that conflicted with the time.

Despite the fact that New Orleans was hit by Katrina, I find it to be a very beautiful city filled with beautiful people. Seeing places like the French Quarter and Bourbon Street was almost unbelievable. It’s almost as if in New Orleans every day is a celebration; there doesn’t need to be a sports game happening during the time. I look forward to attending the trip again in the future and maybe taking a road trip separately from TCNJ.

What I saw in New Orleans was not anywhere near what residents of the city saw or even Bonners that attended the NOLA trip a few years ago, but it was nonetheless still devastating. There were houses and buildings that haven’t been touched since the storm hit New Orleans. A lot of houses are so far spaced out even though they were all jam – packed together before the tragedy. It was amazing to see the home owners of the new and re-built houses still smiling and willing to tell their stories and what they’ve experienced.

Working at different sites ended up being a very rewarding feeling for me. I went to NOLA expecting to work on one building or house. However, working at multiple sites gave us the opportunity to help out when we were there and sometimes saw instant results. I believe that every little bit counts when it comes to being a blessing to someone else. We were just that; a blessing. It was great to experience working at the food bank and The Mission, only to see that the food bank made a delivery to the Mission a few days after. Come to find out, the food that we assisted in packing was delivered to the Mission.

What opened my eyes even more was that I already had a spirit of being helpful and a blessing when first arriving to NOLA. However, after seeing what we did and looking at the smiles on the faces of those in need after we accomplished a task was the most rewarding.

NOLA

I really had an amazing experience in NOLA this past week. I really enjoyed how we were able to volunteer through different programs throughout the week and was able to see different needs that New Orleans faces besides rebuilding homes. The first day of volunteering, I was able to go and work on a house with a few other Bonners. We mudded and painted the rooms of the house and really put our best effort into our work since we wanted to help as much as we can in the one day. Our homeowner was there so we got to talk to him throughout the day and learn of his experience during and after Hurricane Katrina. He had to tear down his house and rebuild a new one after the Hurricane and he has been living in a little trailer ever since. He can't imagine moving into a spacious home again and I was very thankful that he shared his story with us.

The following couple of days, we all were able to volunteer at the Rescue Mission of NOLA, ARC, and the food bank of NOLA. Working at the Rescue Mission of NOLA was a great experience. I was able to talk to the people who worked there and learn of their experiences as well as help them paint and clean up the place because HBO was going to film there that Friday and the mission was in a really bad condition. It is infested with rats and it is hard for the workers to keep the conditions of the place in tact by themselves so we helped them as much as we could in the three days we volunteered there. Hopefully the Rescue Mission will get good publicity and more donations by appearing on the show HBO was going to film there. We also went to the Food Bank of NOLA and was able to help separate and package up food for two half days. It was such a great bonding experience with the Bonners and was really rewarding when they announced that within only a few hours with our help they were able to package enough food to feed over 7,000 families a one-pound meal.

My favorite part of the trip was the very last day of work when a small group of Bonners went to the levee by the 9th ward and cleaned up that area. We worked really hard to clean up as much as we could and were determined to finish cleaning up the whole area by the levee. As we were doing this, we were also able to talk to a homeowner who had just moved back into the area after 5 years or so. Her house was right in front of where the levee broke and was completely destroyed. Thankfully, she had left prior to this and was not there when it had happened. She told us of how her block used to be full of houses and neighbors and now she is the only one living on the block. She really appreciated what we were doing to clean up by the levee. It was so rewarding to afterwards, drive over the bridge and see how clean we had made that area. It looked so great and our efforts paid off. Now when people drive over that bridge by the levee they won't have to see it trashed.

This past week with the Bonners in NOLA really brought me back to perspective and rejuvenated my passion for service. Being able to help in different ways on this trip was an incredible experience. We got to see beyond the destruction of houses and see the everyday needs that NOLA faces, such as the Rescue Mission and the food bank. I really bonded with the Bonners on this trip and hope to take back what I have learned and experienced to the work I do here.

Perspective

New Orleans was an amazing time. I am grateful I was able to experience such a fun time while doing some legitimate service. Through our frustrations and complaints, there was laughter, empathy and silliness that carried us all and bonded all of us. I am lucky to learn some more about the other serviceable areas of New Orleans, besides house building, and can use those experiences to learn from my own flaws as well as the new ideas we can bring to Trenton. In one of our reflections, we reflected about using these creative, organized ideas to improve some of our own sites, as well as sharing our experiences with fellow students and community in the Northeast using conversation, photographs, and publicizing the need that still resides in NOLA.

My last day, I spent a majority of timeat the Green Project, which I absolutely loved. The concepts for the Green Project and the Arc are awesome, and I wish we had such recycling/environmental sites nearby. I unhinged doors for further recycling/building and recycled paints. I spent a good half hour painting the TCNJ shield onto the wall behind the mixed paints, but so worth it.

They basically receive donations of paints and other building materials, consolidate and organize them, and resell them. This promotes recycling and sustainability, especially during such a time when numerous homes are still being rebuilt. For some reason, doing physical work (labor instead of working with people) feels good because I can actually see physical and immediate results. The soreness you get from insulating a house or leveling a frontyard is a reminder of the work you put in the previous day.

I hope I get the chance to go back. Bonding with Bonners and laughing more than I have in a while, jazz clubs, Mother's seafood gumbo, Mardi Gras beads... good times. I'm going to miss everybody while I'm abroad in Paris but I am inspired to find a soup kitchen or rescue mission to serve there when I have time :)

Bonner Love <3
Tiff Teng

Post-Trip

Overall, this trip has matured my attitude. Throughout the week, we were unsure of what we were going to be doing each day. Having grown up in the Northeast, I undoubtedly developed a “northeastern” mentality that caused me to be irritated by all of the uncertainty. After two days and two conversations with new friends, I concluded to stop worrying about tomorrow’s circumstances and work on my response to each circumstance I find myself in at each particular moment. Today’s circumstances are out of our control but we can control our responses. This trip has encouraged me to wear a positive attitude regardless of what type of service I am doing. The trip was also filled with much laughter. Looking back on the trip, I can see that my new friends and I came home with a new determination to keep an optimistic attitude while serving others.

Nick L

My final experiences of New Orleans were really great! I was able to briefly see for myself the great initiatives that the Arc had been taking in recycling mardi gras beads while giving adults with disabilities job opportunities through the company.

I was able to spend the majority of my day at The Green Project, assisting in the recycling process of materials from damaged homes such as lumber, windows, doors, mantles and paints. This site was by far one of the most unique and certainly one of my favorites.

Overall this trip allowed us to gain perspective on not only the reality of the disaster that had occurred several years ago but also how the effects of the hurricane are still taking a toll on the city in various aspects. We had a great opportunity to experience these sites and rebuild the city, although it prevented us from rebuilding homes as we had initially intended. The last night in the city was surreal because I could not believe how quickly the week had gone by. We were working hard and had done so much that for me, all of the days had kind of blended together. Friday night in particular however was a great night, because I was able to let loose and sing my head off during karaoke with some of the greatest people I have met- not only through the Bonner program but at TCNJ as well.

I would go back to that night and replay certain parts over and over again because all I need in my life is good people and some good laughs.

I hope to be able to spend some time with the friends I have gotten closer to this week throughout the spring semester, and continue to do great things together in Jersey.

I now also have confidence in my van driving and vocal skills - just for the record.

B<3! Gargweelow

NOLA   blog 4    
       Well…in just a few hours we will bedeparting on the obnoxiously long journey back to Ewing, NJ.  I have had some great experiences here…but Iam feeling a little homesick.  I didn’tget the chance to see my mother that much during the break, so I am lookingforward to that.  However, I am NOTlooking forward to that 24-25 hour van ride back to New Jersey.
                Overall,I can safely say that I accomplished all of my goals on this trip, namely thatof getting to know my fellow Bonners on a more personal level.  Not only did I make some really good friends,but I found a person that can only be described as my “personalitydoppelganger”.  We share so manyinterests and character traits!  I wouldhave never made this connection to this person had I not gone on this trip.
                Themost shocking thing that I encountered on this trip was the sight of theabandoned Six Flags New Orleans theme park. For me, it wasn’t the fact that it was abandoned and degrading in themiddle of the bayou; instead, it was this huge testament to the fact that somuch has been forgotten in New Orleans. I didn’t even know that the amusement park was there...just like somepeople in the US don’t realize how much damage is left in the New Orleans area.  Just because the devastation is no longer inthe media, New Orleans has been forgotten by many…like the abandoned amusementpark.
                Doingservice here has opened my eyes to the fact that people not only need majorthings (like their houses being re-built), but they also need volunteers tohelp them with smaller tasks…tasks that will help progress in New Orleanscontinue.  At one point on this trip, Iput paint into buckets.  While I ponderedthe reasoning behind the need for volunteers to do this task, I came to realizethat the buckets I was filling were part of the prep work needed to rebuild ahouse.  You need supplies before you canbuild, and if you don’t build progress will remain static.
                As Ireflect, I think of some things on a personal level…
I had an older second cousin, bornand raised in Pennsylvania, named Howard Evans, who passed away some years ago.  I never met him.  He lived in New Orleans and taught mathematicsat the University of New Orleans.  Heliked living there and enjoyed the people from the area. I’m sure that if hewere alive today, he would admire the spirit of dedication that the people ofNew Orleans have, their tenacity to rebuild.
                My heartgoes out to New Orleans.  I know that ourBonner group has helped to carry the load in some way…even if it was just for afew steps in the marathon of restoration it needs to bring glory to this cityonce again.

The Sound of Hope

Today was our last day of service here in New Orleans. My group spent the first part of our day at the ARC and then went down to the lower ninth to clean up some trash by the levees. After cleaning approximately 0.7 miles of grass along the levees I took a minute to sit and just take in the environment which I was surrounded by. The quietness and emptiness of the neighborhood was overwhelmingly eerie. I was less than 1000 feet from the place where the barge broke through the levees, yet somehow this was not a sad environment. This was a work in progress, a rebuilding effort. This week has given me such insight into the power that people have to overcome all adversity with good spirit.