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.

Friday Blog - The NOLA Smorgasbord of Service

My ‘pre nola’ blog was about perspective... being fair to the situation at hand... appreciating the experience... as well as challenging each other (and ourselves) to ‘serve outside of our comfort zone’...

Now as the week comes to an end I’m reflecting back on my own words as I review my service experiences:

Monday - insulated a home.

Tuesday - completed some paperwork & packaged goods for a food bank.

Wednesday - sorted recycled beads.

Thursday - recycled paints and organized shelves.

Friday - sorted recycled beads.

And as I review the qualities of each nonprofit organized we worked with:

organized... happy... enthusiastic... passionate...

All in all, I learned so much about the needs of NOLA that don’t just consist of rebuilding of homes, but the area as a whole. As I think, I can’t help but compare it so greatly to what Bonner accomplishes in Trenton every day as we work in so many areas... helping the homeless, mentally challenged, environment... all of which we were able to do this week!

So I have declared this week my ‘Smorgasbord of Service,’ and I’m so happy to have embraced it, because in the end, we reached so many lives - not just a few families... thinking about it in numbers, a few examples: how within a few hours that we served at the food bank we packaged almost 9,000 lbs of food... within 3 days of sorting beads we easily recycled 15,000 lbs of Mardi Gras beads...

I believe strongly in the gift of gratitude. Tonight, on our last night here in New Orleans, I am grateful most importantly for the service, but also for the people I was able to share with it in. I created bonds with many new Bonners and strengthened those that have previously existed with others. I’m grateful to have been here to listen to the new Bonners’ experiences and thoughts, as well as take from my peers the true, honest realizations of what this week was... In the words of a fellow Bonner Scholar:

“This week we may not have rebuilt homes - we rebuilt lives.”

Bonner Love,

Danielle

Wednesday Blog - Inspiration

This past year I worked at a summer program Bonner held for high school students. They were a great group of kids and truly touched my heart as we served together in Trenton. We made many imprints on each other’s lives; yet since the camp, I haven’t taken any time to reflect upon their impact on me...

...Coming back from service in the middle of the week, we were all beginning to feel down about not being able to work consecutively on a home project for the entire week. Some days people found themselves doing physical labor at a nonprofit called Mission which helps the homeless population here. One day, many people, myself included, spoke openly on the van ride back about the “hard work” we had to do. We weren’t complaining - just mutually reflecting together and there seemed to be a lack of inspiration within our group. When we returned to our housing area, I laid down on my bed before dinner and looked for the most mindless activity to take up my 5 minute break: facebook...

I began looking through the pages of some of my students at the Bonner summer program. One girl who I admired dearly came to mind and I scrolled through her page. This is where I found a recent status of hers that stated:

“Every time I hear someone say life is hard, I want to challenge them to think ‘life is hard, but in comparison to what?’ ”

Suddenly I had my inspiration in the most unusual places, by a girl I was mentoring through her first service camp... It felt so ironic, yet needed.

Yes, our service was unusually challenging this week, but it is a blessing to have been given a life where we are able to work for others rather than being the people in need.

So, though this week wasn’t the work many have hoped for, we are blessed to have been serving the very amazing people of New Orleans and still making an important and beautiful difference in the area.

Bonner Love,

Danielle

Monday Blog - The start of another great week...

Beginning our first few days in NOLA, we did a few small tours around the area showing the Lower & Upper Ninth Wards, Levees, etc. As a chaperone of the trip, I’ve already been through these experiences, but this time I was driving and helping guide my van when I had a bit of extra knowledge. It was amazing to be here and see the passion to serve others increase within just a few hours of touring. The Bonner Scholars truly are an amazing group of individuals and I felt so ready for the work week!

Bonner Love,

Danielle

Some Pictures!

NOLA Trip - Part 1 of 2

I am excited to be back in New Orleans again. As many people know, this is one of my favorite cities and it is always more exciting for me to be able to show it to new visitors. We have a really large group here this year, which is great because of the amount of work we are going to be able to get done.

The drive down was long but the laughs and good conversations made it go by quick. When we arrived we got moving right away. The group went to the French Quarter to do a scavenger hunt to get to know the city and encourage students to talk to some of the locals. As many have mentioned, there were more than just locals here this weekend! Many, many, many football fans and lots of spontaneous cheers in the streets.

Saturday we were lucky to have some great weather for our driving tour of New Orleans. We drove out to Chalmette first to see some of the devastated parts of Saint Bernard Parish. Then we came back into New Orleans and visited the Lower Ninth Ward (where we walked up to the Bayou and the Levee), the Upper Ninth Ward, went to lunch at one of my favorite barbeque spots in New Orleans (the Joint), and continued uptown to the Garden District to see some of the old, beautiful houses.

Sunday was another very nice day and we all went out to explore the city a little more in the daytime. Many people got some souvenirs to bring home and enjoyed the local food! At night we came back together and did an activity to test how well each van got to know each other. Lots of laughs and fun!

Yesterday was out first day of work and it was great to get working after a fun weekend. We split into 5 groups to work on projects with the Saint Bernard Project (great organization, check them out! www.stbernardproject.org). The group I was in had 15 people total (Nick D, LeighAnn D, Adam P, Tiff, Chelsea S, Regina Z, Tim O, Chad B, Daria W, Billy L, Danielle C, Ryan G, Nicole G, Jamie, and me). We went out to a house that was between the lake and a bayou. There was not much out there. Of the few homes that were there, there weren’t many with people back. On our ride in, we passed an abandoned Six Flags. A very eerie site to see the attractions still standing.

At the house we met our two project leaders, Lisel and Megan, who led us to completed the insulation in the house. Everyone worked really hard but Jamie, Nick D, Adam, and LeighAnn took on, and completed, a very hard project in the ceiling. You guys are awesome! Overall it was a great first day of work and I really enjoyed working with the Bonners on the team!

Today is a rainy day here; so United Saints found other volunteer projects for us for the day. The group is volunteering at the Mission, the Food Bank, and the Arc. It will be interesting to see the similarities and differences between the organizations here and the ones at home.

I look forward to meeting homeowners this week and seeing my favorite homeowner from my first time here and really hope she will come speak to the group this week!

Stay tuned for pictures and videos (hopefully)!

NOLA blog

Coming back to New Orleans for a second time in the past year, I did not expect to have the same reaction as I did the first time. I came in May with no idea what condition the city has been in and I was in complete shock of the conditions down here. Since I new what to expect, I thought this time would be easier but as we drove in and I still say the destruction, I had to hold back tears. I know it has only been a couple of months since my last visit but for some reason I expected to see noticable changes.

This past week in NOLA has been such an incredible experience. I enjoyed really being able to go into the French Quarter and experience the culture. They take so much pride in their culture, especially their support for their football teams. It was so great to see how the city unites together in such a simple thing as a football game. Also, people here are so friendly. You cna walk by a random stranger and they will smile at you or say hello which is completely different from what I am used to. It was refreshing to see all this and really showed me how the people in NOLA are so strong and united, even after the destruction they faced. They really are appreciative of what we come here to do and it makes me even more excited to help out in whatever way I can while I am here.

Blog 3

This week’s work has been very different than my expectations. I’ve been doing a lot of little tasks, such as cleaning, painting, sanding, weeding, and moving things. Compared to building houses, these tasks seem to have little significance. But today I had a conversation with Vince—a 23 year old staff member at the New Orleans Rescue Mission. At the end of the day, Vince told me how happy it made him to see college students travelling to New Orleans to volunteer instead of coming to enjoy themselves in the French Quarter. Even the smallest task can impact a life/lives. The encounter encouraged me and gave me the strength to keep working with a confident and zealous attitude.

Nick

First Weekend in NOLA

I absolutely love the city of New Orleans because of the sense of community. Half of the people in New York City are not as half as friendly as in New Orleans. These friendly people are not only in the party crowd, but in many other places as well. Bourbon Street is astonishing for the first couple of times you walk the street, but can get tiring. Conversing with the general public is always the best part of visiting a new city in my opinion. Whether this conversation is inside a Bourbon Street club or in the bathroom line at Cafe Du Monde, listening to new perspectives in new accents is always fun. If you can’t find yourself connecting with the residents, yelling a string of “Roll Tides,” “Geaux Tigers,” or “Who Dat” is always sure to get a reaction.
Aside from the fun new experiences and people, I can take a new perspective when learning about Hurricane Katrina in a hands on manner. Visiting the Lower 9th Ward, Bayou, Levees, Upper 9th Ward, and the Garden District allows me to compare the different areas. When I watched Spike Lee’s documentary, I learned that the Lower 9th Ward was hit the hardest from the hurricane, however, the reality of the situation was not fully grasped until I sat on the edge of the Bayou and levees. Imaging an extra 11 feet of water flooding the entire neighborhood is positively insane. When I saw leftover stairs and foundations, everything really hit me. Families used to live in that house and use those steps daily, with mothers and fathers relaxing inside while dogs slept on the front porch and children ran around in the yard. Real families used to use those steps- families that are now spread all around the country working in an array of new jobs. I’m really excited to start helping!
One thing that really got to me was the criticism of the “Brad Pitt houses” (as we call them). This man is doing a great deed by buying lots to build structurally sound houses for a hurricane and selling in back to residents cheaper than what they would usually cost. I understand that he is selling the homes back rather than donating them to families. He is, however, allowing his effort to go further and build more houses by selling the houses rather than purely donating. If he did not want to help and just wanted to make a profit, he could go to a million more extravagant places in the world. He is not making a profit but rather getting some money back from the extremely expensive builds in order to continue his relief efforts. The fact that individuals must help rather than the government funds disgusts me already- please don’t criticize the individuals that only want to help.

The rest of the week

The past couple of days I have been to two more sites, one of which I was painting and cleaning for New Orleans Mission. The other site was the food bank, where we repacked thousands of pounds of food using conveyor belts. Unfortunately, the overall attitude is not the most positive because we are not able to work on houses and build. This is because there are not enough positions for our group to build each day with this particular organization, and it is upsetting. The New Orleans Mission is providing food and shelter for the homeless, but their system is a little disorganized. However, the food bank was a positive experience that was enjoyable because they explained their purpose to us.
At the mission, we were fixing up the place for an HBO show that is depicting New Orleans and the help that they need. I was amazed at the state of their cleanliness and organization -- which seemed as if it hadn't been cleaned in years. Although we are doing helpful work, the fact that the place did not have a specific system for their materials or the food that was used for the homless, I was disappointed to see that the staff did not seem open to suggestions.
I look forward to tomorrow, as I am sure we will be doing something different, and the sites have all been interesting and new experiences.

On another note, the Hornets game last night was a lot of fun and really got me into the Nawlins spirit.

The past two days I had returned to the rescue mission to help out. I was primarily cleaning and repainting an office, and for
a short period of time today I was asked to help sort food on shelves. With sorting, that also meant that I would be throwing away massive amounts of food which did not sit well with me by any means. We all have seen the lines of homeless people looking for food and only due to lack of
organization and communication were the ten bags of bread and desserts to be thrown away. I felt very discouraged knowing that in good intentions there was still so much more that could be done in a much more efficient manner. We did our best to help provide a plan to keep track of the expiration dates but I'm not convinced that it will be used in the future. I understand that we were helpful but I would love to experience more of Monday's activities tomorrow before we head back to jersey.

Geaux hornets!

from United Saints

Being back in NOLA for the third time is honestly an amazing feeling. I honestly love this city and the people who live here. It's a change of pace from NJ and our lifestyle. I wanted to bring up a few points in this post which sort of encompass what I was going to write for my first blog post.

the noise of the neighborhood. We had in the lower 9th ward during one of our tours and Birtt was talking about one of her former homeowners Juanita, who I met on both of my previous trips. Britt explained to the group that the thing Juanita said she missed the most was the noise of her neighborhood. For some reason that struck me and has been something I've brought up in a lot of conversations we've had while down here. To miss something as simple as the everyday noises we barely recognize. The riding of bikes around the block, people sitting on front porches, having neighbors to turn too and wave at as you drive down the block, these are all things the people in these neighborhoods don't have anymore. We stood up on the levees and the only things you heard were cars in the distance and you saw a few houses in a lot of empty space. I wish we had pictures to show the underclassmen of what the area they are standing in looked like before. I wish they could meet people like Juanita and learn how many generations used to live on one block. They look out and see the empty spaces, but if they could only see what little empty space there was before the storm. The simple sounds of a neighborhood are the sounds we either don't notice or that annoy us and we wish they'd stop. How would we feel if they were all gone. If there were no more sounds around us and if we could never stop by the neighbors house just to say hi.

the second thing I wanted to blog about was about was our service down here. We've had an interesting time working at different sites. People were expecting hammers and instead we got other tools to work with. It isn't what we expected and some people were annoyed, but at the end of the day we have to remember the impact we leave. Whether I painted the office that the New Orleans Mission's Director will use for the next few years, or if I'm reconstructing a woman's boiler room, I've left my impact on this city. When I come back, I'll still be able to say I worked there and did XY & Z. I'm used to always wishing there was more of something for TASK where I used to serve for Bonner. I've been spoiled at TASK with a full staff and an amazing organization of people there. The Mission was a complete antithesis of TASK. With pest problems and a staff that is often more unsure of situations, the mission has just recently been able to say they're back on their feet and still moving toward getting where they were before the storm. The damage to the building left conditions unsuitable for the very people they serve. The men sleep in tents and the women have a smaller room in the back and kill about 7 rats a day in the tents. While at the food bank we learned that almost 1 in 5 adults and 1 in 4 children are experiencing Hunger in Southern Louisiana. The problem that exists in this city is more than just rebuilding homes that were destroyed. Included in the issues faced is the growing number of people who continue to struggle in poverty on a daily basis.

On a more personal level, I've been enjoying our stay and I love our group. I didn't really know the new bonners or the freshman that well, but during this stay I've gotten to know a lot of them better. At TCNJ, we're caught up in our own service and school work, and bonner meetings aren't the best setting to try and get to know people, but this trip has really brought people together. It's always amazing to see people work together with people they never knew before the trip. I hope that we bring this togetherness back to TCNJ and start branching away from our usual groups in Bonner and form connections with many Bonners. We have a sense of working together here to accomplish a goal and I want to see us bring this back to our campus and to our sites, but more importantly to our program.

I wish we could stay another week, but there are these annoying things called classes that start on Tuesday.

A Week in the Life of a New Orleans Bonner

So right now its 7pm, on Thursday night, and we are waiting to see where we will end up for dinner. There has been much debate and discussion throughout the day, since it turns out people have spent more money than they bargained for on this trip. Candy and soda at rest stops are a killer. Anyways, my vote is for Mothers, a great restaurant with some good ole' Po'Boys that New Orleans is so famous for. I went there early in the week with Adam, Chad, Laura, and John, and it was delicious. Chad and I split an omelette and it was the best omelette we've ever had.

As for today, I spent the entire day at Rescue Mission New Orleans, helping out in any way I could. We made a bunch of food bags and moved heavy objects, which I liked because of its manliness. To be real, I wish we had more to do. Rescue Mission is great and they are doing great things, I am really grateful, but it seemed to me that they couldn't handle so many volunteers. So, at times, we were looking for things to do. On the bright side, this allowed us to talk to the great people who worked there. Efran, the ripped worker in the warehouse, told us that he has a masters in Psychology and Philosophy, but he somehow ended up as a superintendent of construction. He used words in sentences I didn't know... I really like him.

Our vans happened to be parked next to a man sleeping on the outside ground; it was the first time I've seen a man sleeping on the ground outside. It was really symbolic for me. I know that New Orleans wasn't the holy grail of cities before Katrina, but that just reminded me of the seriousness of help New Orleans really needs. It brought on feelings of helplessness and eagerness. Helplessness for feeling like no matter what I do, there will always be a man sleeping on the ground somewhere, eagerness for using my full potential to help as best I possibly can.

I would recommend to everyone who visits New Orleans to spend a good 30 minutes driving around town. Wave at some folks, they will wave back at you. Everybody loves a hearty volunteer. While we were moving boxes from a warehouse to Rescue Mission down the block, the man we were working with told us its ok to move the pallets in the street, because the cars will move for us and the cops respect us enough not to tell us to move. It really shows how much they love volunteers down here in NOLA. If you aren't a volunteer, they'll probably wave back anyway because that's how they are down here.

Finally, while you are on your 30 minute drive, take some pictures, because this place is too beautiful not to. Even in the poorer areas, every house is a different color. Every person is a different color. Every personality is a different color. The thing about New Orleans, is that you can spend just one week here, and feel like you are a part of a lifetime of history of this city. That is why you should visit New Orleans.

The Work Week- Ryan Gale

This week has been an interesting experience as far as working and volunteering goes. We only worked on a house on Monday and have been volunteering the rest of our time at the New Orleans Mission, which is in desperate need of attention and help. While, to the dismay of some, we have not had a constant "work site" or met with homeowners, it has nonetheless been an interesting and rewarding experience. I had an interesting experience yesterday while at the Mission. While walking out of the Mission to go to the vans to leave, I saw a man with a Sharpie marker writing on a piece of cardboard with which he was going to use to beg. This was an odd sight, because I, like many, have passed a myriad of homeless men and women holding signs requesting money. Yesterday, I experienced the front line of the fight against poverty and homeless. Later in the day, we passed a man sitting in a wheelchair holding also holding a cardboard sign that read "Happy New Year. God Bless." This was, again, an odd sight because it would be assumed that he would be asking for money or have some sort of written plea, instead, this man in such an evidently desparate situation was simply wishing the best for all those who passed him. I am enjoying the trip thus far and have thoroughly enjoyed the welcomness of the city. Finally, perhaps the most rewarding experience of all the times I've been down to New Orleans occurred yesterday when Tommy and I purchased a King Cake for and with our homeowner, Miss Irma, from last year. She remembered our faces and, again, invited us down for Carnival (Mardi Gras). We again, regretfully declined, and parted ways, but not without a photo to remember this special, warm and spirited woman.

Blog 2

Throughout my time here I have worked at numerous different sites. Although, we have not been able to work at a steady site and create a relationship with a homeowner there has still be many positive things to come out of this week of service so far. I have worked with three different organizations that are all providing great services to the struggling individuals of New Orleans. As it has been mentioned many times on this trip, it is all about perspective. Everyday is an opportunity, not a privalege, to help someone in need. Sometimes the activities may not be what we want or what we thought we were going to do; however, the extra help that we are providing for these organizations will help somebody and somepoint, and that is what is truly important. I have enjoyed my time in New Orleans so far and look to continue it for one more day.

-Evan

Amazing opportunities

This trip has been a week filled with opportunities to be witnesses to the people and the city of New Orleans. The past few days I've had a blast at the two organizations I was able to work for.The first was a recycling center called The Arc. Their work includes several aspects that help many people and give back to the community. The biggest operation there is the Mardi Gras bead recycling center which takes in literally tons of donations of beads and trinkets used for the various parades during carnival season in NOLA. The Arc also houses the Vintage Garden and Vintage Garden Soup Kitchen. They have a large garden that provides fresh vegetables to the local community and the ingredients for their soups. In addition to the environmental concern, the best part of the organization is that they employ a large number of people with disabilities. We got to work side by side with very warm, welcoming, and super excited staff. I was very fortunate to return for a second day which was all the more better because of the amazing people we got to meet on the first day.
Today, January 12, I volunteered at another recycling center called the Green Project. They also have a very environmentally friendly conscience by recycling anything that can be used to build and or repair houses. Their facility includes a showroom full of windows, doors, sinks, etc as well as a paint recycling room. I chose to volunteer in the lumber yard today with Britt, Jamie, Chelsea V, and Kayla. We ended up with an awesome supervisor who was very laid back and friendly. The work environment was very Zen as Jamie would say and we both found ourselves commenting on how relaxing and nice it was to be working outside with jazz music coming from the radio. The lumber yard required us to unload donations and load customers trucks. For the most part we were de-nailing wood boards which was pretty easy and fun. I'm a fan of hands on work especially carpentry. Best part was hearing a first hand account story of the storm and its aftermath from a local who was also volunteering. He provided Jamie and I a very raw nerve wrenching account of what is was like being in the city during the week after the hurricane. Truly a testament to how tragic and inhumane the whole situation was. What I took away from his story was the need for organized damage control and prevention for catastrophes. People clearly panic and resort to survival of the fittest attitudes in situations as dreadful as hurricane Katrina. No agency really took charge of the area and without immediate help and relief people were forced to fend for themselves. Sadly when that happens, the ruthlessness and dark side of humans are unleashed. The man we spoke to keep saying that "if you weren't living with blood in your eyes, you wouldn't have survived down here." I mean imagine how frightening is to see your whole city under water and already in distress and then having to worry about people committing crimes and taking advantage of others while people are dying in the streets and babies go without nourishment. I couldn't help but think that if their was a centralized effort with an immediate organized plan off action that a lot of the horrific events during the following days would have been less common.
Future relief and rescue efforts in any situation need to put people first without hesitation. Too many logistics get in the way of of the basic principals of humanity which is helping others. When we learn to put others before ourselves is when we are capable of changing this world

New Orleans Mission

Today I only worked at New Orleans Mission. Today I helped clean the kitchen, put food donations in the respective places, and clean the sleeping quarter. Later we went around the French Quarter. It was nice to see the city in a different light. Most of the times I have been walking around the city have been packed and loud. It was nice to see it quieter and less busy.

Perspective

I feel that my time in New Orleans over the past three days has really taught me a lot in an unexpected way. Because of the size of our group, United Saints has not been putting our group on building/Katrina relief projects. My group spent both Tuesday and Wednesday at The Mission of New Orleans and the Second Harvest Food Pantry and today at the Mission all day.

I have to say that at first I was very disappointed to not be building. After all of the exposure that I had to information about Katrina's wrath and aftermath prior to the trip, I was extremely excited to "get my hands dirty" and contribute to the rebuilding of this amazing city. While I was able to do this working on Brian's house on Monday (see my previous blog for details), my past few days have been spent doing a different kind of service down here in New Orleans. Needless to say, I began service on Tuesday with a bit of a negative attitude, upset to not be on a build site. After spending my day cleaning the Mission (they will be featured on an HBO show whose camera crew is coming this Friday) and sorting food at Second Harvest, we had small group reflection at United Saints. A great conversation within my group helped me realize that everything is about perspective and I would consider that moment to be both powerful and impacting to me.

That conversation and my experiences the past few days have helped me to realize (or more specifically be re-introduced to the fact) that everything is about perspective. I could have easily spent the past few days complaining about not being on a build site and, consequentially, brought down the moral of the group that I was working with. But, I chose to look at it like this: in just four hours sorting food we were able to package food for approximately 7,500 families; without our man power at the Mission they would have never been able to clean up in the magnitude which we were able to, the exposure from this show will help them achieve a lot of much needed funding. While we may not be putting walls on a house or working in the 9th ward, we are making a visual difference in a community which has faced much hardship.

So,as I sit in my bunk listening to music and reflecting on my experiences here in NOLA so far, I cannot help but think that maybe this trip was not intended to teach me what I had thought it would originally. Life has its way of always keeping you on your toes and presenting you with unexpected lessons in unexpected places.

NOLA Blog 3

I cannot even begin to describe how awesome the past two days of servicehave been. I was part of a work group that had the privilege of going to theARC of Greater New Orleans.  Not only didthis establishment employ people with developmental disabilities, but they hadan entire program dedicated to recycling Mardi Gras beads. Now, I’m on theEnvironment Team in Bonner, and I was under the impression that all of my workwould consist of building houses.  Eventhough this is a wonderful form of service, it’s not my favorite. This pastsemester I learned that there is more to service than just helping people one-on-one.  When working on “eco-friendly” causes, Ifound that I can help better the environment for groups of people. Even thoughI may not meet people face-to-face, it still benefits someone. This semester Idiscovered that my favorite service days were CEL days for the Environment Team.Going to New Orleans’ ARC reminded me of an Environment Team CEL day, and it wasso exciting to have other people experience that kind of service work, too.

     Anotherthing that has made these past couple of service days so much fun is the uniquenessof the tasks. Nowhere in New Jersey will I sort Mardi Gras beads for a goodcause. I feel as if I am being immersed in the culture of this city and takingpart in one of its traditions. I may have never experienced a real New OrleansMardi Gras, but I can now say that I had some part in helping create the MardiGras 2012 experience for townspeople and visitors.


     Ifeel as if I have bonded with my fellow Bonners even more. I can even say thatI have made some pretty good friendships on this trip...and I don’t want theserelationships to end when life goes back to normal. They won’t end…I will makesure of it.


     Ido not know what the next few days will have in store, but my experiences hereto this date have been heartwarming. Between the people and the spirit of thecity, I never cease to be amazed. Despite the disaster that this area hassuffered in the past, it doesn’t hinder their activities in the present.

~ChelseaLynne Sandmeyer

NOLA BLOG 2

So Nola is being awesome as always! I have enjoyed every moment here whether I am out doing service or enjoying the exciting city. Tonight I am going to Frenchman's street I don't know what to expect but some really great Nola jazz.

Earlier we were at the rescue mission and then the food bank where we have packaged thousands of pounds of food that will feed thousands of families that are in need in the south Louisiana area. Our efforts at the rescue mission have been helping clean up the New Orleans rescue mission for their appearance on TV hopefully increasing donations

Even though we might not be building houses we are still doing a lot to help Nola recoup. It still seems to be a long time until the city has a full recovery. What really has hit home for me is the magnitude of houses that are boarded up and irreversibly damaged. Every residential community I have been in has had abandoned houses everywhere, places where families previously thrived. I sometimes find myself wondering where they went if the X on the door didn't show that a dead people were inside. I is really upsetting to see that. Something that also really hit home for me were the remarkable pet stories of pets that survived the storm. Animals would swim to floating objects and stay there for days. I really care for living things and it was something that really affected me.

On a lighter note, It still ceases to amaze me the spirit that the city still holds everyone is just so friendly and welcoming. Southern hospitality holds true for the city of New Orleans. I have most likely never liked a city as much as Nola in such a short time span. I think our work here is really making a difference. If anyone can do it TCNJ Bonners can!

-Nick DiMauro

Tuesday Update

Our first two days of work were great, and also quite different. The first day we were at a new home site on the Lakefront section of New Orleans. Our group was sent to help with sanding,spackling, and mudding. Luckily, I was assigned to mudding, which I had a lot of experience doing when I was in New Orleans my freshmen year. It was quite fun, and we were even lucky enough to have a sit down conversation with our homeowner, who had an amazing Katrina survival story to share. He was a very kind man, who looked quite young but was actually in his 70s! He was very appreciative of our efforts, and everyone seemed to have a blast working and listening to his story.

Today, we were supposed to be at a food bank all day, but due to scheduling issues, were sent to work at the Mission of New Orleans first. I was very excited for this, as my Bonner site at home is the Rescue Mission of Trenton. It was very cool to see another Mission, and also a Mission for a major city. They were very nice to us, and split us all up doing various tasks around the complex. After the Mission, we were sent to the food bank, which was an even better time. We were all assigned to the conveyor belt, and collectively sorted over 8,900 pounds of food, which was enough to serve over 7.400 families in the greater New Orleans area. After hearing our results, we were all very excited to hear the news, and amazed that only 4 hours of work could produce such numbers.

All in all, it was an amazing start to the week, and I'm very motivated and curious to see what's in store for the rest of the week!

-Tommy Mladenetz

Blog #2

Tonight was awesome. I think the smaller group reflections were right on time. They were much needed and a lot of people got the chance to clear the air with others during that time. There were a few good points made, one of which was ‘perspective’. To sum it up, if we all were to look at the bigger picture of the trip to New Orleans (helping to rebuild and being a blessing to others) then we would all work effectively with a much more positive attitude. I had to agree with this. This being brought up was not a bad thing or in a negative manner at all. Instead, I believe that everyone learned from it, and it brought us all closer together. It was also a good idea to even more brighten the mood by playing the card game ‘buncos’. Looking around the room was great; everyone was smiling, laughing, and having a good time. We also found out that we are able to work at the same sites that we did today tomorrow. A lot of us are very excited about that. At least I know that I am!