Hamline University: Spring Break 2010

Art group tour, free street, house of blues...oh my!

2010-04-03T00:55:00.003-04:00

So today is our last and final, full day in Chicago- the beautiful, windy city. Sad...I know. I don't think anyone wants to really go back to school and leave this amazing city and community. Because, I know I sure don't.

What we did do today, was wonderful. We first went on a tour of some of Chicago's murals with our tour guide Brenda and one of the Chicago Public Art Group's interns Erin. We were all pretty excited to get to see what some of the cities fellow artists had done on some of the walls and bypasses with tile or spray paint. However, Brenda wasn't as enthusiastic as us. She openly mentioned to us that their company wasn't doing that great, and how art wasn't that great of a field to get into either. Even though the morning was a bit awkward at first, we had a great time hearing the stories of some of the big pieces of art work on some of the city walls and actually being able to see them up close.

The second part of the afternoon was spent at Free Street. We helped them prep for opening day for the play. Mostly we cleaned (mopping, sweeping) and helped them a great deal by hanging up posters. The entire staff and students seemed to really appreciate our work, which in the end was a great feeling. At the end of the day, Ron, one of the head staff leaders at Free Street, talked to us about just "going for it"- the "it" being theatre, or your passion in general. Ron and Brenda (our tour guide for the chicago murals)seemed to have very different perspectives and ideas of the field of art. Brenda's was that it wasn't the greatest of ideas, and Ron's was to go for it, not to let anything or anyone get in your way, and to find a good mentor. The differences definitely left for a good reflection during the day.

The last and final event of the evening was going out for dinner (and music, of course)at the House of Blues. The food was amazing, and the music, fabulous. I'm entirely grateful to have gone on this trip, and yet entirely sad at the same time that tomorrow is our last day in this amazing city. I will definitely bring back a lot of the things and ideas we have learned the week that we have been here.

Goodbye windy city. Hello Hamline.

New Orleans

2010-04-03T00:10:00.002-04:00

Throughout my visit to New Orleans I noticed one really strong element of strength that each of the people that our group met with possessed. It was a sense of courage. Each person we met with had some great transition or change in their life, whether it was a hurricane, a death, or some other challenge. Each of these people took the power and energy of the city to propel them to make change in their own lives and in others. What was truly unique and inspiring about the people we interacted with was their positive attitude. Change is something that each person views as inevitable; however the residents saw this change as a chance to do great things. Through meeting with a community center leader whose family has had strong roots in the community, an ex-Berkley professor who began her life anew, and community group that advocates for its minority citizens' rights, that change in a community comes from a lot of passion and dedication. It was a great experience to work along side each of these strong community leaders to help them get a few steps closer to their goals.
Margaret Crenshaw

The Lower 9th Ward

2010-04-02T16:06:00.001-04:00

Hey all,

On Wednesday we went to the Lower 9th Ward which was the area most devasted by the levy breaking. I was actually able to go up and touch the levy that failed, granted, I was touching the new addition to the levy. It was a very emotional experience to be the place where it all started. I was walking down the street at one point and saw a family sitting on their porch. I asked them how they were doing that day and only the older man really responded, but he responded cheerfully. He then turned around and asked me how I was doing... couldn't say that I could complain.

It was very surreal to be driving and walking through that area. There was also a very interesting dynamic: one area had some nice new modern houses that were being built for the "Make It Right" project, while the rest of the area had empty lots, destroyed homes, and few homes re-built by owners. I saw shoes and cushions, amongst other debris that was still left over. As I was finishing walking around I came up to this yellow house. It was very broken and damaged, but you could see inside, where perhaps a door used to be. I stepped onto the grass to get a better look and sitting right inside amidst all the rubble was this dirty yellow Tonka truck. It gave me the chills. To think that the house was still in that condition really bothered me. I couldn't believe that after 5 years, we're still at the point that we are in the "re-building process." It absolutley blows my mind.

Going down to the lower 9th Ward was an incredible, emotional, and very humbling experience. It was a perfect reminder of why all of us are here and why these opportunities to do service-learning are beyond crucial for each and every one of us, no matter which side of the service-learning we're on.

-Mikaela Fisher, '11

NOLA News Try 2- Maggie

2010-04-02T14:29:00.001-04:00

Try 2 because I wrote this once but the computer erased it before it was saved. But on to more important things…

This trip to New Orleans for me has been about the stories. It has also been about the stories of the whole person. Every site that we visit there are stories of the people and places. The people are open to sharing their story to anyone who is willing to listen. And the places you just need to go out of your way to dig a little to find the truth.

One man that we met here in New Orleans said that people's stories are being exploited. That visitors are coming down to New Orleans, hearing the story, leaving, then either forgetting it or using it for their own personal benefit. I am fortunate to have heard so many stories over the times I have been to New Orleans. I am in my senior year at Hamline and I don't want to forget the stories and I want to do something about what I have heard.

So, I guess this is my promise to not forget and to return to New Orleans. I hope that my returning to the city will help to bring back people that have not been able or allowed to return to their home, New Orleans.

Thursday in Chicago (Aka we see all these works of art with wonderful titles and I can't think of anything more original than "Thursday in Chicago").

2010-04-02T01:38:00.001-04:00

Thoughts on Thursday, April 1, 2010
Location: Stairwell, Hostel, Chicago, USA, the World, Milky Way Galaxy
Mood: Exhausted and contemplative (pretty much a buzz word of the group; we always claim to be processing everything we have just seen and are therefore sometimes a little quiet when it comes to discussion time.)
Today the Chicago group visited two art museums, attended two theatrical performances, helped to tidy up a theatre, and both ate at and rode on a subway. We are all pretty tired, and that definitely showed in reflection time tonight when a few of us found one of Amelia’s jokes so funny that we laughed until there were tears.
We started the morning by going to a Vietnam Veterans Museum. I personally thought that the pieces were very moving but a lot to digest in a short amount of time.
Then we headed to Free Street Theatre where the majority of us worked to help tidy up the place in preparation for opening night on Saturday. We also got to have the experience of sitting in on a rehearsal of the show, Abe’s in a Bad Way. It was so cool to see the students performing their own material and I am really impressed with what they have come up with.
We then hopped on a subway, got off the subway, ate at Subway and went to the hostel to change into our nicer evening attire.
When we got to the Chicago Institute of Art I was shocked by the sheer number of people there-the place was packed. We bashed around there for a while then headed to a play called Beautiful City. The deeper meaning behind the play was basically lost on us, the playwright was a little all over the place in message and we were all just so tired at that point in the day.
We then went to the hostel and discussed the day and here I am now writing about it.
If it were not so late/early I may have been more analytical about what we experienced, but right now I just want to go to bed. I’m gonna leave you with some random thoughts and then go get ready to face tomorrow.
1. Green apples are amazing
2. The people at Free Street kept thanking us for the work we did, and that was very cool to see the little tidying up had an impact
3. The people at the theatre where Beautiful City was being put on were also really thrilled to see us, and that was cool
4. I forgot to mention we finally stopped at a dunkin donuts/baskin robbins
5. If any of my sentence structure doesn’t make sense, please chalk it up to the hour and no my lack of ability to write coherently. Thanks.
6. This trip has pretty much been amazing and the people we are coming in contact each day are so inspiring
7. I think we are all sad that tomorrow is our last real day of the trip, but I’m sure it will be an awesome one
8. The End.
Kate Buechler.

March 31st Aubrey and Nancy

2010-03-31T23:46:00.007-04:00

Today we started off the day serving in D.C. Central Kitchen. DCCK is a really cool organization that has job training in the culinary arts for formerly homeless people. it has an outreach program that helps people join the job program to get off the street, off drugs, or into a career. DCCK also has food that goes out into the community and feeds into 100 other organizations. Ms. Dot was in charge of the Salad station which as a vegetarian I got to be a part of. She was a character who liked things to be right. for example: we shouldn't take off our gloves until specifically told and the cucumbers are only meant to be shaved in three places. After that we got to eat food that was prepared in DCCK. It was really good and had representation of all of the food groups.

Between lunch and visiting the Capitol, we were able to lounge on the Capitol mall. A few of us found a fountain and laid down on the edge. A while later, a patrol officer came and told us that we were not allowed to lay down. One of the first thoughts I had was that the folks at the Capitol are very concerned with aesthetics: if they were so concerned with tourists lounging, how would they feel about the homeless wandering around and even settling down?

In the afternoon we started off lobbying MN representatives: Walz and Paulsen. We specifically asked about putting homelessnness in the front of the eyes of the gov't. Walz's aide was very helpful in telling us that most of the homelessness funds are allocated by state governments.

Right now we are preparing for the Homeless challenge. We will be out on the street from 2pm til 2pm. We are preparing the stories that will be our background as to why we are homeless. All of us will be recently homeless in our story. We have also been discussing our fears and worries. what will we say if someone does ask us our story? What are we going to do with nothing to do??? Will we be bored? Where will we go to the bathroom? How will others look at us? Will we get kicked out of restaurants or museums?

None of us have showered or shaved for the past two days. Our feet have been sort of worked in by all of the walking we've done but that also will factor into how tired we are while walking. I personally am going to wear pants I haven't washed for a month and the shirt I've worn for the past two days.
We will be traveling in two's and will meet up with the group for the night.There will be one cell phone among the pairs for safety and absolute emergency only.
By doing this challenge we hope to gain a partial understanding of the difficulties that go along with being homeless.
I really hope to push myself both physically and mentally and to really grow from this experience.

Chicago Day 5: Jazmin

2010-03-31T23:38:00.003-04:00

Today was hard. It was our last day at Little Black Pearl, which I have absolutely fallen in love with (slash hope to find a way to work with this summer?). I think all of us were just starting to make some great connections with the students, and for us to have to leave now, without getting to see the final culmination of all the hard work is heartbreaking (and I hope you'll understand how sincerely I mean that without me having to tell you that I actually shed a few tears on the matter). I just hope beyond hope that we were able to accurately convey to the students how much we really did want to be there for them on the last day.

We've been having great discussions each night and it's exciting to get to hear Katie, Kate, Amelia, Simone, Clara, Lewis, Bre'Elle, and Megan share more of themselves each night. Hearing where others come from and how they're interpreting this experience, as well as being able to share myself, is quite a learning experience. I've been hugely inspired by my fellow group members' inspiration, and definitely gained some new insight, WHICH, excitingly, was one of my goals for this trip. So I'll pat myself on the back and check off that box.

So, in sum, although I'm slightly hoping that by some twist of fate we'll be able to attend the final day of the Little black Pearl program (even if only for a few more hugs), I'm highly enjoying my time and looking forward to what else this trip will bring.

What's your story?

2010-03-31T18:10:00.006-04:00

Southern hospitality isn't just a cliche, but a way of life.

We have discovered this day after day in New Orleans, and it doesn't matter what socioeconomic status the person is in; they open their homes and lives. In multiple instances we can simply start conversations with a simple "what's your story?" Everyone has one, but here they are all defined by "before the storm" and "after the storm".

We are halfway finished with our trip, and it has quickly become a blur.

New Orleans is the case study for economic disparities. On the first night we drove through wealthy neighborhoods which were largely unaffected by "the storm", but today we visited the lower 9th ward. The stark contrast between the wealthy and the poor neighborhoods was overwhelming. But, even when we were in the 9th ward witnessing the devastation, it was easier to focus on the brand new houses which Brangelina are building through their "Make it Right" campaign than it was to wander the ruins of what was once a home. The greatest tragedy of the situation is that those most affected by Katrina were those least capable to deal with it. That's how it seems to always go, but it seems so unfair for the French Quarter (our backyard) to be so minimally affected and for others to lose everything. Finding an old digital camera in a pile of five-year-old rubble made it so real to me; both Mac and I would have given anything to see the photos that were on them, photos that proved that someone had really been in that room (which is now faint lines on concrete proving the existence of kitchen tiles).

We meet people wherever we go, and are happy to do such although we have been warned not to talk to strangers. Personal connections have been unequivocally the most important aspect of this trip, and most people we speak to ask us to carry their stories with us and share them with others.

I fully believe that were it not for the hospitality people have shown us, the trip would mean significantly less.That being said,
if anyone needs their house sanded, mudded (does that word exist outside of the construction world?) or their walls textured, let us know. We have swiftly become professionals.

Camille

Reflection: Chicago, Day 4.

2010-03-31T00:51:00.002-04:00

What do we do with our dreams?

This has been the theme today in Chicago. What do we do with our dreams? What are our dreams? How far are we willing to go to pursue what we believe in; what we dream of?

Monica Haslip, founder and executive director of Little Black Pearl, one of the organizations with whom we're volunteering throughout the week, seems to keep dreams in her pocket, next to the lint. She's had thousands, it seems, and somedays she's clearly had so many that a few of them had to survive the spin cycle and land back where they'd started: with her.

We were lucky enough to have lunch with Monica today, and to be able to receive her stories. From working comfortably at BET to literally running out of money in the planning and processing stages of the Little Black Pearl Workshop, she's seen it all, and she's never taken any of it lightly. When she was twenty-eight, she got the idea to buy a building and turn it into a youth art space -- so she did it. When she decided to expand and build a brand new facility, she did it. When the contractor turned around and sued her for $2 million and she knew she could fight the suit, she did that, too. She's built some of Little Black Pearl with her own hands. She's demanded that the Chicago Transit Authority donate a bus on which the kids could paint -- "I called somebody at CTA," Monica told us, "who said that the CTA never had, didn't want to, and absolutely wouldn't donate a bus to us, and then I got them to donate a bus to us."

That is to say, when she wanted public transportation to be her students' canvas, she did that, too.

She won't lie to you. She says the most important part of a dream is that when you have it, it's already real. But from there, it's all on you and how much you're willing to put into it. Somedays when it got really rough, Monica said, it was all she could do to just accomplish what she could in a given day -- and so she accomplished it.

We talked about our dreams tonight during our reflection. Not the weird dreams where Bugs Bunny is a gangster and there's a contract out on your grandmother's life -- which was a very real dream from my childhood and no, I don't want to get into it -- but the real dreams that we want to pursue. Some of us want to be actors. Some of us want to work with children. Some publish; some be the President of the United States.

My dream is to be a performance poet. As much as I'm willing to admit that these days -- and that is a fairly recent confession -- I'm afraid of it. Terrified. As Gregory Pickett put it, "Ain't Nobody Hirin' Poets."

Wait; what's that? You don't know Gregory Pickett?

Exactly.

But we all have dreams. That's what today was about. Whether it was my conversation with a boy who told me that painting keeps him out of trouble and that maybe he'd like to keep doing it, or my own staring at the carpet and trying to put myself in the mindset of a twenty-eight year old purchasing a building on a hunch and a passion, tonight I know that dreams are about commitment.

Dreams don't fall into your lap -- that's why they're called dreams. When we dream at night, we burrow deep into our subconscious and decide what really matters without letting ourselves and our days and our woes get in the way. When we dream during the day, we drift away from the world for a moment and take a breath to think about what we really want to think about. In either case, the ideas we grant ourselves are fantastic and whimsical, and it's no coincidence that we can only hear them once we get rid of the static.

It is late. Soon, I will dream. Soon, I imagine, we will all dream.

It's a start.

Third Day in DC-Muna

2010-03-30T23:08:00.004-04:00

As soon as we got off the plane and made our way to our hostel, we immediately noticed why Washington DC was the site for our trip on homelessness. I am beginning to learn so much about my group, both the differences and similarities I hold with them. One thing we all shared in common, was that we didn't have a real experience with the issue of homelessness, and we also never met anyone who was dealing with it. DC definitely gives us all that experience. Everywhere you go, no matter the time, you are bound to see someone digging through the trash, or trying to catch up on some sleep in a dark alley. As students, we aren't sure how to approach homeless individuals, and whether or not those individuals are even willing to let us approach them.
During dinner, we have group reflections. these reflections serve as an 'aha' moment for some, and debate for others, It doesn't take us long to discover that the issue of homelessness encompasses other concerns and issues that we each approach differently, and feel differently about. For example, some of us feel that giving panhandlers money isn't a good idea, and instead we should be donating to charities that use those funds for individuals responsibly. Some of us also feel that we should give individuals money directly, since it maintains the interaction between the giver and the receiver. I stand on the latter side of the debate. For me, it's all about preserving and maintaining personal connections with individuals who live on the streets. But, as I mentioned earlier, it is not easy for most of us, especially myself, to break down my barrier and push myself to interact with homeless people more. I guess I looked at people who are living on the streets with an "us/they" mentality. While on my trip, I'm beginning to challenge that notion, and myself to really understand the issue at hand.
Today was a great day for me. We started the day volunteering with a group that provides services for senior citizens on the brink of homelessness. We helped a wonderful, sweet lady named Ellen. As soon as we got there, Ellen had a lot to tell us. We cleaned her entire home, and by the end, Ellen was crying. Ellen touches a lot of us, and our hard work inside her house made it all worth it for each one of us. For me,that experience was the best volunteer activity we did.On the way back to our hostel, I noticed an old, homeless man sitting on a bench. He didn't look like in the mood to talk. I decided to say hello, and I was surprised with the warm reception he gave me.
Right now, my group members and I are mentally preparing ourselves for the Homeless Challenge. Everyone has been doing a very good job in getting themselves in that mood. Overall, I think in these three days in DC, everyone of us have grown, and become a lot more conscientious students.

Day One Volunteering

2010-03-30T00:27:00.003-04:00

Today in our group had a very full day. In the morning we went to Little Black Pearl, to work with high school students. In the evening we went to the Veteran Arts Project. We worked with both young and old, and both experiences were enlightening to all of us.

Little Black Pearl is an organization in Chicago which provides arts opportunities to area youth. This week, while schools are on Spring break, they are having a program for high school students to create art about violence. We watched a video there, which told us that this year around 30 students in Chicago have been killed from gun violence, many as innocent bystanders. We will be going back to LBP tomorrow and Wednesday, but today we were just getting orientated to the program and meeting the students. We did an ice breaker in which students would step into the middle of the circle if a statement applied to them. For example, we might say "step forward if you have an older sibling". What was surprising for most of us, was when we asked students to step forward if they knew anyone who was in a gang. The kids almost laughed that we even had to ask, and every student stepped into the circle. Later we reflected on that, and how their experiences are similar and different to our own high schools.

In the evening, our discussion with the veterans became another time for us to reflect on our own experiences. Each person at the event had 25 minutes to make a collage about how war affected us. The stories the veterans told us were moving, and enlightening. Each person who shared their collage had a different story or point of view to share, and it was fascinating to hear the stories. We were hoping to have more time to talk to the veterans; it seemed like the time went by so fast. What we learned, though, were ways to open up conversations with veterans, and the rules for how to receive those stories. This will enable us to create better communication with people in the future.

Yassin Omar | First Post

2010-03-29T21:52:00.008-04:00

Well well well...Washington DC, great experience so far with my fabulous group of Hamlineites. The trip has been both a learning experience and a time to think and reflect upon the things we primarily ignore (hence homelessness) We arrived at DC Saturday night and pretty much unpacked and went to bed. Sunday was also kind of a non productive day, with the exception of just touring parts of the city. My group ( Anna, Muna, and Anna-Maria) had great time enjoying the Capitol, Washington Monument, and Lincoln Memorial. Walking through these symbolic national scenes had left me with what I often wouldn't have thought about had it not been for the challenge. Had I come to D.C without the group, I would have used these national scenes as a way to expand my tourism resume, however as I walked with the group and looked at these places I came to realize a different meaning. A meaning from the lenses of both the homeless and the many things wrong with our society. I thought about what it meant for a homeless person to see these buildings. What did they see? a nation that is working hard to give it's citizens an extra push? A nation staring, like the case with average pedestrians? I was almost in a state of awe, as I reflect back. I came to the conclusion of realizing a country that has come so far to expand and give a cain of support to all kinds of issues, nevertheless not perfect. Call it a more perfect union ( or are we?) Apart from the tour, we also had an orientation with Sarah, who told us about our space and what we can do and what not earlier that day.

Monday( Today )started off with a great experience and ended with a not so good moment. We kicked the morning off with a much needed exercise, walk, to Martha's table. A site that helps and prepares food for many different kinds of groups. There, we cleaned, organized and packed food for the many causes. Aubrey, Trey ( a local 7th grader who also volunteers), and I packed forty seven bags for newly housed families. Trey from the beginning, I thought was there to sit and watch his parents work. However, he was there part of the D.C requirement for kids to put in at least 10 hours, monthly in addition to the credits required to graduate high school. We bonded very well, because we had many things in common; dedicated to upper education, helping our respective communities and also making a difference in this not so perfect world. He was laughing, sharing and expanding on his life, as I did and we came to realize that no matter where we come from, we have the potential as people of the world that change occurs in small steps. It starts in the most unusual places...local libraries, local garages, and local shelter places. We couldn't bond any closer. I left Martha's place realizing a hopeful world. Next came, discussing these problems and changes that need to be implemented with our politicians. Although I do have my own view when it comes to progressive issues, I was hopeful on at least coming to a broad agreement with all of our Minnesota representatives. We met John Klein's chief of staff who from the beginning already turned me off with many non welcoming gestures and words of choice. She continued to say the obvious and agree to homelessness being a problem, nevertheless failed to realize the socio-economic aspects of the problem. She said that Mr.Klein wouldn't support any legislature to assist undocumented persons. This struck me as very close minded view. Although he doesn't represent me nor my district it was very troubling to see our politicians very focused on only their few thousands constituents. This was because before we departed Minnesota we visited Simpson's shelter in Minneapolis, where we met Amanda, a worker there. She mentioned many immigrants who were homeless who couldn't be assisted in any way due to the current laws which prohibit such assistance. Farther more, Mr.Klein's chief staff was very vague and unclear about any direction of assisting the homelessness issue. I even asked her " does Mr.Klein have any action of plan to end homelessness long term" and responded with a very objective answer " Mr.Klein sits in the ____ and ____ committees" In conclusion, the day ended with a very disappointing day and made me ticked off about the lack of care and narrow-mindedness that existed with some of our representatives. Nevertheless, a great trip so far with the group and can't wait to blog again!

New Perspectives

2010-03-28T22:27:00.004-04:00

Today was our first full day in Chicago. We were all pretty excited to get out there and explore.

We started the day off with some grocery shopping, then we had a very delicious lunch and we set off for our first destination: Chicago's Cultural Center.

The Cultural Center was a very interesting and beautiful place. There was soft music playing as we arrived, and we all dispersed and took a look at many of the exhibits.

There was a wide array of exhibits - some painting, some architecture, and some sculpture. There was a particular exhibit that featured photographs of furniture in various places. It was a strange exhibit but it was also emotional for me. Some of the pictures made me feel happy, and some gave me a sense of uneasiness or foreboding. It was strange to me that these pictures of inanimate objects could create feeling. Some of the pictures were taken with Catholic religious statues, and I wondered why this was. Some of the pictures also took place in a columbarium,where ashes are kept. I still wonder about the reason this is, but it created certain feelings when looking at the photographs.

After we spent some time at the Cultural Center, we headed over to the Museum of Contemporary Art to see a play entitled Shipment. It was a very very thought provoking play. It centered around race and was presented in such a way that really left you thinking. The play was funny at parts, but it created a sense of discomfort. Everytime I laughed I thought, Should I really have laughed at that? The show played up on the stereotypes concerning white and black, and the show centered around white/black. After the show when we were discussing, we wondered why this was. We think that keeping it strictly white/black created another message - that a lot of us are so centered on white/black, when really there are many many many other cultures out there. The show made all of us really aware of our thinking, and how none of us a perfect in terms of thinking about race. The show brought up issues about white privilege and was varied in terms of performance. There was dancing, singing, acting and a section where the actors stared out at the audience, not saying a word, for a good few minutes. I have never seen a play like this before, and it made me think and really challenge my perceptions and question how I really perceive. It was a great show and a very eye-opening experience.

Now we settle down for the night, excited for all the promise that tomorrow will bring. We learned a lot today and have a lot to think about. Tomorrow, we start volunteering!

Welcome Old & New: Catalyst--Be The Change

2010-03-17T13:27:00.003-04:00

Only another week and a half until we kick off the spring break trips! I hope everyone is getting excited! We'll be getting our Catalyst tee shirts this week and I know that the Chicago team as well as other teams will be doing some last minute outings and meetings with their members to get all things in order.

I can't wait to read the blog entries from the D.C., White Earth and both New Orleans trips while in Chicago doing communitie arts work.

I'm sure this will be another life changing experience for me as well as previous participants in these trips. And to those newcommers, you're in for a treat.

Best,
Simone Jacobs-Dwyer

"It's a dawn of a new day---new hopes, new dreams, new ways."

2009-03-28T18:53:00.006-04:00

"It's the dawn of a new day--New hopes, new dreams, new ways."

I woke up this morning around 6am, while everyone in the Chicago hostel was still fast asleep. I'm looking up at the white ceilings and realized that we were to leave at 10am. So, I began to think back to our reflection question for the last night. "What did we learn, will remember, and what issue impacted us the most."

For me, this trip has taught me to open my mind and heart to others. People may look at what we did in Chicago and say "Ehh, you didn't do much." It's not all about the physical accomplishment and I think the other women that spent the week with me would agree. Community arts has a way of touching so many social issues---Ageism, racism, social class discrimination, gang violence issues, sexism, etc. Each night we were able to sit around in a circle and discuss many issues that effect Chicago. We were also able to talk about how it impacts our lives at home.

I've seen these women grow. Old flames of hope and determination--passion, for community service was reignited within myself. Our service was to educate ourselves more, and to take all the knowledge we've received from amazing Chicago organizations and apply them to our lives to help better the Hamline community, as well as Minnesota.

People say drawing a picture isn't important.... artistic skill wont get you far.... but what if that skill can be transformed into a tool to help uplift an impoverished neighborhood? What if one mural could help spark a social movement-- notify people outside of the community as they drive through on their way to work? Is there something wrong here? If so, how can we all come together and fix it?

For me, this trip has been an eye-opening experience. I'm glad I was able to spend it with some amazing women and know, as do they, that we all have walked away from this trip with new goals and a willingness to go out into the rest of the world and make a positive change-through art.

--Simone <3

The Weekend, of End of the Week

2009-03-28T07:10:00.003-04:00

So it's here, the week's end. Where to begin and how do I reflect at this point, especially because it's 6:15 am on the final Saturday and I just don't know where to start. The week has been long to say the least, working everyday starting Monday up through yesterday afternoon. We did manage to have some time to enjoy the beauty of the town, within the French Quarter, St. Charles Ave, the hopes within the Vietnamese Community. If I was to write about my entire week, I would simply just photo copy my journal and post that, but seeing has how I can't, I'll probably write just on highlights of the week.

My week began with a kick, with our first night out, we ate with Ms. JoAnn, a contact of Hamline and Sharon. After ordering our food, we were able to relax a little bit. We had everyone from the two groups there, so we filled out half the restaurant. But the real kicker was once the food came out, the waitress said something with pasta and both Jess and I ordered something from the pasta section. Jess thought it was hers right away, so she began working on it. About ten minutes later or so, our waitress came out with the Creole Pasta, which was actually Jess' order and what she had been eating was mine, which was a Shrimp Alfredo Pasta. On that note, that happened again last night, on our group's final dinner. We were eating at the Cheesecake Bistro and I had ordered, again, a Shrimp Pasta. And unlike last time, it wasn't Jess, it was Christina's. The funniest part was when the food came out because, like last time, both Jess and Christina thought it was theirs, but Christina began by saying that she didn't order shrimp and told everyone at the table that the shrimp was up for grabs, so everyone ate MY shrimp because everyone even realized that it was my plate and Christina's hadn't arrived yet.

The work within the week was long, with many of the work days starting by 8:30am at the latest. The one day that really began it all was probably Wednesday when Karine, Christina and I worked with Mrs. Janet Bell. She ran a small garden two blocks away from First Street UMC. We got there and were able to be outside and enjoy the weather/humidity, but she told us that she had a nightmare and that if we could make it go away, she would really be happy. Her nightmare was that of a fallen trestle that had been that way since Hurricane Gustav. She had spoken about the number of people that had been in prior to our group and said they didn't have any idea as to how to get it up.We told her that probably after lunch, we could get more of our group there and get it up by days end, and we did exactly that. After that day, I felt a lot better in being able to do as much as we can and also being to surprise the people in our abilities. She asked us not to leave without seeing her, she had made flower arrangements for us, five to be exact, and one of herbs--which was great because on Wednesday, I made dinner and I used some for stir-fry.

I wish I could continue to write more, but seeing as how I have only a half hour to get ready to run to the airport, I need to get my stuff in order. But stories like the couple above, are within everyone on any of the CSI trips, so I look forward to the many questions about and the group together and laughing at the fun times here, but until then--

--Teng Lor

N.O.( i dont know how to blog.)

2009-03-28T03:07:00.007-04:00

Like the title suggests... I don't know how to blog but I do however write poetry.

My pictures alone cannot tell the story of how nature ran its course and dropped a bomb of destruction all over New Orleans beating spicy heart. If we ring out our sadness and look past the sinking sights of Katrina's horrible path you can dive and submerse yourself into a rich culture that sucked me in the minute I stepped out the New Orleans international Airport. How is it that if I just stand outside and look up at the sky, I can feel every one's struggle but also find peace that only emerges from a beautiful community. New Orleans is like a body and its people are the organs that keep moving along although Katrina kicked it down recklessly. I hope that I have helped to keep healthy blood in its veins and take a slight load off if its already strained wise back. A stroll down the french quarter is like breathing in a breath of sweet cultural air. Every one's smiles and laughs fill my heart with appreciation. But I look at burdened people and pass the the ancient houses that have been robbed of their beauty and I feel a sense anticipation. With a humbled spirit I pray that my poetry will bring me strength. On my tear stained pages I wrote of the lower ninth ward and how there seems to be hardly any life within every heart that beats from my weakened ribcage and as my knees buckle I am hopeful for the wonderful community to come back and claim their bit of the beautiful world. New Orleans has been imprinted in my mind and like clockwork I will be reminded of its song. May New Orleans rest in life and with that I rest my pen because even the pages in my journal are starting to feel as heavy as my heart.

signed b.l.

The True Faces of Oppression

2009-03-28T01:01:00.005-04:00

I decided to come on this because I thought it would be an excellent way to spend my spring break. I would be in a new city and I would also get a chance to help people. Coming on this trip would mean serving two of my greatest passions in one week, traveling and helping humanity (any way I can). From the first day I got to DC, I felt energy unlike no other state I've ever been to. I felt a renewal of strength, and a spirit of hope had awakened in me that I couldn't quite understand. I was in the nation's capital! This is where the hope of a nation is born! Although this was true, something was very wrong! All through the city there were homeless men and women camped outside in every single corner and on every street, even on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. People with nowhere to go laid outside the nation's capital waiting for hope to be awakened. How can a city that arises so much hope contain so much disparity?
Coming on this trip, I knew I was going to be "helping" the homeless, but I didn't know how much I would interact with them. I had no idea that I was going to be working with them (as they are not helpless), instead of "helping them." I believed I was going to be "helping" the homeless, although my heart was in the right place, I believed I had something to offer, I believed I had some divine knowledge I would've offered, a wonderful talent I would've performed to give anyone who interacted with me a sense of peace and happiness! As I approached these homeless individuals, I came to see that I had so many prejudices that I had not been aware of. These homeless individuals weren't at all helpless! They are able-bodied people who are trying to pull themselves back up with the little resources they have. Suddenly it became clear to me, I wasn't' here to help fight for them because they had already began fighting for themselves. I came to fight with them! I came to add on to the many voices that have already begun crying out that homelessness is preventable and unnecessary. I added on to their voices to make it louder, massive and stronger.
As I interacted with these men and women I saw that they were exactly like us. They had once been to college and lived in the dorms. they've gotten degrees, they had once been wealthy and loss it all because of the bad economy. They have families who love them deeply, they have nieces and nephews who still expect their uncles or aunties to bring home presents when they go home occasionally, and in return these homeless uncles or aunties try their best to find valuables to take home to their loved ones! They have hope for the future, dreams for their lives and goals to achieve. These individuals are just like us, they laugh just the same and being homeless has not killed their spirits (thank God). They still joke and know how to be social. We're all the same, the only difference is that at the end of the day we have a place to rest our heads, we have a home and a bed to go back to, and they don't. I should add that I "helped" one individual at one of the shelters by giving him a hug! A man asked me for a hug as we were leaving and I was honored and couldn't believe he had asked me for a hug! I jumped on him and didn't want to let him go. I made someone smile that day from giving him a hug, I will be a part of his story for those few seconds I spent hugging him, that is wonderful!!
Working with these great men and women wasn't enough for us Hamline students. We had to see what it was like on the outside. In order to begin this story, I would like to clarify that, I wouldn't say I now understand fully what it is like to be homeless, because it would be an impossible thing, but I now have a better sense of what being homeless is like than when I first came on this trip. We spent twenty four (24) hours on the streets of DC learning what exactly goes on outside of what we've been told and outside of what we've seen from afar. For the first time in my life I had experienced what life would be like if I had nowhere to go. Please keep in mind that this does not mean I fully understand what being homeless is like, as this was not the intention of our trip. In order to be an advocate, we had to know more than what the textbook or statistics offered, we met the homeless and spoke to them and heard their concerns, they told us about themselves and treated some of us as friends, proving to us that we were all just the same and that there is no reason that anyone shouldn't get the best of life like we had been given one way or the other. We went to the different sites where they offered assistance for homeless men and women and saw what they are doing to help. We went in public areas to see how we would be treated if we seemed like the stereotypical homeless man or woman and applied to jobs to see how we would be treated. The answers were shocking.
We went into the fancy restaurants and bookstores and it was clear that we didn't belong. I went into a bookstore with my partner and I had a sleeping bag inside a trash bag and this attracted attention. I walked in and the cashier was looking to see what I would do next. I took up many magazines and sat in a hidden corner where I wouldn't be seen, but just when I took a seat, one a sales person came to another man who was sitting a few steps away from me, and told him to leave. He seemed as if he was homeless and seeing this broke my heart! We left the bookstore after about 3 hours and the same sales person who had told the man to get out looked at us and seemed very upset because we had entered this store and looked in every magazine we wanted without buying anything and as he caught a glimpse of my huge trash bag I said, "bye", but he didn't respond! As we passed through the streets I saw people watching me and I almost felt like I had to prove myself worthy of being in the same space as others with better clothes. Why should I have to prove myself worthy when it is clear that we are both of the same species with only the differences in appearance? People on the streets walked past the homeless as if they didn't even exist, the homeless asked for change and some would give them and some pretended like they didn't hear them, there is nowhere to go at the end of the day, there's nowhere to lay your head after a hard day and this is horrible!
Coming on this trip is one of the greatest decisions I've made in my life! This trip has put us on our way to being global leaders in combating social justice issues. It has made some of us activist, educators, some thirsty for knowledge and change, it has made some prioritize, it has made us re-evaluate what we do in our lives and the effect it has on others (like ignoring the homeless on the streets when they ask for a little change, you do see them so why not acknowledge them?). It has re-affirmed others knowledge of homelessness and re-affirmed others faith in the system by simply knowing that someone on Capitol Hill cares about the issues of homelessness and willing to listen to our concerns. Some of us came on this trip having little or no knowledge about homelessness and we're leaving having gotten first-hand account of homelessness from hardworking and empowering individuals which has inspired us to want to do more.

Jonetta Morris

The Last Supper

2009-03-27T23:37:00.007-04:00

Hey guys (and girls of COURSE!!), this post is being brought to you live from the Hostel in Chicago. I'm your host for the day, Ella!

Today is our last full day here in Chi-Town, and let me tell you, we are going to miss it! From Little Black Pearl, Drama Girls, and Insight Arts, there were so many things going on this week. My feet are DEAD, but MAN do I feel good about it!

So, this morning we went on a tour with the Chicago Public Art Group, which is a group located a couple blocks away from our wonderful "home" that help fund and plan out public art pieces. Most of these are murals, with some being sculpture. We went around to 5 different sites in the city, to see some of the finished products. We saw a great one (and my favorite out of the ones that we saw) on the side of a transitional home for families. For anyone into politics, it's the place where the Ex-Senator Blagojevich's wife worked for a couple years. This mural, and some others that we saw, were done in a new style called bricolage, which is like a mosaic, but instead of planning out each piece of tile, it was all just done on the wall, and then filled in with colored grout. (the pic above is part of the one that we saw! It was taken from my phone... but it's still pretty good quality.) We saw some other great murals, including one done by a famous spray-paint artist, whose name I can't spell, but his tag name is Static. Then we came upon the last one that we talked about, which is located between two VERY racially different neighborhoods who are constantly in gang wars. This piece of art was done by Static, who is African-American, and also by a Hispanic lady. They are both from the different warring neighborhoods, and came together to collaborate on this mural. It was originally going to be a very poignant mural, but then 2 weeks before the production was going to start, the principal of the school where the mural was being placed changed her mind on the message she wanted to send. Instead, they had to weaken the image, and create a mural based off of education. It still had some racial issues, but it seemed very bubble-gum.

The next thing that we did today was to go back to Insight Arts. We started out the day by meeting with the founder, Craig, and hearing his story and how he started the organization back in 1992. We then participated in a staff meeting, which was pretty interesting. We saw how the everyone knew pretty much everything about the org, and how the organization of the org worked (lol, that was a weird statement). Then, we took a little break outside, by walking up and down the street in search of people who would come to the event that we helped host that night. The event was a great success in my opinion! It was an Open Mic night, but only for women. Aubrey and I acted as the MC's for the evening, and Simone and Randa collaborated to create a poem to perform. Then all the women who work at Insight Arts performed, along with a couple people from the street. The acts were so varied, from dance to poems. And the poems: from war to race. It was a great time!

I'm really sad that we now have to go home tomorrow... These girls have been a great inspiration to me. I can't believe how fantastic our reflections have been at night, and how much we've all connected. We can laugh about pretty much anything now!! I'm SOOOO happy that I chose to go on a CSI trip!!

Ok, signing off now! Peace Out Hens and Roosters! See ya on the flip side!
Ella

PS. For supper tonight we had soup. And bread. So it was very "last supper" ish. Just thought you'd ALL want to know what we've been eating. :-)

Respect

2009-03-27T01:01:00.003-04:00

Greetings from Chicago!
Today brought our group to a new work site called 'Insight Arts' in Roger's Park neighborhood. The neighborhoods here continue to fascinate me in their distinctiveness, diversity, and communal pride...

So, at Insight Arts, we participated in a Senior Arts program which was a very inspiring and necessary experience because it seemed to re-awaken the group to the importance of RESPECTING your elders!! I don't know why it is becoming so difficult for our society to view the elderly as human beings, but it is truly a disgrace. It seems like we have less and less time to devote to our own family members! I think the entire group would agree that it is necessary to re-invent the way we see the elderly community in the United States.

Personally, I connected with a woman named Amber who explained to me how art has helped her manage her anger and stress. This ensured me, for the 50th time on this trip, that I do want to pursue a career relevant to art therapy.

The entire group benefited greatly from our experience today, and the members of our trip keep reaching new levels of understanding with each passing day.

Thanks for reading.
Love,
Randa S.

New Orleans: Our busy Thursday!

2009-03-27T00:30:00.004-04:00

Today we planned a full work day of returning to Miss Gertrude's house. We left about 7:45ish today but not before eating some of Wendy's cooking! She made breakfast for us today consisting of eggs, bacon, and biscuits! When we got to Miss Gertrude's house, she was looking fancy for her doctor's appointment. Before she left, we gave her a stack of about 10,000 paint samples (haha not really but it was a big stack;she had quite the variety!) to choose from for the walls of the 2 bathrooms, 3 bedrooms, kitchen, and living room. She left to her appointment with the many paint samples to look through while waiting :) Our main goal today for the house was to prime the front room, touch up priming for the back room and kitchen, and finish texturing (giving the wall something other than a smooth plain feeling) the large dining room. Three of our group focused first on the texturing and finished that up- were hoping for it to dry fast so that we could even maybe prime that today, but due to the humidity down here, it didn't allow us to prime this today. We will do this tomorrow. The rest of the group (6) all worked in the front living room priming all the walls and ceiling. When we finished this, we went to the back room and kitchen and touched up on some spots. That second layer really made the walls look clean and nice and really brightened up the rooms, seeing as the only light we have comes from her windows (she has gone without electricity since the hurricane-4 years). After this, we went to apply a second coat of primer to the front room but again, the humidity did not allow the walls to dry that fast. The day went by really fast because after hearing what part of the group told us all last night about how Miss Gertrude showed them where she had her daycare business (which is not in business now) and had a hard time talking about how this affected her life, we all got an even great boost of motivation to get this job done for her because she has seen numerous volunteer groups come in for years and still, the progress is only at texturing the walls... it is sad, really. That is why today we went in really focused, knowing our duties, and having a better feel as to what she experienced and has had to go through these last 4 years. When she returned from her doctor's appointment at about 4 (a typical day for us is working at her house from 8am-4pm), she came with 4 paint samples picked out- antique white for the living room, light blue for the bathrooms, light green for the the bedrooms, and light yellow for the kitchen. She was so thankful that we had got this much done for her and that her house was finally getting some color in there! We left shortly after, telling her we'd see her tomorrow same time. We then went to buy the paint so that it was all ready for tomorrow! We are all excited to see how nice that color is going to look and how happy it is going to make her. Tomorrow is our last day of working at her house so we are going to be efficient but it would be great to see all the coats of primer and paint done so we could see the final result :) After this, the next volunteer group that comes in will probably be helping to install her new flooring, in which after, she will be able to move back in all of her belongings that she is keeping in storage (and has been for 4 years!)! Can't wait to see tomorrow's result even though it will be sad departing from Miss Gertrude who has given us a better idea of how Katrina affected just not the homes of residents, but also jobs, families, and overall, daily lives.

A New Kind of Motivation

2009-03-26T23:46:00.004-04:00

This is my fourth trip down to New Orleans, following Hurricane Katrina - this year has been a lot like previous trips, but also very different from any trip before. A couple days ago, a student wondered aloud, what it must feel like to live in the conditions that several do in New Orleans, well yesterday, a few students in our group had an opportunity to see some of the frustration of a New Orleans native. The person's whose house we are working on, was very vocal about how much she appreciates the help of volunteers, but also shared with us her frustration. She has not received help from the Road Home program, is still fighting to get full payments of insurance, has been taken advantage of by electricians and contractors, on top of losing everything she built and acquired over the last 30 years. I could feel her frustration and those of us, who heard her story, were left speechless, but motivated to work even harder to do whatever we can to help her.

There is something that I have heard during this trip, from the people of New Orleans, that I am still not sure how to respond to. Many people, have talked about plans and actions being taken so that if something similar to Hurricane Katrina happens in the future, that they will be able to take care of themselves and their communities. While this is great, it is underscored with the fact that these individuals, groups and communities - feel that it is necessary because they can not depend on anyone else. It is as if they can not trust or rely upon (some) community organizations, community leaders, and especially not the government (local, state and national) to come to their assistance during their times of need.

I am amazed at the advancements of individual groups - but sad that the smaller groups do not feel as full members of the larger community.

DC walking in wet shoes

2009-03-26T23:06:00.005-04:00

From the reflections @ what was hard about the homeless challenge just before it ended:
People didn't acknowledge me, they didn't look at me, I didn't exist
hard to know that i had a place to go
i felt really sad
i was being harassed and others intervened, chivalry isn't dead people took care of me
there's a community on the streets that isn't in the shelters, you don't get to choose, in a shelter, who you hang with or sleep close to
i felt really loved, welcomed with information
i heard people's stories all night long
there's such a lack of choice and control over your life, if you're a vegetarian you eat what people give you (i ate meat for the first time in over a year) and you have to get to a place on "time" in order to eat anything
surprised at how much i stereotyped "normal" people
reading body language was extremely important
telling my story about being on the street i felt pulled into being a FAILURE
i met people who were very, very well educated
it's mentally and physically exhausting to be on the streets, so who is really lazy really???
there's no such thing as "time" and there's no brain capacity past survival, sort of
loosing time was hard, what day is it, what year is it, i need to eat at 6, what is 6?

the reflections on the ethics of walking in wet shoes and the discussions with elected officials and our stories will come later shoes are wet because it's raining on the street.
good night

beginning of the challenge

2009-03-26T22:38:00.004-04:00

The past two days have been the longest and most exhausted days of the whole trip. We did the homeless challenge from the National Coalition for the Homeless - we had to disguise ourselves as homeless people and spend 24 hours on the street. It was hard staying on the street all day, having no money and nowhere to go. We tried to do panhandling from random people from the road. However, the non profit organizations in DC are doing a good job providing food and assistance to the homeless people. There are a lot of shelters where people come to eat. In the evening, there's a soup truck that comes by the park to provide food for people. We learned that if people go hungry in DC then it's their fault because there are a great deal of resources for homeless people. We have been volunteering in a lot of shelters where we see a lot of people come, and eat free food.
After one night of sleeping on the street, we came to talk to MN senator, Amy Klobuchar, and our representatives Betty McCollum and Tim Walt about homelessness issues.
P/S: There are a lot of great stories about our challenge that we are willing to share but we are so tired and sleepy now, so this is the end of the blog for today!
This is from Quynh...the only person up to explain to Sharon why all the lights just went off.

DC!

2009-03-26T12:03:00.001-04:00

How's the trip going thus far? What challenges have you come across? Remember to have fun! Hope all is well!

Winta

Chicago people

2009-03-26T00:21:00.003-04:00

Today was our last day volunteering at the Little Black Pearl Workshop, and it left all of us a little sad. we spent our time there finishing projects that we had started and hanging out with the awesome kids. We were really sad that it was our last day, but Heidi and Monica let us know that we could come back any time we wanted; we are definitely coming back for Pearl Fest! After finishing our time there we went to the play, Mongolia, at the Goodman Theater. It was an excellent play that focused on diversity and family, which tied into a lot of what we've been talking about the whole week. Unfortunately, there were some very rude people in the theater that didn't turn off their cell phones, which went off at some crucial points during the play.... After the play we walked back to the hostile (to find some very cute french boys checking in) and had our discussion about what we had seen and experienced. We all agreed that while diversity is still a huge issue, we (our country) has come a long way from where we once were. All in all, i really enjoyed the day and can't wait to do more tomorrow!

2009-03-25T23:42:00.003-04:00

Hello everyone!

Today we had a busy day in New Orleans. We learned how to put texture on the walls in a house (which was cool) and we put another cote of prime on some of the walls in this house. Latter in the day, some of us went to Mrs. Bell's Garden and helped her lift up a huge trellis that had been knocked down by the storm. It had been down for 8 months, so she was very happy that it was back up. To thank us, she made us each a bouquet of flowers from her garden :)
They were really pretty and smelled wonderful! Afterwards people went across the street and picked up a trashed parking lot, planted 2 trees, and weeded pastor Lance's front yard. I can't wait until tomorrow to work again & Wendy's barbecuing!! YUMMY!!!!

P.S.
Scott White has the best bed sheets ever; green & white stripes with pink flamingos (sorry ladies he's taken) but Teng is on the market & has pirate pajama pants (RRrrrrr Matey).

Tuesday in Chicago

2009-03-25T10:31:00.003-04:00

Hey Everyone-

This post is brought to you by Rayna and Kelly in Chicago. We had a great day yesterday and started off our morning a the Little Black Pearl (http://www.blackpearl.org/). The LBP fuses art and entrepreneurship to teach high school students how to create art and turn it into a sell-able product. The $10 million facilities at LBP are beautiful and include: glassblowing studio, a painting studio, a ceramic studio, a woodworking studio, as well as a cafe that showcases the student and staff's art.

All of our volunteer projects differed yesterday; some of us helped plan the LBP annual summer festival, "Pearl Fest," while others painted walls. Two of our trip members created a program focusing on health and nutrition for the children to participate in. One of members even wrote a small statement why community monetary support is important for the success of the LPB, which will be posted on the organization's website. As you can see, much of this work was office related, although at 4:00pm, we were able to serve food to the kids and interact with them. The variety of tasks, from administrative to hands-on serving, helped us understand everything that goes into running a non-profit organization.

We thank LBP for their hospitality and kindness and for everything they've done to make this trip worthwhile.

After our time at the LBP we explored Chicago and then headed back to the hostel to get ready for our group dinner out on the town. We ate dinner at the House of Blues, a blues club in downtown. The food and music was fantastic.

After dinner we came back to the hostel and had a great reflection where we talked about how our own identities (race, class, etc.) have shaped how we've perceived our experiences in Chicago.

DC Night

2009-03-25T02:34:00.003-04:00

Moments from today: we sat in the Senate gallery listening to three Senators talk about the importance of the Kennedy Hatch Serve America Act, how volunteering, AmeriCorps, Peace Corp is about our community, our values, and our future. Listening to the Senator, a woman's voice, say, "Walk The Talk", among students who are exercising heart, mind, and spirit about homelessness, poverty, and civic skills made me cry. Reading the post from New Orleans about why we serve made me cry. Talking in DC about how the genocide of indigenous people is represented in the artwork in the Rotunda, why the myth of America is carved in stone, why people are missing from the center of our political life, what we might do about the lie, the lies told over and over again, made me cry. Trying to sleep in a shelter when people are loudly uncomfortable down on the street, out on the street, makes me jittery. How we are trying, in New Orleans, in DC, in Chicago, up in White Earth, on the bus to Atlanta, building a Habitat house in Florida, to hone our values and live them, makes me proud.
=sharon

The layers of the city...

2009-03-24T22:18:00.003-04:00

The sun has gone down over Washington D.C., leaving the 11 members of the trip enjoying a quiet night in the hostel. Today was a full day - we started out with a 3 hour shift at the DC Central Kitchen - an organization that makes over 4,200 meals a day. The shifts varied - chopping, scooping, packing, etc., and we all enjoyed a wonderful morning meeting other volunteers and staff members. In addition to making thousands of meals, DC Central Kitchen is also devoted to helping homeless people turn their lives around. They offer classes to teach them how to work and serve, and every 8 weeks a class celebrates their graduation. From what we have seen, the act of turning a person's life around is just as important, if not more so, than making sure they have a bed for the night or a meal for the day.

Our group was then introduced to the second world of D.C., as we walked three blocks and were at the front doors of the Capitol building. Though as we have learned, there is in fact not front or back to either the White House or the Capitol. Silly D.C. After being shuffled through security (which is necessary to go through when meeting with any government official as well) we began our tour of this historic building. In the end, we found it was awe inspiring on many different levels; 1. The incredible history of our country that this building represents, 2. The different levels of democracy, and 3. How our democracy discounts the many people that sit on the streets, perhaps out of earshot, but within sight.

We then had our first experience speaking with Minnesota representatives, starting with John Kline of the 2nd Minnesota District. Only one of our group is one of his constituents, but we were able to speak with one of his aides. It was a quick meeting, and one typical of a busy House member - we explained our purpose, and gave him our information. We have two more meetings to go, one with Senator Amy Klobuchar and another with 4th district Representative Betty McCollum. Plus any other offices we decide to walk into, which vary greatly with the different members of our group.

For some people it was their first experience with the political process - a process that they found surprisingly easily accessible. If there was one thing worth sharing for today, it's that every citizen of this country has the right to be represented in our democratic government, and to be represented is to be involved. Your congressperson cannot help achieve your goals for your community if you don't express them - believe it or not, those people are there because of you, and for you. Don't complain about them, take advantage of them.

Our experience with homelessness is becoming more and more complex as we discuss different ways that homeless people are viewed. It's a problem with many questions and many answers and none that are clearly "correct." Let's see what questions are asked and answered tomorrow.

Until then, goodnight from N Street in D.C., and sleep well in yours beds.

-Ainsley

Sand, Mud, Prime, Eat, Repeat...

2009-03-24T20:07:00.004-04:00

Today we spent another busy work day at Ms. Gertrude's house in the Upper Ninth Ward. We continued to sand and add mud to the drywall, a process that could really go on forever, especially if you're a perfectionist... We also primed the back bedrooms of her house in preparation for adding some color! Although the work can be tiresome, we found the energy to work for several hours, especially after realizing that Ms. Gertrude has and continues to live in the "house" we have helped build while we are working on it. For most of our group, we always thought people lived in a rental while their house was being built or in this case re-built. Unfortunately, not everyone has the resources to do so. We are excited to start texturing the walls of Ms. Gertrude's house tomorrow and watch the house transform in the next few days.

After a full morning and early afternoon of work, our team headed back to People's Volunteer House for a quick lunch, shower, and change of clothes! Lunch of course was leftovers from last night. I helped prepare last night's feast of spaghetti and garlic bread, but cooking for nine people is a little different than cooking for one. Three pounds of ground turkey and two huge boxes of pasta later, we found ourselves with a little more food than we could manage in one sitting...thus the leftovers for lunch. Also, the oven at People's has been broken for a few days, so the garlic bread was pan fried (it actually turned out very good!).

Sorry for the blogging detour on last night dinner fiasco! So, back to today. Following lunch and a short break, we loaded up the van and headed to the Northeast of People's to East Orleans. We talked with Father Vien Nguyen of Mary Queen of Vietnam Church. It was AMAZING to hear about the progress his community has made since Katrina. Over 95% of the community in the area has returned AND rebuilt. WOW! In most of the neighborhoods we have traveled through, there are still many houses that have yet to be gutted, so to hear that 95% of this community is rebuilt is a sign 0f hope for the entire New Orleans community. It can and will be done, but it takes determination, resources, and help from not only volunteers, but also community members. Their future goals include building a huge urban farm for the entire community to grow organic produce and raise their own food! Additionally, they plan to build a community health center since prior to Katrina there were 3 hospitals within 7 miles of the community and now the nearest hospital is in downtown New Orleans over 15 minutes and 20 miles from where they live. Beyond rebuilding, the Vietnamese community is working to stop the expansion of landfills in and around their property. They have been in constant legal battles with the government to clean up these dirty landfills and prevent new ones form being built in and around their homes. What a fascinating community to visit!

Tomorrow will of course bring new adventures and new stories! Hopefully we will see huge progress on Ms. Gertrude's house and the weather will allow primer and texture work to dry quickly!

Lastly tonight, I just wanted to let everyone reading know we have had three days of gorgeous weather (around 78 degrees)! Hope you're not too jealous back in MN! Talk to you all later!

Bye from New Orleans!

Why We Serve

2009-03-24T19:40:00.004-04:00

It was something small; an interaction that in any other circumstance I'd have forgotten long ago. But seeing that woman on the side of the street waving at our non-distinct, industrial van and shouting, "Thank ya'll for coming down to help us in 'Nawlins!" made me pause and deeply reflect on why volunteerism on every level is so vital.

The ironic thing is that we weren't pulling into her driveway, tools in hand; rather, her house was lost from line of sight after a few moments of proceeding down the narrow, winding New Orleans roads. Moreover, she didn't even know for sure that we were volunteers--didn't know we'd traveled over a thousand miles from a blustery state called Minnesota from a college called Hamline, sponsored by an office called OSLV. Still, when our van rumbled past (perhaps a little bit too fast) this woman still produced her biggest smile and warmest welcome.

There are some twenty of us in this group; we will not single-handedly dredge up the Ninth Ward from its desolation or solve any of the complicated socio-political tensions that exist in this city. But provide an old woman with a reassurance that the nation hasn't forgotten about her city; that people are still here to help?

That's why we serve.

yesterday

2009-03-24T10:25:00.005-04:00

Yesterday we woke up, had a delicious breakfast and ran down the street to catch the bus. We arrived at our site, The Little Black Pearl, early so we could take a look at our surroundings. We walked in the direction of the Obama mansion. The houses got bigger and bigger and then... there were cop cars. They beeped at us when we tried to keep walking on the street. Luckily Megan rocked, and figured out the back way...
The little Black Pearl gave us an awesome tour and we talked with the founder and director, Monica. LBP was created to give kids in the neighborhood goals and dreams. Monica had talked to many of them and they had told her that they didn't think they'd live past thirty. She also wanted to give African American kids role models in the arts as direct examples that an art career can happen. LBP does a huge range of things from having a huge PEArlFests, which creates money to support the non-profit, but they also hire artists and give them salaries and benefits, which sounds amazing if you ask me... Hire me, please...
Today we worked with kids who wanted to learn about ceramics, woodworking, painting, mixed media, mosaics and in the future glass blowing as well as the skills to market these things.
Of course the day was great, but when we were leaving the bus was flagged down, and i couldn't find my bus pass!
"OMG Where's my Bus Pass>>!?! AHH i don't have my BUs Pass!!! Wait!!! My bus pass is lost!??!!!!" all while running towards the bus... Mind you this is Chicago bus time, not TWin Cities- they don't wait for you... Anyway we tried to sneak someone else's bus pass... didn't work...
When we got off the bus in the Blues District, we saw a complete opposite to the Obama area. Trash was everywhere, buildings were boarded up and not maintained well.. Kids in this area are also served by LBP...
Then we went on the 'L' and went to our next place.
DRAMA Girls! The director of RED Moon was a Hamline Alum!! This is an awesome program that takes girls in 4-8th grade. When we got there we played a quick game of Red Light, green Light, and other openers. The girls began working on their fairy tales while we created bubbles of paper mache. the purpose of Drama Girls is to keep the girls in that age group wanting to be involved. The founder had realized that girls that age began to step bag in mixed group settings, allowing the boys to do all of the stuff that was going on while they talked in the corners.... The point of the Drama Girls is to give them mentors and give them a voice. Their main goal is the play that they create and put on in the summer.

Tuesday Morning in New Orleans

2009-03-24T08:24:00.004-04:00

This will be our 3rd full day in the Crescent City (New Orleans) and I am looking forward to a full day. So far, my group has kept a busy schedule. Our first night here, we had the opportunity to have dinner with Mrs. Joanne and Lynn. Mrs Joanne is a New Orleans native. She invited our group to her church on Sunday, which we attended. After church, the Annual Mardi Gras Indian parade was held, passing by the People's Volunteer Center where we stayed. Many of us, took many pictures of the parade participants in their colorful costumes. Afterwards the group went down to the lower 9th Ward. It was a powerful experience to see the change from the celebratory parade to the spirit in the 9th Ward. What was also enlightening, was that to end the evening, several went to the French Quarter. That provided an additional opportunity for people to compare the work done in different areas of New Orleans.

My group got our work assignment yesterday and we are working on a house in the upper 9th ward. We are sanding drywall, mudding, applying primer and applying texture to the walls. I think many of us were surprise at how exhausted we were at the end of the day. Over dinner on Monday, we had a great conversation, allowing us to vocalize our thoughts/concerns around issues of class, privilege, organizational structure and civic responsibility. I will probably write more about all of these later...now I need to hurry and eat breakfast. my group plans to leave the volunteer center by 8 a.m. in order to be on the work site and ready to work by 8:30.

--Wendy

Monday in DC

2009-03-23T22:42:00.003-04:00

Hello! This is Anne reporting from the hostel in the beautiful Washington DC, listening to all the girls laughing in the room. Today was the first day of service with the entire group. Some served breakfast at the women's shelter across the street and we all set out in the afternoon to do some yard work for Miss Brown. After a few mishaps with the metro system, we arrived at the van that took us to Miss Brown's house, which had quite a ferocious backyard. Luckily we were able to clear much of the brush and vines growing wildly throughout the yard. The program we worked through helps elderly sustain their living situations so they can keep living in their homes. The program is free for the residents and the hug from Miss Brown at the end really conveyed how thankful she was.
After returning from yard work, we had some down time before taking a tour of N Street Village, the women's shelter across the street that offers various programs and temporary/permanent housing for its clients. Though the services for the homeless are obviously inadequate for the proportion of the population that they cater to, the N Street Village tour really opened my eyes to all of the services and volunteers that helped make the homeless as comfortable as possible and give them services to help them out of their situation.
We met several women, Mary and Patty, who lived in the N Street Village complex who told us their stories. I won't go into details for confidentiality reasons but they were extremely compelling and made me rethink the face of homelessness. It happens to average people who happen upon bad times and have trouble getting out. These people deserve help. I can't even imagine the thousands upon thousands of people like Mary and Patty who don't have a place to sleep at night and aren't getting the help they need.
It was an emotional day for all of us, but the chance to serve alongside these girls was fun and thought provoking. I am anticipating the days ahead and more chances to learn and serve.

White Earth: Straight from the Sugarbush

2009-03-23T19:02:00.002-04:00

Let's see. This is Lora. I am sitting in the Ice Cracking Tavern with Orin, Eric, and Maggie right now before a 17-bar wide game of Bingo after a hard day's work. The work started early though, yesterday.

Nancy, Christy, Eric, Steph, and Miriam all went to Itasca Park. For those of you not well-versed in MN terrain, that's the supposed origin of the Mississippi. There's a culture center there where they got to get a good look at the history of territories and their distribution throughout the state.
Patrice, Orin, Nick, Maggie, and myself all went to help Ron, the site coordinator for the White Earth Land Recovery Project. They had been tapping since last Saturday and it was time to collect. So out we went with two 5-gallon buckets a piece and started emptying the bags and buckets hanging on the maples. Knee-high snow and about 4,000 taps, but the rest of the crew had been working since early morning. We set in about 10:30.
"The Sugar Shack"
I found out quickly that I did not have appropriate boots and had to sit in the lodge where they cook the sap. We had collected approximately 900 gallons of sap by lunch break and ended up with 2,700 total by the end of the day. Every fifteen minutes they had to load more wood into the furnace to boil the 200 gallons that fit into the large metal pool for sap. It takes about 3 hours to cook the sap, depending on the humidity level. Every 40 gallons of sap makes a gallon of syrup, because it's about 3% sugar content/level. That's a lot of gallons and hours for that sweet sweep sap. But we each got a finger's worth of taste this morning and it was great. Much of what we collected may have been thaw Ron said.
The trees aren't flowing today because it is too cold and if it doesn't freeze at night, and the sun doesn't heat things up to about 40 degrees, things kind of slow down. It was a drizzly day, but we gathered with the St. Thomas crew and broke into two groups. One group tromped around checking for bags with holes in them and tapping more trees. The other group, of which I was a part of, went and collected wood that had been chopped intermittently in the woods. I'll tell you, there was a great deal of heaving and ho'ing going on and all our shoulders a bit more knotted than before. It was pretty profound to be grateful to sit down on a stump now and again.

Lastnight, to preface our whole-hearted dive into the work we read a speech by Winona LaDuke, taking turns, and set intentions for the trip. It was a good way to support eachother's experience and to see a little deeper into the character of each person we are living with for a week.

Ron has been this wonderful initiator, he's got ridiculous jokes and an everpresent laugh that brings everyone along. He is great at explaining the painstaking amount of effort it takes to make this syrup without making me feel ungrateful. He just emphasizes, 'there's much to do.' And we set in, working from about 9-5 today.

Nancy has been a welcome presence, and I thought I'd post the ingredients Five-Minute Artisan Bread that she has so graciously made for us:

-1-1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast 9about 1-1/2 packets)
-1-1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
-6-1/2 cups unbleached flour, plus extra for dusting dough
-cornmeal

I guess I'm not going to post the prep cause I am feeling a bit fatigued, but if you're interested just reply and I can make that happen.

I don't have the recipe with me right now for dinner lastnight but I assure you the cooscoos (the food so nice they named it twice, oh yeah, I went there) that Patrice prepared was DELICIOUS. Mhm.

We have had a few, okay, a great number of ridiculous moments.
Yesterday we tried to turn around in the van at the end of the day and got suctioned in by the mucky mud. Orin, our 'life coach' as I've taken to calling him, helped guide Nick's driving and we all got out and pushed.

Then, riding on the 'sap sleigh' (a horse-drawn sleigh that holds a huge tub for the sap we collect in giant tubs dispersed in the woods) about 4 of us were pitched off into the snow when the horses picked up speed (Rosebud and Andeg which in Ojibawe means 'Crow', not the other faithful steeds Bonnie and Clyde).

And this morning, on our way back from the office where Ron met us, St. Thomas' van sank through the water-deteriorateed dirt road. Luckily, Ron, his truck, and a strong rope were with us. With a push and Ron's four-wheel-drive, they were freed and we set to the woods.

When I say we hauled wood, I mean that wood was hauled. First, you pitch it close enough to fill the plastic sled you have with you. Then, if you're lucky, there's enough snow to pull the sled easily to the dirt road and make a pile for the sleigh to come collect. They stack it on the sleigh, pull it to just outside the Sugar Shack and set to splitting the big pieces. Most of the wood today was wet and will have to dry while they use the older wood from the massive pile.

Well, Bingo just ended, no winners at this table. I think Nick's at the grocery store to replenish our stock and then he's cooking fajitas for us. I look forward to it with a greatful mind, body, and soul. I think I can safely say the same for the rest of the group.

To all the committed hearts,
Lora, the White Earth Spokespersonage

monday. march 23, 2009

2009-03-23T18:46:00.002-04:00

today we had orientation about our worksite. our group was assign to a house to restore some broken things. we did several things such as remodeling the kitchen floors and we learned to "grout" which was a way of filling the empty spaces between the tiles. we spent a lot of time doing that and it was not an easy thing. we finished our duties around 4 oclock and headed back for dinner. Tonight we are having spagetthi.

What Is Art?

2009-03-23T00:03:00.004-04:00

The four year old boy on the street drumming a beat on the bucket between his feet.
This is art.

The Bean in Millennium Park.
This is art.

The mural on the side of a man's house.
This is art.

The symphony playing in the Chicago Cultural Center.
This is art.

The words "Everyone Matters" written on the gallery wall.
This is art.

A poem intertwined with a quilt, a sculpture, a painting.
This is art.

This poem is art.

First Day in New Orleans

2009-03-22T22:55:00.003-04:00

Today we went we to a Swamp Tour bright and early. We went to the same place the Wild Boys went and filmed. There were pictures of Steve-o with our tour guide. Our tour guide showed us over 10 alligators, one was HUGE!!!! We have pictures!! He also brought out a little one they we could all hold... I was too chicken, but almost everyone else did. After the Sweet swamp tour we went to a parade that went right past Peoples, where we are staying. It was really interesting to see the costumes they were wearing, like Native American Head Dress... After the Parade we went to the Lower 9th ward, and it was very emotional. Going there made everything more real. We saw toys of kids, churches, schools and much more. We met a family that lived there and the woman said she use to live down the block and that her house was lifted up and was found on top of her car. There was also a group from New Jersey there talking with them. She meets people like us on a daily basis. Being in the lower 9th ward was probably the most interesting thing we did all day. After we visited the lower 9th we went ate and walked down to the French Quarter.. We ate dessert, veignts, they were like funnel cakes, but so much better!!! We also went around to all the shops and it was really interesting to see the people. We rode the trolley back to our homestead and everyone is beat from a long day in the sun. We have a meeting at 8:30 tomorrow to find out where we will be working this week. Thats all for now!!!

Communication is key in D.C.!

2009-03-22T21:12:00.006-04:00

Hi from sunny D.C.!
It truly was quite warm today - I appreciate being able to soak up some rays on my spring break. Along with the sun, the attractions of Washington D.C., many of which offer stories - always history and sometimes visions for the future. I saw a lot of these during a "Civil Rights Scavenger Hunt"/walk around the city today. As I gathered from a few of the quotes that are carved into the granite tiles in "Freedom Plaza", the planners of our nation's capital believed that the city would reflect or live up to these ideals of our nation, "one day very soon."
Yet in this city of ideals, there are unmet needs on every street. This is not ideal. Not everyone in the U.S. is able to experience the "land of opportunity."
Why?
An engaging discussion tonight about the reasons why people have such different socio-ecomic experiences in the U.S. led to values. Specifically we talked about how societal values drive the perpetuation of the disparity. As members of our society, prominent values communicate something about our society as a whole. It seems some values tell the "have-nots," either directly or indirectly, "you are not." For example, you are not allowed to sit, not allowed to vote, not allowed to be listened to in a job interview, not allowed to enter, not allowed to have choices about the food you eat or the clothes you wear, not allowed to relax or laugh, not allowed to be like the rest of us.
Meanwhile, the voices of some people are quieted, or absent (again, not being able to vote, or not being taken seriously when asking for more affordable housing or healthcare).
I will enjoy experiencing up close the beauty of the ideals in the U.S. capital, while also examining whose values are reflected on the streets here, and what those values communicate.

yes we can in DC

2009-03-22T18:39:00.002-04:00

N Street Shelter shelters homeless women and is part of Luther Place, a social justice community and church. While I can't wait to read what Hamline students write, I figured to start off this 2009 on site blog with a comment about DC in 2009.
Last time I was here with a CSI group to this very place was in 2002. DC is so different. Yes there are people living on the streets, in the metro entrances. Yes, there was a soup kitchen in a park between here and the White House. Yes, the grass on Smithsonian mall is patchy and in the breeze it gusts and stings.
Yes also to the excitement that is palpable, the pictures of Obama eating a Chili Dog at Ben's Chili Bowl, which like this church, opened its doors during the riots after the assaisination of MLK Jr, the steady thrill that the President's motorcade is in the neighborhood, and the poise of the people protesting on the anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq war, yes, DC seems different. It feels anchored in the long struggle for racial justice and that grounds the thinking and the work about the economy and the other struggles for justice in our time.
Thanks for reading and keep popping in as students begin to blog.

CSI 2009

2009-03-16T12:31:00.004-04:00

Welcome back! This year students from Hamline will be traveling to four different locations:
New Orleans, LA: Rebuilding New Orleans post Katrina
Chicago, IL: Community Arts
Washington, DC: Homelessness, Service, Education, and Advocacy
White Earth, MN: Environmental and Food Justice, Sustainable Communities

The last blog

2008-03-31T16:38:00.001-04:00

I forgot to write my name. The blog entitled 'second year' was written by Jen Piller.

My second year

2008-03-31T16:27:00.002-04:00

This year was an entirely different experience from last year. Last year I felt like and worker bee and this year I felt like a sponge. As I am still processing everything that I have learned from the trip and my peers, I now have a better understanding of what happened, how it happened and speculations into why it happened. I had the opportunity to speak listen to Tanya' story, the director of ACORN in New Orleans. She was a resident in the Lower 9, as they say down in New Orleans. Her story, her courage and her motivation to get the Lower 9 back on its feet was more than inspirational about the devastation, it gave hope to all that was there to listen to her. She told us that volunteers in a big catastophe is something special, it is as if there is a common thread that unites the human spirit into doing miraculous things, for example we all are working for the greater good by helping srtrangers and those effected by Katrina. Even our presence there, and those of other colleges are hope and optimism in itself. I had heard that before last year and it really rings true. Service learning is not about spending your spring break down in a city you are unfamiliar with, it is about helping people, learning from them, having them help you and to keep something that builds us together concrete. I will tell stories of those down in New Orleans and let people know it is not fixed or settled. I will try and explain the causes to better understand the situation, as the media has its own priority and agenda that revolves around money and what sells. Oh so exciting. It feels like we are up against a wall, yet together as a community, not just down in New Orleans, we can better the human spirit in people and find connections in one another. That will help our world succeed and get out of destructive messes.

Thoughts on Katrina

2008-03-23T20:35:00.002-04:00

We returned from New Orleans yesterday. I've been talking to family members about my trip and I've been realizing some of the things that really stuck out to me.
It was amazing to get to do so many projects with Hands On. Neighborhood clean-up, painting murals to go into a high school, working with elementary school kids, and so on. Throughout the trip, the people I talked to in New Orleans felt that the volunteers gave them a lot of hope. They talked about how even though there are many things that separate us, people coming down to try to help the community and learn more about the problems they face gave them a lot of hope.
The biggest thing I feel I learned on the trip is how incredibly complicated Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath is. When I got down there, I got the sense that everyone was searching to pinpoint the answer or the cause of why it happened. It happened because the levees were faulty or because global warming is creating stronger hurricanes, etc. I do not believe there is any one cause, rather it was a multitude of problems working together to create one massive one. In some ways this feels completely overwhelming. But at the same time, I think it gave me hope. If everyone works on their own part of the problem, specializes in that and works together with others, I think a lot can get done. For example, we saw a large homeless population living under a bridge when we were down there. So if someone is really interested in issues of homelessness, they would be helping New Orleans. Katrina obviously had many ties to racial and class discrimination, so work to help fight discrimination would help New Orleans. The school we went to needed more teachers, so helping children would help. And so on and so forth... I really began to think that as long as people are doing something to help the problem, it's really all the same battle. And that gave me a lot of hope.
There are a lot of things that I don't think I'll forget (and I hope not to). People talking about friends they lost, the kids at the elementary school we worked at, and especially the lower ninth ward. Overall, I feel fortunate that I could go to New Orleans to help out and to learn new things about something I didn't know very much about going into.

-Anne L.
(Hands On)

super powers, life, etc...

2008-03-23T18:04:00.003-04:00

It's Sunday evening now; I'm back in Minnesota but I left my mind (and heart) in Louisiana. I've been thinking about all the people (from Hamline and otherwise) that I got to know, about the weather, about the work we did, about everything. But I've been struggling to transform the magnitude of my thoughts into a form that other people can understand. If I could choose to have one super-power, I would want my eyes to be a camera/video camera that is constantly documenting and recording how I perceive the world so that I could present my feelings in the form of a movie or a picture...

But anyway, I had a really powerful experience this past week in New Orleans. I'm fascinated by the concept of unity, and I think it's awesome that everyone got together and made the best his or her time. Although it is hard to tell our friends and family the intricacies of our story - we can at least communicate how important it was to have had this experience at all.

We are young, young people. But it will not always be that way. Life can change on a dime, and I think all of us have seen that this past week.

I'm not sure when to stop writing because I could type out random thoughts for hours probably...but I know that I want to end by saying thank you to everybody who went on this trip for being so awesome. I don't think a group of people has ever kept me smiling/laughing/thinking as much as you guys did!

thanks, enjoy the time back at home

- Randa S.

Levee Tour

2008-03-21T17:42:00.006-04:00

On Wednesday, we had the opportunity to go an look at the levee with Professor Steven Nelson from Tulane University here in New Orleans. In addition to teaching classes, Professor Nelson has conducted independent research on why the levees failed, and what needs to be done to prevent such a catastrophe in the future. The tour started in the Ninth Ward, where the levees broke in two spots. He explained some architectural and geological considerations that go into building levees, and was very informative. From there we drove over to Lake Ponchetrain and he explained more about how the effects of storm surge can be prevented, and how the Gulf Coast is severely environmentally damaged. We also viewed a portions of the levee deemed to be most structurally at-risk, and a portion of the canal by the city park that has no levee and was allowed to flood. The tour answered some questions about the science and politics that make the levee systems work and/or fail. It also made me think about many different things related to Katrina such as natural disasters in general, responsibility, and human error, to name a few.
What struck me most about Professor Nelson's talk was how preventable this disaster was. Before this, I thought that a disaster like Katrina was bound to happen, that it was just a matter of time. Mother Nature would overcome all our human engineering. However, it is totally preventable, and if only those responsible for the building the levees had not taken so many shortcuts, and done a more thorough job researching the best way to build it, we would not see the mass devastation that we do now. Obviously I can't explain it here, but if you want to learn more I recommend going to Professor Nelson's webpage devoted to his research on Katrina. It saddens me to think of the price the people of New Orleans are paying for the lazy mistakes made by the engineers and politicians responsible for the construction of the faulty levees.
What saddens me even more is the fact that steps are not being taken to improve the entire levee. As it is, it is only being repaired in the places that it failed. In those places, it has been redone using better levee building methods. However, the rest of the levee is of the same old second-rate design that killed hundreds of people, and thousands more homeless. People, when will we learn from our mistakes?

Tyler Anderson

this is what it feels like

2008-03-21T17:08:00.002-04:00

I haven't told anyone else yet, but my group will probably hear about it in time. I had a dream last night that I felt was really induced by what I've seen here in New Orleans, so I would like to share it.

I dreamed that I came back to my house in Minnesota and there was a large hole in our roof. Snow was falling in our living room, and I wanted to know what had caused the damage. My dad told me that the city goverment had come to our house and planted a tree in our yard. The tree had fallen on our house shortly afterwards. My dad said that the city goverment wanted the tree to fall on us so we would move. I was outraged and couldn't understand why anyone would purposely try to do that to us. My dad said it was because of who we were.

The city goverment, the mayor, and the army corps of engineers, because of reasons of their own, helped to worsen the tragedy in New Orleans. Buracracy and politics ruined the lives of thousand of people. It's sad that we call this humanity. I hope that future leaders can learn from this experience, because there is no reason why this should ever happen again.

katie

"And to the republic..."

2008-03-21T11:12:00.003-04:00

The trip has been emotionally draining. I couldn't help but notice the disparities that exist in the city. We rode in on St. Charles street, where there are houses tha put Summit Avenue in saint paul to shame. I saw the French quarters, where the businesses quickly responded to ensure profitability. I saw homes off lake Pichotarian and off the Gulf of mexico. Then, I compared that to the "real" New orleans.

From my perspective, the "real" New Orleans consist of the inherent underclass in the United States. The ones who create the culture everyone admires but God forbid someone with priviledge to be burdened with its reality. The ones who lost everything and can't get it back because of the systematic discrimination that occurs daily. The ones who live with underresourced K-12 schools yet have some of the nations best colleges right in their cities. The various names for the "same" streets. And, the statues of Confederate heroes who are honored for the contributions to this great nation we live in. These are the things that represent our "democracy" and I am ashame to see this in the wealthiest nation I have to call home.

What's more painful is our political system. I don't understand how so little has been done. I realize that rebuilding takes time but this is ridiculous! Systematically speaking, everyone is suppose to fend for their own. But, how is one suppose to take care of themselves when they have nothing to start with and no one to turn to?

I don't understand, there is no logic in that...

The reson why

2008-03-20T11:36:00.002-04:00

I have been asked to write...to post something on the service learning blog....but it's not that easy!
I am not from Minnesota, I am not American...I come from Italy and I am just an exchange student. How does it happen that I am in New Orleans right now? Kind of wierd...i was just arrived at the Hamline, without knowing anybody, when I first heard about the CSI New Orleans. The idea was great: seeing one of the most famous and beautiful cities in the US, living the south, seeing with my own eyes what the hurricane did and doing something good for my spring break. I just applied...
In the meantime, before our leaving, I started to get informed about what ahppened to the citY.
In fact, the news of Katrina's distaster arrived in Europe. in 2005, but I hadn't heard anything else about ever since.After 2 years and a half.....what was left to do?
So...internet, movies...just to have a clue of the reality that I should expect...but only when i came here I COULD REALLY REALIZE.
After a 24-hour-bustrip I am arrived in the ancient Nouvelle Orleans and I've visite the French Quarter as a tourist. The impact of the city, of the music, of the colors was so great that I suddenly fell in love! But the amazement for the discovering of this beauty had to be offset by a similar feeling for the discovering of a total opposite landscape:Lower 9th.
I was told that we were going to the part of the city most affected by the flood. I was told that the levees broke.I was told that a lot of people had lost their house and all their belonging.
But when I saw it I could not believe it....
In front of me there was a huuuuge green plain surrounded, for one side, by an enormous white long white wall. Some trees and a few little houses. Was that a park?Was that a residential area?Where were the houses I'd been told of?Where were the signs of the disaster?
I get off the car...I wanted to undeerstand more...and walking on the grass I could perceive that here and there there were tiles, steps and house basis.....there!the houses were there!
it was full of houses of which only traces were left!
Where were the people?
Where are they now?
The worse thing is that it has not been a natural disaster as I've been told by the media before coming! The engeneers knew!The government knew!The knew that the levees system was not efficient for preventing a flood....but they didn't do anything...
I was angry, sad, all at the same time....I just wanted to do something for those who had lost everything. I wanted to do something....and I've found the reason why I was in New Orleans.
Even if only for a week, even if it would be necessary a governmental intervention in the area...What are the volonteers doing here is essential for the rebuilding of this wonderful city.
I am glad to be here.
Elis

Continued

2008-03-20T10:29:00.002-04:00

So, back to blogging. It's been a very interesting couple of days since I blogged last. After our day of work with the office and the tool shed, we spent the next day scraping paint off a house a few blocks down. This was a very different type of work from how we'd spent the previous day; rather than just helping First Street, this time we were actually helping members of the community. This was my first time actually seeing how the poor people of color are living in this area of the city. As we donned masks and eye goggles, and started scraping away the thin flakes of white paint from the rotting planks of wood, I couldn't help but glance down into the windows. How do you cope with living in a house that is coming apart at the seams? How do you deal with the sides of your house rotting off, after two years of damage? Simply, how do you get through the filth? All around us, other houses were creaking apart just the same.

It was tough work, but I felt good about it. This feeling was strengthened when I walked back for a bathroom break and to check in with Darryl. As I walked back, I have to admit I was nervous. This is a very low-income, very black, and very crime-ridden area. People were just there, starving, sitting, dragging for something, anything, to hold onto--- how would they treat me?

As I walked through, I smiled, and tried not to make too much eye contact. Would they talk to me--- this little white girl from Minnesota? Before long, an old man stopped me. He asked me what I was doing, and if I went to church down on First Street. I smiled, made small talk, and explained that I was a volunteer. Immediately, they all paid me respect--- "God bless you", "God bless you, baby", "We need it, good for you", "That's hard work, God bless you". I was blown away. That they would pay me that kind of respect, and they don't even know me, and have every reason to dislike me--- my privileged, rich, white upbringing, getting all the opportunities their sons and daughters never got--- but apparently my ivory tower didn't dissuade them from seeing the work we're trying to do here. It's important, and like the woman said last night--- "It's not about white or black, it's about help." I'm so glad we're learning to be able to come together like this. It's the future we're building here, a future that we can construct ourselves--- a future built between all colors and classes and thoughts and people--- and this kind of work is how it starts.
--- April

2008-03-19T19:21:00.002-04:00

I have never been to the south, nor ever had an inkling to. But my friend suggested I sign up for this OSLV trip - I thought, hey cheap spring break trip, sounds good. Little did I know, that this trip would recenter me and show that things are not always as they appear. As the bus traveled further down south, I saw the sticks and swamps of Mississippi and Louisiana. Things seemed as I expected, but then we hit the city of New Orleans... oh my. I feel in love! The people, music, food, sights, sounds, smells, it all hit me and I gorged myself on the culture of New Orleans, with excitement and joy.
Those first few days were filled with fun and enjoyment. I wanted to gather as much as I could. But now I am on day 5 and I have been changed and resifted to a new understanding of New Orleans. It is not always about me and my enjoyment with my surroundings. Traveling to the lower 9th ward and seeing the devastation that Katrina brought and then hearing the stories of Kim, the lady whose house my team is working on, my perspective has sharpened. Not only am I filled with sorrow, but disappointment and anger. That our country and government would let these conditions continue in this city that I immediately fell for. How could this happen in America? to Americans? how could our government put these people in tents under overpasses, in infested trailers, and have no home or community to go back to. This is far greater than me. Although I have not made any conclusive and large strides to Kim's house, still what help I could offer I did. I am no longer concerned with my own well being while down here, I am privileged and have people who care and help me. But these people need us, need our attention, our time, and our help.
Thank you New Orleans, OSLV, my AMAZING group, and Alicia and Corey for a wonderful and opening experience.

- Beth Homa

The Upper/Lower 9th

2008-03-19T18:18:00.003-04:00

We were all expecting things. I for one was expecting some progress. I was expecting an ounce of justice. Walking on cracked, uneven streets, my feet found it hard to find a place that wasn't touched by people. A ghost people that echoed into my mind through their little broken pieces. The concrete slabs of houses were no longer such, tombstones to a dead they had becomes. A smelling pleasant candle entered my nose, the distant sounds of the occasional car and bird killed the drowning silence, and my eyes were numb. I didn't want to think about these ghost people, they hurt too much and thus made me hurt. Little broken pieces were what they left, the sidewalks now overtaken by green weeds were once children's' canvases, and the glass bowl was finding its pseudo home in a blanket of dirt. Why had the ghost people been forgotten? They spoke to me loud and clear, their words stuck like razors in my chest. These weren't just words, they had a palpable salty weeping taste. I un-numbed my eyes, we had left the whispering ghost people so they couldn't hurt me. I hadn't forgotten them and I'll try my best to explain color to the blind.

-Jordan Zieth

paintbrushes

2008-03-19T17:27:00.003-04:00

When Sharon pulled me inside to take a minute to blog, I was washing paintbrushes. I was washing paintbrushes, periodically pulling my hands out of the dirty water to throw a ball for the dog that lives at our site, dodging other volunteers as they smeared paint on each other's arms and noses, and of course, enjoying the weather.

That's a long list of things for just one sentence, but to break it up would not do justice to the fact that we are so very busy. There are moments of waiting for instructions and standing in line for street trolleys, but there are just as many flourishes of quick labor to get one more wall done before we meet with someone from the community, and hurried sandwiches in the mid-afternoon so we can finish up our job before heading off to see how the hurricane and its aftermath have had different effects on different parts of the city.

Our group, from First Street, also met up with other Hamline volunteers today. We came from our various sites around the city for a tour of the levies that broke during the storm, led by a professor from Tulane. He left us speechless. With this being my first time in the Crescent City, I have been eager to experience as much as I can, from lively jazz and funk shows to solemn strolls in the Lower Ninth Ward.

But, with this panoramic view of the city comes the profound, first-hand realization that along with the physical damage caused by the storm, there is a slew of intense, systemic problems that are plaguing low-income residential areas. Predominantly communities of color, like the one where we are volunteering, are appreciative of our help, but are also suffering on levels greater than we are currently prepared to address. The list of injustices that need to be addressed seems to get longer every day, but for now, I'm heading back to the paintbrushes.

Two Days Into Work

2008-03-18T20:52:00.002-04:00

So, having experienced the emotional ups and downs of our first full day in New Orleans (a long walk to Magazine Street, a Mardi Gras Indian parade, the Lower Ninth, an evening full of new places), Monday began our first real day of work.

I woke up earlier than everyone else, and showered quickly, so as to save time. While half the group went to pull siding off a house, Matt K. and I set to work. Our job was twofold: to move a classroom to other rooms and move an office to that room, and to work on the tool shed.

I don't think I've worked so intensely in my life, so quickly. First it was books--- then a huge pile of heavy boxes--- then bookshelves--- then *several* fairly huge office desks--- then chairs--- the list goes on. I must have gone up and down those stairs, arms stretching and red lines rising up in anger on the insides of my forearms, something like fifty times. And then, while Martin (our leader) had a meeting, we carried the contents of the utility room out of the utility room, down the path, across the street, around the corner, and into the brand-new tool shed. My rearranger's heart was bliss!! But then it was back to work. I switched doorknobs! (My dad would be so proud.) I can only hope that the work we've been doing makes it easier for everyone at First Street to get things done.

Ah--- off to Voodoo BBQ--- will blog more later. Thanks all for listening to my blabber. April

A First Time for Everything

2008-03-17T20:24:00.003-04:00

This trip is a lot of firsts for me. It is my first service-learning trip. It is my first time to truly be in the south. It's my first time in Louisiana and New Orleans and today was my first time in the Lower 9th.
After a day of working in a fairly nice house and laying down wood floors for the dining room driving into the Lower 9th I really did not know what to expect. Of course I've heard countless stories on the news, in movies, from residents of New Orleans and some from my fellow students at Hamline. None of it prepared me. I was nervous as I stepped out of the van as we looked at the plot of land where the house of the grandmother of one of my good friends once lived. I was worried about how I would feel. I didn't know if I should be expecting sadness or anger or who knows what.
Wandering through the empty streets and staren at these broken houses, broken memories, I felt as though a chunk of my soul was being wretched out of my chest. I am so disappointed. The sadness and anger well up into one and I feel defeated though I know that I've lost nothing. I'm disappointed in the response from the government (I don't care if it's the city, state or federal), I'm disappointed in all of those who have moved on and forgotten, I'm disappointed that what happened has not been corrected for. I don't understand how anyone can lack the humanity to at least lend a helping hand, to get someone else started in the right direction again. Is it so hard to care?
I know that it is important to move on from hard times but when so little has been done for some I don't see how they can. This being said it was not all bad. Being in the Lower 9th gave me new perspective not just on New Orleans but on many things. The frustration that I felt as we walked the streets can be channeled into something positive. And while I know that everyone in my group was moved in very different ways the fact that we were moved at all gives me back the hope that I lost as we walked those streets.

-Matt S.

The Lower 9th

2008-03-17T19:37:00.004-04:00

I think I've run the emotional gauntlet since being in New Orleans. I feel a sense of pride knowing that some of my roots lie here. I feel angry that in a car ride of about ten minutes I can see a fully rebuilt Starbucks and then a house that looks the same way it did right after the hurricane. Most of all I feel lost. Walking around the lower 9th was pretty surreal for me, mostly because the first stop was my Grandma Pat's house or at least what's left of it (her blue stairs). I knew this neighborhood, I'd slept in that house, eaten, laughed, cryed in that house. I think what struck me most is that growing up I didn't know that this was a poor neighborhood. I didn't know that the levee was a block from her house. The lower 9th was pretty much all I knew of New Orleans in terms of how people lived. It wasn't until we were driving into town that I saw the Garden District and the disparties between rich poor for myself. It's amazing to me to think that small part of who I am is gone. That house, or rather land, has been owned by my family for over 50 years and I'm not sure what my Aunt or my Dad are going to do with it, but I kind of hope that they rebuild. There's a history there and a community. I'm at a loss of what to think about the tragedy here except to say that in a strange way it's allowed me to reconnect with people I love and bring back some memories I thought I'd forgotten.

~Patrice

In Memory of Patricia Lindsey Anthony
5/29/1941- 9/9/07:

I come from large
leather Lincoln seats &
oldies playing in the
background. From
down south heat
& 10 hour car rides
to crack crabs on
linolium kitchen
floors. I come from
single parent, “broken”
family apartments
& hushed whispers
in the dark.
I come from crisp
Bible thumped pages
& women with hats
big enough to block
out the sun.

I come from an
invisible father &
a barely there
brother. From
rock playgrounds &
dust clouds.
I come from
wide open spaces
& long idle bike rides
down pre-plotted paths.

I come from
sturdy irish stock
that doesn’t show
in my features.
From southern hospitality
that seeps from my soul

Initial Thoughts

2008-03-16T20:15:00.002-04:00

When Sharon asked me if anyone wanted to blog about their experiences in the past day or two, I immediately raised my hand. I have had thoughts appearing in my head as facts appear in dreams--- unconsciously, inexplicably, and fully-formed.

Thoughts on entering New Orleans: To imagine what New Orleans is, one must imagine a stately old Southern town. Then one must add French, Spanish, and African influences. Next, surround much of the region with the state's infamous bayou, and finally, add modernity. This is New Orleans at its best. At its worst, it is a hot, crowded Southern city, with a corrupt law enforcement system, racial segregation, and class disparity at every turn. This is the New Orleans we entered yesterday, and this is the New Orleans visited by that thoughtless, soulless Katrina, in 2005.

Thoughts on Hurricane Katrina: Emma and Maggie called it not simply a natural disaster, but a human disaster, as well. This could not be more accurate. The hurricane itself would have been bad enough--- but then the levees broke. The levees breaking would have been bad enough--- but then it started to flood. The flooding would have been bad enough--- but then, the lowest, poorest, blackest areas started to flounder, and before long, started to die. The death and destruction would have been bad enough--- but then hours went by, and the hours turned into days and nights, and the days and nights turned into nearly a week before supplies finally arrived. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrived faster than much of the work from FEMA. Truly, the only step in this horrific process that cannot be blamed on human failure is the initial one, the appearance of Katrina herself.

Thoughts on the Lower Ninth: Really, there is little to be said about this area. So much of it cannot be translated into words, much less blogged about with any accessibility. For me, it was not the few, solitary devastated households. It was not the plain, empty, overgrown spaces where houses had been. It was not even the spraypaint markers of rooms searched. It was not even the silence. Rather, it was the little bits of lives left over that got me. A box of waterlogged records here... a baby bath there. On this porch, little elastic baby pants. Half-buried in filth, a tiny Beanie Baby. What are these things doing here? People aren't supposed to be here--- that's what the emptiness implies. Like Emma said--- there are loud memories in this silent space. And meanwhile, the water over the wall continues to flow. What will happen to this place? The birds caw overhead. I can't help but think of Gettysburg, where the gulls come back, year after year, century after century, because during one horrific week, there was so much blood on the ground they could stuff their beaks full millions of times over.

There is no point to these ramblings except also to note that in the emptiness, there was also warmth, sunlight, and a hint of breeze. Is it possible for peace to exist in this destruction?

I believe there is. I also believe that is what activism is for--- not to grow mired in anger or resentment, but instead to latch onto that most fleeting of chances: peace out of destruction, hope out of pain, growth out of anger.

Best,
April

Return to NOLA.

2008-03-12T16:38:00.002-05:00

I am so excited to be returning to New Orleans this year and hope when we arrive we will see that comminity members have as well. Spring snuck up on me but i have been taking the week to prepare both mentally and physically, minus packing, yikes! Well I look forward to the 24 hour bonding bus experience on Friday. Hope everyone is getting ready and see you at 4:30.
Maggie

Shalom

2007-03-26T13:18:00.000-04:00

We're back in MN. Today a student came into my office and said during her sleep yesterday, she dreamt repeatedly that her group was busy preparing to go plant trees in the ninth ward. I'm still in New Orleans, she said.

My group, the La Vang group, went a last time to the lower ninth, on Friday afternoon. We walked around the silent, empty streets separately. There was a community park, deserted. There's lots of tall clover and some cat tails. I stood at an interesection and thought that this devastation occurs every day in America. Yes, a year and a half after the levees broke, there is not a coordinated and well resourced effort to rebuild this place. Yes, everyday there are people and neighborhoods devasted by US policies and history.

Yes, there are people, like us, who care and who work for justice. This is a daily affair.

In the lower ninth, Kelsey heard a gurgling water sound and found a water pipe that had burst spurting a small fountain that was soaking the block.. We called Common Ground and they were sending people over to stop up the water. We then spent some time at a tree that an artist decorated with pictures of birds. We talked about the journey for freedom, for justice.

We talked about how odd it was to feel, for several of us, at this moment, at this juncture, a sense of peace. Odd, to talk of peace in this place of devastation, but true. The work, the evolving conversations, the acknowledgement that so many, many students and others contribute, all these aspects helped us to leaven the grief, anger, despair, numbness, and pain so that we could indeed speak of peace; the peace, the shalom, that helps each of us to continue in whatever ways, our acts of solidarity.

Sharon Jaffe
Coordinator of Service-Learning

You tube videos--spread the word!

2007-03-25T11:05:00.000-04:00

New Orleans 18 months later:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRmx2Apfy_A

Video on Hands On New Orleans, one of the sites Hamline students' sites:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnu0IiRDxd0

Please send this on to your friends and family! The need is great and the issue is important. Contact your legislators, too, and see how you can help them support the rebuilding of New Orleans.

Samantha

One Week

2007-03-24T11:08:00.000-04:00

***This blog was written last night after 1am and I was unable to post it till now***

One Week

For starters, the style in which I blog is random--which ever comes up when
I'm thinking is what is going to be typed.

It's amazing how people often take for granted how one week can really
change individuals into people that they are meant to be. And for the past
week, the respective individuals who were here in New Orleans, we have begun
that process and as individuals, we have a better image of ourselves that
ever before. This week has been filled with physical labor,
cooking/cleaning, watching children, monitoring hallways and misc. jobs.
Throughout the process, we have heard stories from the citizens of New
Orleans. Their struggle to fight for their home has truly inspired me to see
how a home should really be looked at, because too many of us forget that
sense of home.

Everything this week began at 6am, which is earlier then I would get up for
school, and we're usually on site and working by 8am. It's also strange
that I find it harder to wake up early for school but here I'm able to get
up without as much of struggle as I normally would have. Sleep here is
different, especially with bunks in a large room with all the other
volunteers, and being woken up by 6am with whomever had that job, and they
got to wake everyone with their choice in music is a smart concept.

I got several different experiences with the variety within the work that
was available. Of the many that I had gotten the experiences from, the one
that I really enjoyed the most was from today's work day. We had gotten
there around 8am and began working. Shortly after, the other Hamline
students and I were told about her story and we were just in disbelief in
the manner in which individuals take advantage of those who already lost so
much. And it didn't just happen once, it happened three times to be exact,
each from different contractors--plumbing, electrician and overall
construction. We finished putting up the drywall and mudded what needed to
be done and that covered our overall day. The homeowner who was on site most
of the day cooked us the most amazing lunch with variety in all. It was, for
the most part, amazing due to the fact that for everyday for the past week,
we had been eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It was a good finish
to our week of work.

Originally, we planned on visiting the lower ninth ward yesterday, but due
to unforeseen circumstances, we delayed it to tonight. The lower ninth ward
was the hardest hit area, by hardest I mean flooding. They were at the base
of where the levees broke, and if you could think about a neighborhood
filled with houses and activity, there was nothing but broken down houses,
empty wide fields and no children on the playgrounds. There were many
arguments about whether picture taking was a good or bad idea, and after
thinking about it most of the week, I decided to take a few. I felt that it
would be beneficial because it could be useful if I was to ever tell that
story to someone who really wanted to learn more about the trip that I a
part of for a week.

An hour was the time that we were given, and it was really challenging to
spend that entire time there. I had difficultly with most of it because of
my cultural and religious beliefs and knowing that there were unsettled
spirits within that area really made me think about the wondering spirits
that were still there. I found myself shaking and speechless with little eye
contact with the individual that I was with. We were walking for sometime
when we heard a baby cry in the background and when that happened, we found
ourselves thinking about how many of the lives lost were children, crying. I
thought of my little cousins, family members that I would give the world to
and just picture that I was unable to do anything and to have them lost
forever was really hard because it's something I couldn't imagine handling.
From there we found ourselves silent, as we left the lower ninth ward,
little words were spoke, but we all had in our minds the lives and stories
of the untold individuals who were lost.

It's hard to say where I truly stand on the issue. Even after all this week
and everything that has come from it, I need time to process it all. It can
vary from just like that to a week or so and I don't know yet when I'll be
able to comprehend what is needed and how I can be a part of that. I often
found myself wanting more time, time to be here and do more than I have
already done because I felt as if our week here, that we have only done a
little in what will seem like forever in the efforts of rebuilding New
Orleans.

With that in mind, I am off to ponder the world and challenge myself in a
new light.

Teng Lor
CSI Group Leader
HONO #2

turning point

2007-03-23T22:36:00.000-04:00

Our two HONO groups and one UMCOR group went to the lower ninth ward and walked the desolate streets for an hour, trying to get our minds to accept the images they were presented. It was so deathly quiet. I've never believed in ghosts. Until tonight. I kept thinking about a comment Lindsay made yesterday about the social fabric, and how Americans tend to cling to a kind of rabid individualism without recognizing the larger whole.

It's Friday night, and I kept hearing the voices of families and neighbors gearing up for this beautiful spring night -- on front steps and in back yards, next to vehicles with the bass cranked up perhaps, with three or four generations of folk at one barbecue. I heard all of this, and children shrieking and dogs barking.

Except that this isn't the reality of ninth ward today, or ever since Hurricane Katrina, the broken levees (caused by governmental neglect -- the army corps of engineers was found responsible this week . . . did anyone see that in the news? Doubtful beyond the Gulf Coast), and the thirty foot waves that came crashing down upon this already poverty-stricken neighborhood.

The reality is a ghost town that goes on beyond how far my eyes could see -- with only a handful of FEMA trailers in sight. I shudder to think where everyone aside from the 1600 who died there has gone. Generations of people scattered across the country, in exile from the home and people they know, with a government and fellow citizens who are not helping them because they are poor and black.

Tuesday night the staff resource folks and student leaders met to regroup and check in. David mentioned something about those doing the work related to Katrina relief being the second wave of freedom riders, and Tony aptly pointed out that this is a turning point for our nation -- what we do with New Orleans says a lot about who we are as a people.

Because there's definitely planning going on, but that planning (by people far whiter than the general demographic of the city) neglects a lot of public housing, a lot of social issues.

I haven't even etched the surface of processing this week, and this night in the lower ninth. But I have learned one very important thing already -- that I need to follow my resistances and see where they lead me. I didn't want to come to New Orleans, but didn't have a very well articulated reason why. But now I know it's because I didn't want to see all of this so up close and personal, the failure of our country to come together to change a system, to heal people, to heal ourselves. This is just the beginning.

Samantha Henningson
OSLV Staff

UMCOR FUN

2007-03-22T23:20:00.000-04:00

I am with UMCOR 2 and we have experienced many different emotions. Through our experiences we have become very close. While gutting houses we have had many laughs and fun. However, we have also found time for conversations, and we have all expressed questions and frusterations we are having. I keep wondering why, 19 months later, it seems like nothing is being done. We went on a tour of the levies today with a Professor from Tulane. He brought us to all the spots where the levy breached and explained to us what had happened. At one point, while riding back to Tulane, he told us about how he had started giving tours a couple of months after Katrina and how interest grew and more and more people wanted to see it. He then said that he was asked whether he would take his j-term class, which talked about natural disaters, on the field trip. His response was that it depended on whether there was still things to see. 19 months after the storm he is still giving tours because there are still things to see because things have not gotten cleaned up. For me, that is one of the most frusterating and discouraging things about Hurricane Katrina.

NOLA

2007-03-22T17:28:00.000-04:00

It has taken me awhile to blog because I've been suffering from writers block. I feel like a sponge and I'm thinking in adjectives. However, not even the adjectives fit. This FABULOUS city of New Orleans has brought out feelings in me that I have never felt before, which makes it harder to process and comprehend. My group has been great at pointing out many perspectives of multiplicites on many a subject. Hands On is a wonderful organization and I've had the best experiences here doing many things from painting, gutting, and chaperoning first graders on field trips. Again, it's so much to process, but it is welding together slowly. The city brings questions to my mind and comfort and compassion to my heart. There is hope down here that is only understood if one sees it with their eyes. I had not expected that. So that brings a smile to my face and happy hopeful, joyful tears to my eyes. Unique as an adjective only brushes the surface. I love it down here....the people, the food, the laid back atmosphere and the learning experiences from Hands On!

New Orleans Smiles

2007-03-22T12:24:00.000-04:00

Blanco is out. The Army Corps of Engineers is guilty. My hands are torn to pieces and itchy from insulation. And New Orleans and I are sharing a smile—as she (in French it’s Nouvelle Orleans—which is feminine so in the gender constrained world of language New Orleans is a woman) often does.

I’m nearing the end of my stay here (though I know it is not going to be my last—I’ll either be back as volunteer, tourist or both) and to this point I haven’t been able to find the words to put to paper. I’ve heard so many stories and met so many people my head and heart is swimming. I’m still not sure that I have found any words but let’s give it a shot—

On the whole there have been a lot of smiles in New Orleans—and as far as I can tell this place has been upbeat and resilient even before all hell broke loose with Katrina. My group, the Hands On group, have been talking a lot about how it’s nice to stay positive and to see the beautiful auras that surround people the people of New Orleans. It’s inspiring.

But I don’t feel healthy doing that (seeing the positive) all the time. You have to see the negative. You have to engage it, you have to reflect on it. You have to see the blatant racism. You have to see the failure of our government—the failure of the institution exists to keep us safe…

Right now I’m sitting Dryades YMCA, which is also a charter school, sitting in the halls making sure elementary aged kids stay in their classes to take tests to determine if they can advance in school. One test. One test tells ya if you can move on or not.

Earlier in the week our group took a bustour of New Orleans and the devastation that Katrina brought. Our bus driver, Sylvester, like most of the people of New Orleans I’ve met, can tell one hell of a story—needless to say my eyes and mind were always outside the bus and in the streets of New Orleans, thanks to Sylvester.

Sylvester was once a teacher, a very popular one. He was a good teacher, but his own daughter had a lot of problems getting into kindergarten thanks to one entrance test. He said that one of the questions had a picture of goulashes. His daughter and the other students taking the test had to decide whether or not the picture showed goulashes or boots. Seriously. I’m almost a college grad. An English major, a world traveler, and I have no idea what the difference between goulashes and boots is, let alone decide from a picture which one is which. Now this is a bit of an overstatement, but I wonder if I would have even made it into this kindergarten…

I just walked out of a class that is done with testing today. I met a young six grader. She saw her cousin pull a man who had fallen off a roof while waiting to be saved. She said her cousin pulled him up from the water. “He was all just skin and bones, just barely skin and bones.” She’s in sixth grade. If life isn’t easy, then school isn’t and that means tests gotta be hell…

So what’s my point here? Like I said my group, whom I really love, has been talking a lot about how great and inspiring it is to see these people persevere. And lord knows it has re-energized my life. It’s that inspiration that gets me up every morning here at 6am and keeps me sleeping in a giant room filed with 80 or so other 20 somethings.

But we’d be cheating that spirit, denying that inspiration if we forget about the negative.

If we don’t talk about and reflect upon the atrocities that happened here all the smiles will be in vain. Pardon my language—but shit went down here that can’t be forgotten, and we as a people, all of us, need to make sure this shit never happens again.

I hate to advocate anger (interesting sentence), but you have to be angry about what happened here.

You need to be frustrated, you can’t get lost in the smiles and Bourbon Street and all the beautiful people you meet.

You have to be angry at the system that caused all this suffering.

That’s how change happens. With a sharp critical eye on the status quo and hands willing to be scarred from heavy work and action.

OK. So I’m not much of a pep-talker...

But for now, this is what I’ve got—
Sun Burnt,
Scarred,
And covered in insulation
In the Big Easy,

Sean Bailey

Struggling against the tide

2007-03-22T11:45:00.000-04:00

I've been in New Orleans for five days now. I've scraped old paint and primed a house. I've torn down walls to help with gutting another house. I spent another day doing odd jobs and roofing projects for HONO, and two more as a hall monitor at the charter school around the corner while the kids are in LEAP testing. I've also been spending most of my free time wandering around the city and getting a feel for the neighborhood we are in, and how the city stands 19 months after Katrina hit. I have to say that New Orleans has given me much to think about. I've been truly inspired by the people I have met down here and am sincerely regretting that I will be leaving in so short a time. Through our reflections and large group meetings I've realized what a strong pull the city and particularly HONO have on me. But at the same time I have felt incredibly frustrated that it took me so long to get down here. And that despite the size of our GDP there is still so much money needed to rebuild and that despite our population of over 300 million, there still aren't enough volunteers (I won't speak about the government) to rebuild the city in less than eight years.
I think our culture is to blame for this. Individuality. As I sit here in NO reflecting and praying about what I've seen down here, I find myself more and more disgusted with this most fundamental of American cultural traits. It is this individuality which tells us to fend for ourselves, and while we care about the people of New Orleans, we do nothing. It tells us that it is someone else's job to pick up the pieces. It makes us harass the people of New Orleans when they come to our cities and seek help from our system.
Most of us who have been raised in this country have not been brought up to see ourselves as part of something bigger than our own lives, and so most of us don't get involved unless it affects our own lives. I say this not to reprove the people who aren't here with me, but only to vent my frustration that what should unify us as a country is actually what divides us. New Orleans has taught me that there is no us and no them. Despite the differences created by distance, or culture, or economics, we are the same.
This city and its people suck you in, they make you feel at home when you're not. You begin to care about the people like they are your family, and you want to help your family out. You want to come to their aid when the city breaks a pipe in the sidewalk, causing the sweet old lady who lived there to have to pay a $700 water bill, and then doesn't fix the damage. Hands On fixed the damage for her, and the people who did it were happy to do it. But who is going to hold the city responsible for looking out for their own interests rather than the interests of the people they are supposed to represent.
Well, all these musings really have no point. Like Annamarie said, I can't answer all the questions. And constant blame-shifting does not get the people of New Orleans back into their homes. The essence is that more needs to be done. By everyone. Government and citizen alike. Because the people of New Orleans are not just those people down there. They are us. Americans. Human beings.

The Question of Why

2007-03-21T21:06:00.000-04:00

So this is the musings of a reflective and slightly frustrated volunteer here in the Big Easy-where the rebuilding of it hasn't been so easy...Tonight we had a meeting where we reflected on what made us happy and what frustrated us. What frustrated me the most personally, was the fact that I cant do enough. I just cant. I dont have enough hands to do it all nor enough time in the day to get it all done. I have been here at the wonderful Hands On organization for 5 days and have worked for 3 of those days and I feel like I havn't done enough to help- that I have just been (metaphorically speaking) sitting on my bum. I havn't done enough in that I can't help the people that need it; I can't help them with their pain and hardship so that they can live without worrying about how much longer they can have the FEMA trailer-that is if they even have one-or how they are going to pay the bills or get the insurance money to help them rebuild or move on or even helping them with the courage to pick up the pieces of their lives and their past and move on.
The past few days I have helped out with gutting a house and painting/working on murals. The house that we gutted (and are almost done with) was for a man who was from Colorado and bought the house from a woman who had lived her whole 58 years in that house with 3 generations of family and priceless memories. It was hard gutting that house-I mean think- I'm tearing down the last vestiges of her home, her past and I couldn't understand how I was helping out-I was destroying what little was left from Katrina and the flooding. And in our reflection, other people's sentiments echoed mine-we all didn't see the connection between doing something so insignificant like being a hall monitor during standarize testing at a local school, could make such a postive impact-so much so that everyone thanks us-whether they verbalize it or not, and its not just for the people that we did the volunteer work for. It was also complete strangers; kids, neighbors, as well as the people we meet at the local "Hamline hangout" spot outside of Walgreens. So despite our frustrations, we do see the hope and the passion and the community feel that is (not of) New Orleans in the smiles, tears (happy tears/ tears of gratitude) and the genuine heartfelt "Hi, How are ya?" of the people on the sidewalks to the people that we clean up a yard full of debris for. So I leave you to some of the questions that has been floating amongst us for the past few days.
Why is there not enough people to help out? Why is it that it is mostly college (and some highschool) students that is helping to rebuild New Orleans? (granted it is a life lesson and gives great satisfaction in helping out a fellow human being) Why is it that it takes a disaster to make people help each other out? Why is there all this hoopla of who is to blame instead of helping the people who need it? Why is there nothing on the news about New Orleans and the help it needs? Why are the African-American and the Asian-American community of New Orleans not being helped like they should? (and by that I mean why is there such a socio-economic racism as well as ethnic racism among people) Why isn't the government not really helping out? Why is it taking so long for New Orleans to recover? Why are people still having to live in FEMA trailers when they should be back on their feet? Why are the people who were just able to move into their FEMA trailer have to return it so soon? Why is this not only a natural disaster but also a man-made disaster? and I want to know why there are no answers to these questions and more. Why there even has to be these questions-and with no answers nonetheless. I mean can you answer them?....

~Annamarie Hebdon

operation reach 2

2007-03-21T19:56:00.000-04:00

Besides touring the area and working at the Operation Reach office, we've been working with students at Fischer Elementary School on the West Bank. Our main project is running an afterschool program for students in grades 3-8. Each afternoon from 2:30 to 5 or 5:30 we supervise 15-20 students, playing indoor games, working on art projects, and playing outside. This setting makes it pretty easy to speak with the students one-on-one or in small groups.

During the day, we've been chaperoning field trips. This week students in grades 3-8 are taking the LEAP tests, a standarized test that determines if students can progress to the next grade. Wanting a quiet atmosphere, the school administration has arranged field trips for the younger kids. On Tuesday, we accompanied students to the Louisiana Children's Musueum, today to the Audobon Zoo, and tomorrow to Chuck E. Cheese (fun, fun!). Each student's experience has been really different so far. Some are in charge of five or more kids, while others have three students to supervise between two chaperones. It has been challenging, but lots of fun, too.

Our trip has allowed us to confront and explore a number of issues. First, our work in the schools has challenged us to examine the differences between the lives of many of us on the trip and the lives of some New Orleans residents. For example, disciplinary techniques are quite different from those we may be used to, and it takes some time to get used to the ways teachers and parents speak with the students. The children's play is also much more violent than many of us are used to, and we had a great debate about cultural relativism and individual values. Another topic of discussion is race, class, and the impact of the storm. A brief visit to the lower 9th ward, especially when contrasted with the other areas of town we'd seen, made it very clear that Katrina was not merely a "natural disaster," but rather a perfect illustration of the ways in which our nation has distributed power unequally. That same visit brought up issues of voyuerism and tourism in New Orleans and caused us to seriously question our motiviations and intentions, as well as our sensitivity to residents and survivors.

We look forward to our last few days in the city and we plan to take a couple of tours, see a play about Hurricane Katrina, and enjoy our time in this wonderful city.

See you soon!

Hannah and Allison

Operation Reach Blog 1

2007-03-21T19:53:00.000-04:00

I know it took us a while to get to this whole blogging thing, but I am going to try and briefly recap what we have experienced so far here in New Orleans working with Operation Reach and each other.

Allison and I flew to NO on Saturday, while the rest of the group was at the St. Patrick's Day parade on Magazine Street. After acquainting ourselves with Ashley, Tony, Alex, Natalie, Greta, Katie and David, as well as the Xavier University dorm we are staying in, we hung out and talked until bedtime.

Late Sunday morning we drove two hours to Biloxi, Mississippi. We took the scenic route, which was the first time I had seen a great amount of damage. The beach we stopped at was right across the road from what used to be a highly populated resort area/tourist destination with some huge mansions and even bigger casino/hotels. It was strange to see Waffle Houses what seemed like every block, but houses much less frequently. Obviously, a lot of people used to frequent the area, but other than the mega-casinos, barely anything was up and running. The beach was clean, though, and had a magnificent view of the Gulf of Mexico.

Monday morning we showed up at Operation Reach headquarters in downtown NO, only to be told we were needed on the opposite bank -- the same bank as Xavier. Once there, we were told what the rest of the week would look like, what they needed us to do for them (mostly administrative work), and we headed over to Fischer. The next day, David, Tony and I went back to the OR offices in a small community center while the rest of the group went to Fischer for a field trip. We made phone calls and stuffed envelopes, work which was continued by Natalie, Greta and Ashley today.

The work seems tedious, boring, and at times pointless, but as a nonprofit organization barely over a year and a half old, every little bit helps. The more OR staff can delegate menial tasks to other people, the more free time they have to get the bigger, more important things done. We talked extensively about how we are here for them, we are here to do what they need us to do, not what we think is important.

I think some of us are realizing that working with schools and an organization meant to help youth supplement their public school education is an infinitely important use of our time. We have noticed other volunteers around the school and we hope we are making a difference in the lives of the children with whom we interact.

Hannah Kuether and Allison Chapman
Operation Reach

retribution

2007-03-21T10:59:00.000-04:00

So this morning it was harder than usual for me to get up. I listened to an alarm clock go off five times and although I was wide awake, I just could not bring myself to get out of the bed. I knew what we were doing today, and I had to ask myself was I really up to the task? The ride over the bridge was strangely quiet. I think all of us were preparing ourselves for what might possibly be our most trying day yet--cleaning out drain pipes right in the heart of the lower 9th ward. We were here two days ago, for about an hour, but today we'd be here all day. I've wrestled with thought of spending an entire day here since we came two days ago. There's an uneasy feeling in the lower 9th. There are at least 1,600 restless souls wondering New Orleans, all spirits of those who were robbed of their lives right here in the neighborhood that I'm typing this from. How is the city going to reconcile that? There are homes in this city that are absolutely breath taking, yet here on the Deslonde Block it looks like the hurricane was yesterday. Emotions here run high as we work hand in hand with volunteers from across the nation. But at the end of the day, the spirits here are restless, and there is still retribution to be payed.

From Two Communities To One Family

2007-03-19T21:09:00.000-04:00

The sun rose on our small volunteer house in New Orleans, and no one in our group knew what wonderful experiences the day would bring us.

Today the group got up at the bright and early time of 7am. We packed everything up and headed over to the Uptown UMCOR Station for an orientation. We were there the same time as a group from Iowa who were also in New Orleans helping with the recovery/rebuilding process. It's great for me to see people from other parts of the country (not just the South). It really gives a sense of hope to the people of New Orleans, and lets them know that they are not being forgotten!

After orientation, we headed over to our house which was located in the outskirts of Uptown New Orleans. We met the homeowner there and she was a very nice woman. I was only able to speak with her for a few minutes as there was much work to be done! Everyone suited up and entered the house. It was similar to a house I had gutted when I came here in January. All of the furniture had been removed and most of everything else had been taken out as well, with the exception of bathtubs, water heads, sinks, drywall, cealings, floors, and a few wall decorations here and there. Tearing down the walls was the fun part, but there was a lot of other work to be done as well. We had to clear out everything we had ripped down and place it in designated areas near the curb. We got quite a bit done, but tomorrow we will need to do a lot more clean-up jobs and make sure all the nails are out of the studs. I'm hoping that with this trip, people will look past the difficulty and unpleasant-ness of the work and realize that we are helping people in a way that they may not be able to help themselves.

It's neat for me to see the city's progress, since I grew up coming to New Orleans at least once a year. Katrina was hard for my relatives, and it was hard for me to witness it. I knew right away I wanted to get down here as soon as I could to help as much as I could. I've been down several times, but it's great to come down with people from Hamline and hear everyone's opinions and views about the city, the progess, and the work being done.

After the work at the site, we got ready to head down to the Ninth Ward to a place called Goin' Home. It was almost like a soup kitchen, where people from the community can come and have meals. The establishment is a non-profit organization run by donations. Volunteers work with them and help out around the community. We ate dinner there, and it was a great chance to meet people from the community. It was a bit uncomfortable to be there, because it seemed like the meals were made for the members of the community surrounding it, and for the volunteers with the organization, but not just for any volunteers. The workers there told us that we were welcome, but implied that it wasn't exactly appropriate we were there. As uncomfortable as it was, it was still a good experience.

Katie, Steph, and I sat down at a table with a student named Rob who was filming the other man at our table, who called himself Chance. He lived in the Ninth Ward pre-Katrina, and had lost his house. He mentioned that he was living on the streets and went to Goin' Home every night he could for a meal. He was a very friendly man, and was very eager to tell us that no matter what, good things will happen to those who walk with Christ. Chance was a strong Christian and prayed with us and for us several times throughout our short visit and I could see the kindness in his heart. He told us about how he had struggled with drugs and alcohol in the past, but that now he was staying away from it, and that he could only do that with the help of the Lord.

The time came for us to leave Goin' Home, and we said goodbye to Chance, right after he prayed for us again. He asked us to keep him in our prayers, and we assured him we would.

I am hoping that we can meet more great people like Chance later on this trip, and I hope that we will show the people of New Orleans that we have not forgotten about them, and that the community here and the community of Hamline University is no longer two separate entities, but one big family.

- Liz

3rd day in New Orleans......

2007-03-19T17:51:00.000-04:00

It was bright and early this morning around 9:00am, I got out of bed and got ready to do a days full of work with the Vietnamese Lady La Vang Church. Our group did community work around the Lady La Vang Church such as painting fences, cleaning up the area, and gardening the past days that we had been in New Orleans and we continued with the work this morning through the afternoon. It was certainly a long and hot day, everyone was doing their work very tentively and working together cohesively. For me today I mostly helped out with Ming who is a lady from our Lady La Vang Church to garden along with other people from our group. These past few days that we had been in New Orleans at the place where we stayed at. I have been connecting and working closely with Ming. Ming is her American name, was what she told me, and Huong is her Vietnamese name. I personally like to call her Huong, because it is a beautiful name and she actually prefers Huong instead of Ming; however if people call her Ming, she doesn't mind either. Something about today that really moved me was everyone helping eachother out and working together to help rebuild the community that we were settling in. As tired as we are with the work that we were doing, we all stayed focus and made the best effort as we can. The church also has been very generous in our stay at the house owned by the church and also with providing us food as well. We always tell them, no thanks, we don't make this to be a inconvenience for you; however they still go out of their way in feeding us, because they are grateful for our help with the church and are glad to have us their with them. It makes me happy that we had put a smile on their faces and made their life a bit more blessful after Hurricane Katrina. These people have been through a lot and had lost a lot of assets and they have worked hard since to rebuild and revise their community, but it does take time to go back to where it was or at least to renew it. So for us coming there to help them as much as we can, they will be forever grateful and appreciate it a lot.

Another thing I learned today from the church was talking with Ming. She is actually a really sweet and genuine person. She is not actually from the church, but she had been helping them for 14 years now. She loves to garden and keep herself busy at all times. I notice that she is a very hard working Vietnamese woman. With so little that she has, she is very strong at heart and in mind. She voluntarily helps with the church at least three to four days a week and she also a job that she goes to too, which is her own hairdressing business that she has been doing for a long time now too. She is a very intelligent and wise person. While working with her, she told us stories of when she came to the United States and what she had been doing in her life and everything. While Yen and I was helping with planting flowers in the garden, Ming told us that everytime we plant a flower, we should make a wish and it might come true, because she had done it many times and some had come true, so this is one of those superstition if you believe it or not and it may or may not come true, but it was interesting to know, so Yen and I did make a couple of wishes, so we'll just see if it comes true or not.

Well, it was a very productive and nice day. We finished a lot of work that we needed to do and we got to see an icecream truck today and were all happy that we ate icecream. We had a delicious lunch, which was fried rice and chicken that our Father Dominique from our church who is the owner of the Lady La Vang Church bought for us. He is just too kind and generous to us Hamline people along with Father Antoine who is our delightful father and friend in New Orleans. We are looking foward in working in different places around New Orleans such as Common Ground and another Vietnamese community called Mary Queen. It is going to be a good service learning week.

The 9th Ward

2007-03-19T10:12:00.000-04:00

Yesterday (March 18th) was the day that Our Lady Lavang group decided to visit the lower and upper 9th ward for the first time. As we arrived in our 15 passenger van to the upper 9th ward, the difference was immediately seen from both where we were staying and where we have been so far. Houses here in the upper 9th ward looked deserted, missing walls and bricks, debris all around, it was a sight that immediately quieted our van of chatter. As we drove through the upper 9th ward drawing near the bridge of the lower 9th ward, I thought, well this wasn’t as terrible as I had thought it would be, that rebuilding here would take some work but it didn’t seem to be impossible. Then as we drove over that bridge to get to the lower 9th ward, our hearts in that van just dropped, but for more then just the sight did our hearts drop.

The lower 9th ward was a sight that is both hard to talk about and hard, at least so soon, to put all the emotions one feels down. The lower 9th ward has truly become a ghost town in itself, I believe from the six or so blocks that we had walked on this afternoon, we saw one family who was just sitting and looking at what was left of their home, which literally was a house shaped like a V (if that makes any sense). The smell was all around us of mold and toxins that where embedded in the earth below and around us. It was hard. It was hard when you saw toy cars sitting in a pile of rubble. It was hard when you see just stairs leading to nothing. It is hard when you think that 1,600+ people have died in this very place where I now stand. It is hard to think of all the exploitation that is going on here of people of color. It is just simply hard.

The one thing that a few members of our group had was anger. Yes we had anger towards what had happened but what was also bothering us was the tours. To me, at least, this was a place were many died, a sacred place if you will, and here you have people on tour buses to see all of this pain and sorrow. What really got to me was back to that one family who was looking at their V shaped house and all of a sudden this Louisiana Tour Bus pulls up in front of this house, and older white male got out of this bus, takes a picture of this house and these two African American Males, and then loads back on the bus without saying a word. This reminds me of what a sign at common ground says, something on the lines of “Shame On You For Driving By To See My Pain” which really that man should feel nothing but shame for the way he approached that situations. But constantly in the 9th ward there are tours going though here, there are people driving through, people taking a million pictures who didn’t seem to me, respectful to their surroundings. It was hard to see this.

Others in the group felt sadness and pain and hurt. You could see how even if the levees had not of broken, these houses that where here were not great houses to begin with. This all brought us to look closer at the exploitation of people of color especially since the lower 9th ward is mainly working class African Americans. Our group was saddend to see seashells everywhere on the ground, from when the levees broke and the sea ran freely though this area. Members of our group cried when we saw little children’s toys we wondered to ourselves, where they able to get out? How many children have died here? How many Mothers, and Fathers, and Sisters where lost here? And then we wants to shout at the peak of our voices, “WHY?”

All in all today was an extremely hard day for all of us, but it was necessary because for a while I think we lost some sight of why we where here. With one of the first things we did being the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and then the French Quarters, we did not see a whole lot of the overall damage that occurred, but we saw what the media portrays New Orleans as. Going to the 9th ward, for myself and the group, was something that reopened our eyes again to what we are here to do, it opened our eyes to a passion to wanting to work with the 9th ward (which we now have two different days with work in the 9th ward), and it reopened our eyes to all the work that is still needed, especially in the lower and upper 9th ward.

Madison Arkadie
CSI: Our Lady Lavang Group

resuscitation

2007-03-16T10:33:00.001-04:00

For some reason every time I tell people who ask what I'm going to do for the next week, and I say "gutting houses," I get this mental picture of my hands to the wrists in a cold, slimy dead fish. I've never gutted houses or fish before, but it seems strange to use the same verb for both. Both are dead, technically, but the houses are going to come back, and their people can hopefully come back if they get the support they need.

Granted, I think the timeline I heard for rebuilding New Orleans going at the same rate as present is EIGHT YEARS, but house by house, family by family. And hopefully people doing the work there, volunteers -- next to New Orleanians -- will be doing more than tutoring students or rebuilding physical structures. We will be getting a close-up view of poverty and race in America, the failings of our government, and the failings of the American public for ignoring the situation on the Gulf Coast. And taking everything we see, reflecting on our roles and responsibilities in it all, and sharing the stories and processing when we get home, even if it's hard.

Gutting, ok. But maybe something more like open heart surgery on a patient who's come close to death and wants to live. And surgeons whose lives are tied up with that survival.

Samantha Henningson
Hamline OSLV staff

2007-03-14T12:17:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the March community service-learning investigation trips to New Orleans.
The OSLV, office of service-learning and volunteerism, organized 60 Hamline University people to work with four different sites: Hands On New Orleans; UMCOR, United Methodist Commitee on Relief; Operation Reach; amd Mary Queen A Vietnam Church.
We invite you to journey with us as we blog our way through hurricane relief work towards understanding the life long work for JUSTICE.