New Orleans December 2009

sunday december 13

For many of us southern bound students, the day started with a 4:30 am alarm. After possibly the most indirect flight schedules possible, all eight participants finally arrived in New Orleans, Louisiana. We piled into the suburban and made our way to our lodgings for the week, the McKendrick-Breaux Bed and Breakfast on Magazine street. Here we were welcomed by our host and owner, Brett.


monday december 14

Orientation for the week began in lovely inner courtyard of the bed and breakfast on the covered porch, despite the rain.


Our first service placement was at the McDonough Charter 42 elementary and middle school in the Treme district of New Orleans, the oldest African American neighborhood in the United States. The eight volunteers from Cal Poly split up to different classrooms in pairs of two. We helped in Kindergarten, second grade, and fifth grade classes.



We were able to help in a variety of ways in the classroom, from actually teaching simple lessons, to working one on one with students on reading and math, to helping with science activities, and just talking and socializing with the students.


In one fifth grade classroom, during reading time, a school administrative person came in to inform the teacher that after lunch the students would be taking a standardized test. This meant that some of us were not needed after lunch in that classroom, and therefore went to a different class. But, this seemingly insignificant detail also showed us, to some exert the disorganization of the system. The students and teacher had no warning or notice that they would be taking a test that day. Many of the students seemed distraught and very opposed to the idea. As we continued to work with the students we gained further insight to the state testing policies, and the controversial LEAP test, a standardized test which must be passed in order to pass the fourth grade, and is required for high school graduation.


This day at the school was a mind opening experience. It was a stark juxtaposition to our own elementary school days and what many of us have recently seen and observed through working and volunteering in elementary schools in California. The treatment of students, the way teachers are respected/disrespected, the ability for our college group to come in to their school relatively unannounced with no questions asked of our legitimacy or purpose was all very surprising to us.


After working at the school we drove to the Lower Ninth Ward, a highly televised neighborhood of the city that is a few feet bellow sea level and was devastated by hurricane Katrina almost four and a half years ago. Part of this area boarders the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet Canal. The levees containing the canal were broken in multiple places in the Lower Ninth Ward. We parked our huge suburban on the edge of the neighborhood and walked down the streets, witnessing the construction taking place on many of the empty lots as part of Brad Pitt's redevelopment housing project, the Make it Right Foundation. But, we also saw many lots where just the concrete stoop or slab remained, and some lots were completely empty, with no trace of the house it used to lodge.



tuesday december 15

Today was another day at the McDonough school. Our thought was that we were going to go back to work with the classes and teachers we had worked with on Monday. For the most part, we were able to. But, due to some classes taking standardized tests, a few of us helped in other classrooms.


When we arrived, before our group broke up and headed to individual rooms, we had the pleasure of experiencing a performance in the auditorium. A nearby high school performance jazz band, choir, and dance team put on a holiday performance for the McDonough students. We were very grateful to get the opportunity to experience this type of New Orleans culture and music.


For dinner we tried to serve food at the Mission, a homeless shelter and soup kitchen close to our bed and breakfast. Unfortunately (or possibly fortunately for them), they had enough volunteers for the evening. So, we decided to venture into the streets of the French Quarter. The night was early for the crowd on Bourbon Street, but the group got a chance to see the famous street. Then, on our way to the Mississippi River we stopped at the renown Cafe Du Monde where coffee and beignets revived us and warmed us up from the unusual cool and damp weather.



wednesday december 16

New Orleans East, to the Gentilie neighborhood was our morning destination for the day. The specific area we went to was blocks from Lake Ponchitrain, the lake which flooded during hurricane Katrina and an area of the city which had some of the highest flood water levels. We went to a house that has been vacant since the hurricane. The reconstruction of the house was almost complete, but unfortunately, like many of the homes in New Orleans, it had been worked on by a fraudulent contractor, who did a shoddy job and took the owners money without properly finishing his job. Much of the finish work that had been done in the house, like the trim, moldings, and drywall installation needed to be repaired or replaced. So, this said, our job for the morning was to prepare the house for a new, more competent contractor who was going to come in on Thursday. We cleaned the house of debris, removed all of the damaged wood and tile from the home, and composed an inventory of all the usable materials and tools available on the site.


In the afternoon our group took the St. Charles street car to the Dragon Cafe. The Dragon Cafe is located underneath St. Georges Episcopal Church, and serves diner to low income people, homeless, and anyone in need or want of food on Wednesday and Thursday nights. This was a really great experience which allowed us not only to serve food, but also gave us the opportunity to interact with local community members and hear their stories of the city and community.



thrusday december 17

We had an early start today, driving across the Mississippi to Harvey, Louisiana, with the intention of meeting a Habitat for Humanity group at 7:45 am. Once we got to the work site we waited almost an hour to determine that it was to rainy to do the work that needed to be done at the site - primarily exterior painting ad pouring concrete. Luckily, however, another Habitat site needed us in the Upper Ninth Ward on Piety street back in New Orleans. Here we joined another crew which included a few other Cal Poly students and we worked on various aspects of the house. The jobs we did included exterior caulking, installing soffits, nailing fascia pieces, and sizing and fitting doors.


For eight Californian's we had a memorable lunch. Today, being in a new neighborhood, we got a local restaurant suggestion. We went to this local place a few blocks form the site of our house. You don’t often find restaurants with bullet proof windows and ten different varsities of fried poboys in San Luis Obispo.


Out Habitat leader, Dan, was extremely skilled at giving us all jobs to keep us very busy throughout the day. But, but about 3pm, those of us who were working outside were thoroughly soaked by the rain and ready to call it a day. So, we then went back to the Bed and Breakfast to change and warm up before going back to the Dragon Cafe to mingle and serve food.



friday december 18

For our last work day we went back to the Piety street house in the Upper Ninth Ward. Today the conditions were less miserable - no rain and even some sun came out for our last day. After finishing all of the door sizing and trimming, fascia, caulking, and soffits that we could, we started to paint the exterior house with the final finish color, a deep red. Prior to these two days of construction work, our experience with construction had been limited. In addition to learning new skills, we gained an appreciation for the hard work that construction specialists face daily as well as the amount of time and labor that goes into seemingly simple building components.


After a hard, wet, dirty week of work, we were ready to explore the jazz and culture the city had to offer. This said, due to the busy week, most of us were sound asleep before midnight.



saturday december 19

Today, our first full free day, we were able to really be tourists for the first time in the city. We checked out a local artisan market outside the French Quarter, went to the French Market, wandered around Jackson Square, and also got to see a break dancing/ acrobatic street performance in the quarter.


Also, the day was very exciting as it was dominated with references to the big game. The New Orleans Saints vs. the Dallas Cowboys. Before the game the Saints had a 13-0 record and as we traveled across the city throughout the day, we saw Saints shirts and much talk of the game. So, to try to take part in the local scene, we went to the French Quarter at seven to watch the game. Unfortunately, however, the first half of the game was not particularly captivating and some of us headed back to the Bed and Breakfast after the first half. They ended up with the first lost of the season :(.


But, other than the Saints defeat and a few logistical issues, the trip was a success! We all were able to go beyond our comfort zone and learn about and experience a new part of our diverse country.