NOLA 2010

This is my second time going to NOLA to help rebuild. After watching the movie When the Levees Broke I was blown away by the amount of damage done by this natural disaster. When Katrina actually occurred in 2005 I was only 15 years old and completely unaware of the world outside of my safe haven, Hoboken. It wasn't until I watched this movie that my eyes were opened to the decimated land that was now New Orleans. Through the film I learned of how the government failed to support the less fortunate population. I think what I most out of watching the film was the ability to compare when this tragedy first happened to the present. Last year during my visit I was able to appreciate the rebuilding done to help bring New Orleans back to normal. I was able to see the progress that the ninth ward has made through the years.

For this trip to New Orleans I am excited to see the improvements made since last January. I am looking forward to seeing the house I worked on last year as a finishes product. I am also excited to see what I can accomplish during my trip.

First Place

This post in a reflection of the entire trip, and not just a story of the trek through the ice age on our way back to Jersey. Before this reflection can start, however, I must brag a little.  Our van was the first to arrive (in 29 hours, the record).  This would not have been possible without the maneuvering skills of Liz Moody and the lead foot of Michael Brower.  Liz, more or less, saved all of our lives when we quickly realized that the road was a sheet of ice.  While saving our lives and keeping the van on the sheet of ice, she also managed to console all of our fears as she told us "It will be OK, Don't worry, I got this."  I commend you Liz Moody for multitasking between diminishing our fears and navigating the van.  When Liz decided she saved enough lives for one day, Brower took over, and, trying to preserve our first place position, put the pedal to the metal and burned down the icy highway at 15 mph.  Although we had a minor setback, literally, on a hill, we were able to make friends with a trucker and get to know our van-mates a little better.  Upon finally arriving safely to the Bonner center, I was proud to see that we had maintained our lead position for the rest of the trip. 

  OK, now for the reflection part (what this was actually supposed to be about).  The trip was amazing and I could not ask for a better experience. The camp we stayed at was great and the people there were very fun and interesting to interact with.  My experience with working on the house was good.  Although we were not able to finish the closet we had began in the beginning of the week, we were able to talk to our homeowners everyday, go out to eat with Miss Mary, and have a presence in the community.  This trip really opened my eyes to the underbelly of America.  Many problems are swept under the carpet, not to be talked about- ex. Most low-income housing complexes damaged by Katrina are now being replaced with Mixed Income housing.  Seeing the poverty that existed in and around New Orleans (where there were even communities) was astonishing.  I would like to go back to New Orleans sometime soon, and be able to contribute more of my time to this more than worthy cause and needy community. I hope that by reading this post someone will be intrigued, interested and moved enough to get involved and donate their time to the people of New Orleans.  Signing off for the last time,

 Ryan Gale 

home at last

I still cannot believe I am New Jersey. Sunday’s drive was an adventure to say the least. I wanted to get back safely more than I wanted to get back in time. The snowstorm in Tennessee was something I had never experienced before. It was new to me to be on the road in such harsh conditions and I was really glad our van was the only one that nothing happened to. There were some close calls but we managed to come out in one piece.
I have also never crossed a median (or two) in my life and that is also something I will never forget. So many things could have gone wrong but Maria did a really good job driving the van. Without her we would have reached New Jersey way later than we did. I believe God really answered my prayers and kept us safe the whole ride back because it really could have gone a different direction.
Going on this trip has changed my perspective on a lot of things. I am really proud of the help we gave to these survivors collectively and I hope people continue to go back and help rebuild time after time. Every day, I myself hope that I can go back again one day and as soon as I can. The job is definitely not done. After being back in school, all my friends have asked me about the trip and the one important thing I stress to them is that the rebuilding is not finished. I remember what my home owner, Ken Short, always told us. He advised us to take the stories back with us and share these stories with others. I hope I inspire someone with a story and cause them to want to go on the same journey I was blessed to be a part of.

Jax

..33 hours later

As much as 33 hours of driving was a bit much, I strongly feel that it built even more character within all of us along the journey. It's hard to believe that the week that has been talked about since day 1 of my Bonner experience has finally ended. The days were some of the most meaningful I have ever had, and I am glad truly proud of all of us. Coming from diverse positions of leadership in the past, all of us were used to stepping forward and claiming leadership roles within groups of our peers in high school. It was both interesting and challenging to be forced into a situation where there really were no subordinates. We were all leaders forced together to accomplish a common goal. Learning to listen, stepping forward when you feel necessary, and understanding that one way, or your way, is not always the correct one were a few of the many things that this service trip helped me realize.

Overall, I feel that the overall consensus of the group is that it felt so good, no actually unbelieveable, to contribute all that we did. The physical labor and emotional support we provided for our homeowners are what was most in need and that is what we provided. I am so thankful that the Bonner Center Staff and champerones made this trip possible it provided me with memories that will last a lifetime and allowed me to regain the spark I have for serving to the greatest extent.

Ashley :)

hmmm the end.

So we're finally home. I could make this long but I'm really lacking the energy. So we were a very long time in coming home. We were in the van for like 34 hours I believe. Something like that. It was a very long interesting trip. You learn a lot about the people you're with and about yourself when you're stuck in a car in some potentially dangerous situations. All in all this trip was awesome. I really enjoyed myself. I learned a lot about what I'm capable of and what my short-comings are. I also just want to say Su was right...we are a force to be reckoned with. I'm really proud of all that we accomplished and the manner in which we went about it. I wish we would have had more time down there but I'm also very glad to be home. Thank you to all the drivers for getting us home safely.
I'd really like to say thank you to the the Bonner Staff and the upper classmen who really helped make this trip possible. I know Morgan, Britt, Liz, Todd and countless others put in a ton of time and energy to make it all possible. I know I had an awesome time and it was a great experience so thank you guys!!!
Hope everyone's semester started off on the right foot.

Night at Pearlington

On Thursday night we went to Pearlington camp in Mississippi. Going to this camp really opened my eyes to how much devastation hurricane Katrina caused. My ignorance about the whole situation lead me to believe that Katrina had only devastated the city of New Orleans and other places were unharmed. However, visiting Pearlington showed that still after three and a half years people outside of New Orleans were still feeling the stress and pain of recovering from Katrina. The fight and resilience of the home owners inspired me to work through my own battles. They made me see the light at the end of my own tunnel and made me believe that if people can go through something like losing their home and all of their possessions then they could live through anything.

Home Sweet Home

A 33.5 hour van ride from New Orleans to Ewing, NJ pretty much says for itself that we ran into a few roadblocks along the way on our return trip. After a long and very productive work week for all of our teams, getting back to TCNJ in the amount of time that it took us to get to New Orleans would have been nice. But, unfortunately, mother nature had different plans for us. Instead of arriving at TCNJ at noon on Sunday 1/18, as planned, we instead ran into an ice storm in Tennessee which forced us to camp out for the night since it was too dangerous to continue on. While frustrating, we knew this decision was for the best. Around 7:30am, we attempted again to continue our trip home. This time, an accident had blocked all lanes of the interstate and according to 511, may not be cleared until 3pm. So, as you may have already read in the Santa Maria's post, we pulled a few U-turns and found an alternate route around the scene of the accident and back to our route leading home. Eventually the roads showed no more signs of ice and we were able to drive without worry. However, as our luck would have it, crossing into Delaware also brought snow, ice, and more cars spinning off the road/getting into accidents (not us!). Finally we crossed the Scudders Falls bridge into New Jersey and our van literally cheered. I love to travel and for as long as I can remember, I have never really gotten homesick, but after the constant concern about everyone's safety and my exhasustion building, I couldn't help but begin to dream about being home, comfortable and without worry.

When I walked into my front door around 10:30pm tonight, I couldn't help but to recognize the feeling of utter joy to be home that I was experiencing. And then it hit me. While I have been down to New Orleans now 5 separate times for Katrina relief work, never have I had the kind of experience like I had on this trip which made me appreciate so much what it must feel like for the residents of New Orleans to come home. After arriving in New Orleans last Sunday, we took a tour of the lower 9th ward and visited Juanita who lives in the Lower 9th. Maria, Mike Strom and myself, as well as many others, had the great privilege of working on Juanita's house this past June and July. Juanita worked with us the whole week that we were there in July and we were able to get to know her well. When the three of us showed up on her doorstep that Sunday and seen her finished home and her beaming smile, I began to get a glimpse of just how much being home can affect a person's morale, personality and overall outlook on life. Juanita went on to invite all 40 members of our group to walk through her house and see her beautiful home. You could see that she was so proud of her home that she wanted everyone to see it! While walking through, she would make comments like "I remember you worked on this wall" and other similar comments that let us know that she remembers all of the hard work that had put in and that what we had done had meant, and continues to mean, so much to her. Her smile said it all. After our "adventure" home as I like to call it, and the sense of relief that I felt walking into my house tonight, I couldn't help but to think that my sense of joy and relief is only a fraction of the joy that Juanita, and other homeowners in the New Orleans area, must feel when they are given the gift of returning to their homes. They have "traveled" through years of sorrow, disappointment, discomfort and hard work to be able to make it back to the place they call home. What an incredible gift to be able to give someone!

Without the struggles and setbacks of this trip, I don't know how much this idea really would have hit home. Only with elements out of my control keeping me from being in the comfort of my own home could help me to realize, on a much smaller scale, the frustrations that homeowners in the New Orleans area must feel, but then the great joy that they experience when they are able to return home.

All in all I feel that we had a very successful week. I am proud of every single Bonner as well as all of the non-Bonners who joined us on this trip. Even the village manager at our camp complimented our group and expressed that she was so happy we had been there that week--that they had fun with us and that they respect so much how personable we were with the other volunteers at the village. As the leader of the group at Olive Tree, this was so nice to hear. Not that I expected or thought any less of the Bonners, but it is always nice when someone else sees what you see...

More later when I have the energy...