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