Today Carol the volunteer from Denver drove a few of us Berklee folks around the lower 9th and St. Bernard’s Parish.  She has come to New Orleans before and worked gutting a house.  Because of this, she knows her way around and has some stories about the time she spent here in the past.

We drove over a bridge from where we were working on N. Galvez and entered a ghost town.  It was one of the strangest things I have ever seen. It reminded me of this empty military barracks that is in a state park where my family camps in the Finger Lakes. Only difference–this area was only recently abandoned and it was a neighborhood (vs. buildings abandoned 40+ years ago that the military just left to fall apart…).  As Carol drove around, a few people were outside working on their homes (or what remains of their homes) but it was strangely quiet. 

We turned down a street and came to a school.  We decided to get out and explore. I was surprised that the area was not blocked off because what we saw was just shocking. Were I ever in a war zone, it is what I imagine it would look like.  If I ever figure out how to load pictures into this site, I will put some of mine up. Though, I am sure one of my fellow tourists will post a few.  The images are, truly, haunting.

Two years later…If you think about it, it’s really not that long.  I have a new realization of the true nature of the destruction.  Horrible.

Throughout the week, I have said little but I have kept my eyes and ears open at all times.  The things I have seen, heard, felt, wondered, and learned are still spinning–waiting to be fully digested.  As such, my post will remain superficial yet hopefully informative. 

The second day of work, I spent a lot of time talking to a woman (Carolyn) who will be living in a Habitat House.  In order to live in the houses, people complete a significant application process and in addition to the financial considerations, they must complete 350 hours of what Habitat calls “sweat equity.”  Of these hours, 250 are on any project and 100 hours are on their own house. 

Carolyn and her husband were working on site for their first day of “sweat equity” and they did not yet know which neighborhood they would call home.  Carolyn told me her story in bits and pieces throughout the day and for you, I will summarize what she told me.  The pieces might not fit together because I am unclear on all of the details and specifics but, at best, you will get a smally glimpse into her life.

Carolyn, her daughter, and her granddaughter first went to a hotel when the storm was coming. She was not even aware a storm was coming b/c the pastor at her church had recently died so she had been involved in the celebrations of his life/burial/etc. so apparently, that had taken up all of her time for days.  Carolyn’s husband (Woodie) spent the beginning of the hurricane at work (I think).  Eventually, Carolyn, her daughter, and granddaughter ended up in Texas as the stadium there. Woodie ended up in Boston. 

The details of this are foggy but some things that highlight her experience include–being fed well at the Superdome (what’s that place called in TX?) and having “an entire Wal-Mart” opened up for them at all times so they could just go get whatever they needed or wanted…not getting to talk to her husband for a few weeks…the children were well taken care of and got to play together in TX…all of Carolyn’s family stayed out of NOLA after Katrina.  Carolyn’s mother and daughter returned. Her other children stayed away (except the one who lives in MN) as did her sisters.

The thing Carolyn misses the most is her pictures and her children’s trophies. She was very sad about that.  She repeated it several times, actually.  Carolyn also repeated how “blessed” she was to have the Habitat house.  Her daughter, who will not live in the house with her, filled out all the paperwork, etc. for her.  Carolyn, her husband, and their 6-year-old granddaughter will reside in the house. Right now, she is living w/ her daughter and says it is hard because she is used to having her own space.

They are excited about the work and was glad to walk through to see the houses, as hers will look similar. Something else that she told me that I find interesting– the children have a “school” that they go to through Habitat (I’m thinking like a summer camp type thing) and the time spent counts for 25 of the family hours of “sweat equity.”  I’d like to know more about that program.

Those are the details as I remember them.  While I realize I will never see her again, I think this little bit of her life touched me somehow.  Rob got part of their story on tape but Carolyn and I talked a lot more after the recorder was off. The picture of me with them will not be public but I hope to have it so I can look back and revisit Carolyn’s story.

 I will post again–maybe even using spell check; forgive any errors/typos you see.

Spent the day crawling under a house with Matt, Roya, and Catherine, installing insulation.  It was hard work, but I was grateful to be out of the sun for the majority of the day.  The sun here is NO. JOKE.   Slather on the SPF 2000 every 30 minutes.  Seriously.  It was exciting to see a project through to completion today.  To look at a house, and say “I did that.”  I took the liberty of branding my name and today’s date into one of the beams under the house. Food here is great and on every corner is music.  At lunch break on the site today, one of the Musicians Village residents and Brazilian musician, Ricardo, invited us over to his home for a little concert on his porch.  When someone asked him if he played the Blues, Ricardo said, “Yeah, but playing the Blues is like a feeling.  And I don’t feel that way now.  I feel love and celebration.”  With that, he broke out into “No Woman No Cry”.

Since I have yet to post, I feel like there are too many things swimming in my head, all shouting for my attention as I type.  Perhaps that is a good way to begin the blog…

Being that we are here for just one week, I feel like I will most definitely miss many things about this place that make it unique.  The primary reason for the trip is, of course, the work with Habitat for Humanity.  The nature of our work and the weather come together to make exhaustion win out over exploring the city, I think.  Yet, the work we are doing is fulfilling and important–even if frustrating at times.  The numerous volunteers, the heat, the skills required for some of the projects (and required explanations to go along), and other factors come together and make the less patient wish for a more “organized” day.  That said, however, I am exploring my own ability to be patient and have found the Habitat site to be a learning experience.

Exploring Habitat for Humanity and the lives of the people to whom we have been introduced because of our involvement in this project will be a fascinating experience. I am thrilled that Berklee has given us the chance to do this and am lucky to join the others on this trip.  We are learning about people who lost everything (material) yet have seemed to gain so many other things (insight, wisdom, perspective, faith…) from the hurricane that took place two years ago. 

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All of that said, we have managed to explore the city–including the voodoo museum.  Once I learn this site, I will post pictures from the voodoo museum.  It was a pretty interesting place.

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The overall feeling I get from local residents here is one of utmost gratitude. While they seem to thank us everyday for our contributions I for one can not thank Berklee enough for providing me with this opportunity. It has never felt so good to give back. It has only been two full days that we have been here and it already has been a life changing experience. I have been fortunate enough to befriend seven wonderful people and am looking forward to spending the rest of the week with them working on these homes and exploring this wonderful city. I leave you with this photo which was taken across from the job site.