February 16 and 17, 2017
Today’s weather: 50 degrees, scattered rain showers
Finally.
The moment we have all been waiting for. February 16, 2017: the New Orleans
departure had finally arrived. We met at the airport at 5:30 pm and proceeded
through security checkpoints and boarding gate inspections. Shortly before take
off, the group received information that the flight would be delayed by half an
hour, causing much anxiety after a busy Thursday before February vacation. One
real question circulated amongst Mr. McGonagle and Ms. Myers; would we arrive
to New Orleans in time to pick up the rental cars? We landed at around 10:30 PM
(11:30 PM EST), finding out that we had made it with plenty of time to spare.
After a long day of travelling, we made our way from the airport to the Center,
our place of residence for the night. After discussion, we decided to look for
a late night meal at around 12:30 AM. It turns out that all fast food
restaurants in New Orleans close at 10 o’clock, and only offer drive thru
options until 2 AM. After about a half hour of circling around the same strip
of neutral ground, we reached a compromise of splitting up in to two groups:
one going to McDonalds, the other going to Wendy’s. Finally, at around 1:30, we
made arrived back at the center, yes with full stomachs, ready to enjoy a good
night’s sleep.
The alarm
sounded at 7 o’clock, a long day presented itself. After morning preparations
and breakfast, our New Orleans experience began with a trip to meet Fr. Fred
Kammer, SJ. at Loyola University New Orleans. Recently, Fr. Kammer wrote an
article regarding statistics about poverty level, income, housing, health care,
and crime rate change from the end of Hurricane Katrina to 2013. The results
were what we expected, but offered glimpses of optimism for the city in the
near future. New Orleans is a very dangerous city, and has experienced
hardships as a result of vacancies and destruction. The main point of emphasis
offered by Fr. Kammer was that change is very possible if the community focuses
their mindset on growth and improvement.
Fr. Kammer at Loyola
Next, we went to lunch at Frostop, a classical diner serving
up delectable Southern cuisine: po-boys and Cajun fries.
We then embarked on a driving tour of New Orleans, passing
by historic landmarks long the way. Halfway in to the tour, we had the
privilege of meeting with John Taylor, a lifelong resident of the Lower Ninth
Ward, who gave us insight about Louisiana’s wetland crisis. Louisiana is
rapidly shrinking. One football field of wetlands is lost to erosion every 45
minutes. A shocking fact and harsh reality is that New Orleans will be 14 feet
under water in 75 years if a solution isn’t discovered. Mr. Taylor’s advice was
well received by the group, the message being that millennial generations are
more than capable of preventing this problem from happening in the future.
John Taylor at Bayou Bienvenue in the Lower 9th Ward
After concluding the tour, we had the opportunity to explore
the experience New Orleans’ culture, taking a walk down Bourbon Street,
receiving beads, and attending a Preservation Hall Jazz performance. At about
6:30, we moved our belongings from the Center in New Orleans to our house in
Lacombe, about one hour outside of the city. The night has consisted of making
jokes, playing cards, and eating a tasty sausage jambalaya dinner prepared by
Chef Amina at the Center.
Walk down Bourbon Street
Thank you
for taking the time to follow our journey, a busy week still lies ahead of us.
Hope all is going well back in Boston. Good night.
Eamonn Duffy and Ryan Bigley
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