Friday, February 22, 2019

We started off our day today by waking up at the usual time, 7:30 AM. We went to the Chahta Ima Elementary School and spent our last day with the students. Breakfast was provided to us by the faculty and after we ate we returned to the classes we were in yesterday. We were each given a bag of Mardi Gras beads, a gift from one of the teachers.

Mardi Gras Beads

Throughout the day, some of us moved around and helped in different areas of the school and others stayed with their class. A couple of us helped the librarian organize books and read to some of the children. Some of us spent our time in the library teaching the children how to play checkers. Around noon we followed our classes to the cafeteria for lunch. Everybody, including us, got lunch from the cafeteria. We had chicken sandwiches with beans, french fries, and cookies. Every kid had a huge smile on their face when they saw the ‘Boston Boys’ eat at the same place as they did.

"Fish Fest"

After lunch, we met back up with our classes. We continued to help the kids with their classwork. At around 1:50, we prepared for Fish Fest, which is a tradition the school has that awards students for being good. The children got to run around dancing, jump roping, and playing with us. After we played with all the children, we took pictures and said our last goodbyes before leaving. Right before we left, we all lined up in front of their busses and cars to give our final high fives. They were sad to see us leave, but I think we will miss them even more.

High fives for goodbye

We quickly went back to the house to grab our luggage and we headed out to New Orleans. As we arrived at Bourbon Street, we were quickly greeted by a hectic crowd full of party animals.  We then went straight to Preservation Hall, which is a musical venue in French Quarter, right next to Bourbon Street. We listened and watched a jazz band perform traditional New Orleans music.

After driving around for a little, we decided to go to our favorite deep dish pizza place, Midway Pizza. Once again, we ate a tremendous amount of wings and pizza until our stomachs were full. We preceded to return to the original church we stayed at for the first two nights because it is closer to the airport. Overall, today was meaningful and a great final day in New Orleans.

Jake Murphy and Jake Flanagan

Thursday, February 21, 2019

This morning at about 7:30, we woke up to the pleasant surprise of a lot of work to get done. Busy morning today in preparation to meet with students of Chahta Ima Elementary School. We started with making lunch and then off to the school. We met in the multi-purpose room where we talked about the school, the students, and the problems they both face. 

Lunch in the Multipurpose Room

First, we were separated into different homerooms, all of us being little nervous about if we would remember third grade grammar or not, but with the extremely welcoming and kind children, our worries subsided. Homeroom started with roll call and a harsh math test where the teacher let me help the students. That was the first time I really got introduced to them but with how kind they were, it felt like I have been working with them for the whole school year. After that we broke off for lunch and then reconvened for a popcorn party. After learning about the school’s rules and just getting to know the kids, we sadly had to leave but happy, for both us and the kids, that we would return tomorrow. Sadly however, we could not take photos together for confidentiality and privacy reasons. 

Lunch in the Multipurpose Room

We've had a lot of rain this week, but upon returning to the NSUU, the weather was good enough for us to finish about all of the remaining yard work, especially the labyrinth. After some (a lot) of UNO and chess games later, we reconvened for dinner and then a reflection on the last couple days, where we reflected on what we learned at the Center for Women and the Whitney Plantation.

The labyrinth at NSUU

-Christian Keka and Jake Flanagan