Tuesday, February 19, 2019

at NSUU, Lacombe, LA

Today we woke up at 7:30 am, ate cereal and bagels for breakfast, and got ready to work at the North Shore Unitarian Universalist Church, which is directly adjacent to where we are staying.  We were delighted to meet Nick, Bonnie and Gay, members of the NSUU community who set us to our appointed work.  We split into several groups to perform various tasks. Some of us painted the labyrinth, while others trimmed the trees and bushes. Additionally, we cleared the flower beds and emptied the fire pit. It then started to rain, which caused us to have to go inside.

NSUU, Lacombe

 

NSUU, Lacombe, painting the labyrinthe

NSUU, Lacombe

For lunch, we had spaghetti with chicken and asparagus. We relaxed for a little after putting several hours of hard work in the morning. We played basketball, football, and cards before getting ready for a trip to the Bayou Gardens and the Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge. This refuge is known for having the most camellias, an exotic plant, in the United States. The plant is named after a Jesuit priest, Fr. Kamel. The flower is a vibrant pinkish red blend and is found on the trees.

After a short drive, and a couple wrong turns, we arrived at a boardwalk that runs through the Big Branch Bayou. It was very scenic with lots of swamps and interesting birds. We then stopped at a local store to get a quick snack to tide us over. We got back to the house and relaxed a little before walking to the gas station to get a couple more snacks and drinks.

Big Branch National Wildlife Refuge

Big Branch National Wildlife Refuge

For dinner, we had chicken fajita casserole and salad. It was very appetizing. We then watched a little TV and played cards. After, we brushed our teeth and went to bed. We are looking forward to going to the Whitney plantation tomorrow.

Hunter Hettinger and Jake Murphy

Monday, February 18, 2019

Today we woke up at our usual time of 7:30 and had cereal and bagels for breakfast. We went on a driving tour of New Orleans at around 9, and saw areas affected by Katrina and the flooding including many historic sites.   We stopped at the location of Homer Plessy’s arrest. 

Site of Homer Plessy's arrest 

We saw much of the Upper and Lower 9^th Wards, as well as the McDonogh elementary school, site of the first black students integrating an all-white school (on the same day Ruby Bridges integrated another New Orleans public school).  During our tour, we made a short stop at Bayou Bienvenue and met up with John Taylor, a native of the Lower 9^th Ward. From Taylor, we learned much about his experience of Hurricane Katrina, as well as its effects on the Lower 9th.

With John Taylor at Bayou Bienvenue  

After the driving tour, we headed to Loyola University and met with Father Fred Kammer. Father Kammer taught us much about the hurricane and many of its statistical effects on the city. He drew us a nice map of the city and showed in detail how the flood waters entered the city. We also discussed the emergence of charter schools in the city after the flood. Every public school in New Orleans became a charter school after the flood, which is unprecedented in any city of the United States.

Fr. Kammer with our group

Back at the CELSJR, we met with Ruth Idakula who led us in the race dialogue. We discussed racism, and what race prejudice meant. We also discussed how power structures and institutions are related to racism. After reflecting upon our experience, many of us had felt that we were out of our comfort zone during the talk. However, we were very glad to have the experience and had much to take away.

After the dialogue, we traveled to Café Istanbul to listen in on a community meeting, held by Justice and Beyond. The topic of today was the selling of the radio station WBOK, which has been a platform for African American voices for decades. The people of WBOK had been assured that their mission to give African American people a platform to have their voice heard regardless of the owner of the station will continue.

Justice and Beyond Meeting

Finally, we packed up our bags and moved away from CELSJR and drove 45 minutes to the North Shore Unitarian Universalists’ house, where we enjoyed leftover pizza from the night before and some basketball.

Justin Tran and Patrick Dromey

Sunday, February 17, 2019

Today, we woke up (early, surprisingly), and reheated some waffles that CELSJR house chef Martha made for us earlier. At about 8:30, we set off for mass at St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson square. Afterwards, we walked around the square to a staircase that led up to the bank of the Mississippi river. Then, went to Café du Monde for beignets and Café au Lait. We waited in the long line to be seated. During our wait, Brendan, Ethan L. and Joe were conscripted by a local jazz band to join as back-up singers in their busking octet. They did remarkably well. They were almost as great as the beignets.… After chowing down on our beignets, we moved on to the French Market; here, we bought artwork, sunglasses, trinkets, gator meat, and other whimsical objects.

In front of St. Louis Cathedral following Mass

Outside Cafe du Monde, debut performance of Brendan, Ethan and Joe! 

Following our adventure through the French Quarter, we headed back to the CELSJR HQ, where we prepared ourselves for our first encounters with Mardi Gras festivities. We chose to spend our time playing Blackjack, Jurassic park Uno, and basketball, with the winners getting first shower rights (there is a dearth of hot water). We headed off to our Marti Gras party, hosted by a friend of CELSJR, followed by our first Mardi Gras parade, “‘tit Rex.” This parade is a petite version of the Mardi Gras parade staple “Rex.” The prefix ‘tit, is a diminutive abbreviation of the word petite used by Cajuns to denote the younger of two people who share the same name; it is thus pronounced “T Rex.” The parade was also literally petite, with the floats being roughly the size of a Radio Flyer red wagon. The bands were loud and flamboyant, as the mirthful crowds surrounded them.

Mardi Gras Parade 

We returned to our dormitory in the CELSJR HQ, and after another round of Jurassic Park Uno, set off to the Midway Pizzeria, where we were faced with a gauntlet of decadent pizzas. In a series of unfortunate miscalculations, we were left with overfilled stomachs, and sizable doggy-bags (or boxes, we guess). On our arrival back to our dorms, the winners of our past tribulations took the first, and possibly the only hot showers ­–it’s important to note that the water Is either as hot as Mustafar’s magma rivers, or as cold as the Hoth ice shelves– of the night This, sadly, is where our story ends.

So if we shadows have offended, think but this and all is mended.

Thank you, and Goodnight!

Patrick Bole, Ethan Tran, and Puck…

           

Saturday, February 16, 2019

We all met at Logan Airport in the morning, and safely arrived in New Orleans after stopping in Atlanta. We then retrieved our bags and headed for the car rentals. Once we loaded up the vans, we traveled to The Center for Ethical Living, which is where we will stay for the next two nights. We got settled into our dorm room, and toured the building. After the tour was over, we had to treat our hunger with a fine New Orleans meal at Katie’s Restaurant. The food was excellent, and the scenery was very unique. After a long day, we headed back to the Center and closed the day with a prayer.

Will Farrell and Joe Paolucci

At Katie's Restaurant

Patrick standing by the door at Katies - the plaque above his head is the water line from the flooding in 2005