Service Learning in New Orleans 2016-04-11 21:02:08
Posted from Camarillo, California, United States.
Taking a week to reflect
ect back on New Orleans has made me want to go back and do it all again. This was one of the best trips I have ever been on. It was definitely a cultural experience. Before going to NOLA, Dr. Anderson gave many presentations to prepare us. I always got a different image in my head of what New Orleans looked like. From the French Quarter to the Lower 9TH Ward and how hurricane Katrina destroyed many of the districts.
Everything about New Orleans was amazing. The one thing that stuck with me the most was the levee tour because we really got to experience how tragic Hurricane Katrina was. We started in the Lower 9th and walked right up to where the levee had broken. We stood in front of a big concrete wall. Imagining the water coming over that and breaking the levee seemed unreal. It was very emotional because in the lower 9th we still saw houses run down from 10 years ago. It looked as if it happened yesterday. We saw houses slowly being rebuilt. One thing that was very upsetting was learning about the flood insurance. It can take people years to start building because in some cases you have to find the original owners home paperwork. It was sad to imagine the struggles people are still having today.
After visiting the levee, we drove further into the lower 9th. I didn’t think it was possible to get flooding way back there. We stopped at an outdoor museum garden walk like thing that gave a storyline of Hurricane Katrina. Yet another emotional experience. At the garden walk there was a metal post and at the top there was a sign that showed the height of the flooding. It was around 6’5”. Next to it was an abandoned house. It was very depressing. There was a hold in the roof, a car seat in the house, and just a lot of junk shredded throughout.
