Working with Habitat

Tomorrow we're working with Habitat for Humanity here.

i'm really excited about it. The first week i was here my team took Arthur and i (the new guys) out on a little tour and one of our stops was Musician's Village. i think it's sponsored by Henry Connick, Jr. It's a beautiful housing development. The houses are pastel colored mostly and look strange compared to the rest of the area.

i hope to take a lot of pictures and post them way later, but it may take awhile considering my digital camera has seemed to bite the dust (quite literally) and i'm saving money for a new camera, so processing lots of film is subject to my budget constraints.

Neighborhood Meeting

Today i attended my first neighborhood meeting with some of my teammates. It was definitely a learning experience. These occasions is where you meet the thoughts and feelings of New Orleanians head-on.
One of the people in attendance was incredibly antagonistic. The man running the meeting, Sean (i hope that's how it's spelled), said that this is a common occurrence for their meetings - someone new will show up for the first time and feels the need to vent to the point where it isnt helpful. This lady fulfilled that for me. When a police officer was speaking about cheap cameras that can be used for video surveillance of the neighborhood and asked if anyone had any questions, this lady started grilling him about drug problems. Her thoughts were completely unrelated and i didnt find her discourse helping anyone move forward. It wasnt just an isolated event either. The council woman who represents the neighborhood also spoke at the meeting and afterwards this same lady attacked her for having her office locked. This was one of those times when i found myself really irritated. i dont understand what she went through here, but those actions are detrimental to the neighborhood, and weaken her case for getting any help or support. Strange, strange.

The council woman brought up an interesting tidbit too. She said,

In this city we find this truth, "The squeaky wheel gets the oil."

That does seem to be the operating principle around here. But it makes sense, doesnt it? i dont think i can make a right/wrong, good/bad judgment about that yet, but that seems to be how it works.

The Maze!

The past two days we've been running around the city of New Orleans supporting this ministry called the Maze. Actually, they've been helping us out by running a magic show that we've been inviting students to. Wednesday night, they performed at Tulane and Thursday they were at Southeastern Louisiana University (SLU).
What a fun show! Ken and i have been joking the whole time about how we want to learn some tricks now.
The other night at dinner, Ken mentioned that i juggle. So we had a fun little conversation about how i like to "manipulate things". Good times. Especially since i got to enjoy some red beans and rice, jambalaya, and gumbo while talking to these guys.
During the performance i got to run the camera for the show. It was a real riot. i've been into trying to have a better eye for things, and this gave me a great chance to practice. The stage manager Billy said that i was his best cameraman yet! Yay for me, that was exciting.
ok, i'm rambling a lot, but that's ok, because i'm done now.

Lots to catch up on

i'll start in last week.

Last Friday, our team spent some time tearing down a shed and getting rid of a tree. It was a lot of fun and good, hard, hot work. We were out in the sun for a long time.

i actually got to do a little chainsaw work which i enjoyed thoroughly.

After finishing, we got to chat with the homeowner. Her name is Maria and she related to us her story of leaving New Orleans the day before Katrina hit. She was in the last plane out of the city because her brother worked for an airline and if she didnt go on that plane she probably would have been in the Superdome. Her story was super sad because not only was she displaced from her home, but had to sleep in homeless shelters with her son next to "prostitutes and drug dealers". i cant imagine living in that state. i'm thinking about putting a post on my personal blog about what it's like for me living in a state of tension, but it can hardly compare to what this woman described.

The next day, i stepped on a nail while working at a site. It wasnt a big deal. In fact, it barely broke the skin, but i still freaked out anyways. Now that i'm typing it out and a week away from the situation, i really was worried about it even when it was such a small cut... So my teammate and i drove around for a while looking for a free health clinic. Eventually we found our way to an emergency room and i talked to my mom about how long i could wait to get the tetanus shot and be safe so i wouldnt have to pay money. She told me it wouldnt be a big deal to wait a few days. After deciding that i didnt have to get a shot immediately and that i would survive, they called my name, i explained my case to the doctor, and asked how much the shot would be.

He asked if i needed a certificate. i said, "no, i just want the shot." And he upped and left me! i didnt know what to think and he never answered my question about how much it would cost. He came back with a needle, popped it in my arm (to the absolute chagrin of my teammate, actually i dont know what was on her face because it was turned 180 at the neck away from me), and asked me not to mention his name or where i got the shot and to tell my mother that there really are nice people in New Orleans.

So i received an illegal tetanus shot (i think it was illegal). Not sure. But i am certainly thankful and feel like God gave me a freebie.