NOLA

New Orleans has definitely taken me by storm and worn me out!! I'm going to try to put everything in chronological order on the blog to try and remember it right but the whole week went by so quickly and was so exciting that it's hard to put in the right order and get right!

Night One (Sunday): this night we went out to Frenchman Street and walked around getting to take in the scenes and see what was going on and what the popular spots in New Orleans was. We went over to Bourbon street later that night and sight saw in that area as well. I really liked this night because everyone stayed in a huge group and we took over the city! We were obvious when we were coming through due to the mass amount of people that were together but this was definitely one to remember. This was the first night that we didn't have to do anything in the morning and we were able to sleep in so we really got to enjoy the night and not live for the next day like I feel like I do a lot. The French Quarter was gorgeous and kind of reminded me of Charleston but with a weird mix of Paris (even though I've never been there, I'd like to think that's what it was like). There were a lot of cool restaurants on the street and we also went to an outdoor market that was down a random alleyway where there were dozens of vendors selling home crafted goods like jewelry made of guitar strings and hand paintings. The French Quarter was really beautiful and cool to see. When we went to Bourbon, that was a whole different story. There were so many lights and huge signs for all the different businesses. There was music on every street corner and in every store. There were people EVERYWHERE (which was surprising for a Sunday night)! It was like I was on sensory overload and I didn't know where to look or what to listen to. I had a lot of fun but I think that New Orleans is too much to handle and I need to have more time in order to understand the city and get a full grasp on what's going on.

Night Two (Monday): FREE DAY!! Today we were allowed to do whatever we wanted, when ever we wanted and on our own time! I slept in until 10:00! I haven't slept that late in forever it feels like and I don't know when is the next time I will be able to. If I sleep until 8, I feel like I overslept so sleeping until 10 was amazing. We started the day with a social injustice tour around the 9th Ward of New Orleans. Our leader's name was Nat Turner and he works at a farm in the 9th Ward called the OSBG (Our School at Blair Grocery) where they grow food for the community and also sell what they make to restaurants in the French Quarter because everything they make is organic. They also have goats on the property and they get the food from Whole Foods that can't be on the shelves any more and use it as either food or compost so when we were there, we helped Tuner go through the food and we got to keep a lot of really good bread and fruits! Turner did a tour about how the 9th Ward was effected by Katrina and the struggles that they had to overcome in the past 9 years and how they are able to thrive and come back from the tragedy. He showed us the several different types of levies and we went around the neighborhood learning about how there is such a restriction of resources and goods to the 9th Ward that even if they tried really really hard to overcome the poverty and poor living situations, it would be very very difficult to do. I found the whole tour very interesting and I was glad that I was able to do it! It made me realize that I don't know anything about Katrina and the real effects that it had. I didn't even realize that the flood was caused from man made errors, not the storm itself. They were talking about how there were several theories to how the levy broke and one of them astounded me; someone blew up the levy to drive out the poor black community from New Orleans. The other theories are that there was a barge that broke the levy and also that the soil under it was too weak to hold it up and it overcame the strength and it broke. I think it was a combination of the last two but I really want to learn more about it when I get the chance and research it some more. After the tour, we all went back to Camp Hope and relaxed for a little while. That night, we went back to the French Quarter and went to Cafe du Monde. It was a super cute cafe where they are famous for their beignets (which are little french doughnuts). I got an order of those and a coffee :) it was perfect. Later that night we just walked around and explored the city some more.

Night Three (Tuesday): this was our first build day! We are staying about a mile away from where we are building so just a short walk away and we made it to a cute little duplex in the 9th Ward. For the most part, and for the all of the week, we just did sanding, mudding, skimming and priming for the walls. It was a lot of hard work because we were constantly working with our hands over our heads so my shoulders were getting really tired. The site supervisors, Amy, Jack, and Amelia were so so nice and by the end of the week, they started to feel like they were part of the group. During the lunch break, it was almost guaranteed that the majority of the group was going to fall asleep in a high pile in the middle of one of the rooms in the house for a quick power nap. We were alway so tired and I'm starting to be able to fall asleep really easily whenever I stop moving for more than 10 minutes (which is why blogging is so hard!). That night, the group decided to stay in and take the night off because of how exhausted everyone was.

Night Four (Wednesday): more building just like the day before! We are starting to get crazy on the build site because of how comfortable we are becoming with the supervisors and they started messing around with us too. More priming, skimming and sanding! That night was crazy because everyone decided to do their own thing downtown and we were all spread out. I enjoyed being able to spend time with a smaller group but we went to a festival in a park in the business area downtown. It reminded me exactly of Charlotte. There was a huge stage with all different bands playing. There were food vendors everywhere selling a ton of delicious foods (I got a pull pork poboy)! Me and they group that I was with found an awesome spot under a tree and sat around in a circle just talking and enjoying each other's company. That night we just walked around some more and continued to check out all the different parts of the city and what everything is like. By now, I was starting to get a hang of the city and where I was, which made it a lot more enjoyable.

Night Five (Thursday): This was just another day of building and staying in. The staying in nights are fun because I get a chance to talk to people and learn about them some more and explore their personalities and lives a little more. We also walked to Walmart and got to see what it was like to be in a store again (exciting).

Night Six (Friday): this was our last night to explore the city and do some things that we hadn't gotten a chance to do or things that we wanted to do again. I went out to a restaurant called Jacques Imos. It was a super expensive but laid back New Orleans style food place. I got shrimp étouffée, which came with a ton of sides and then we got some chocolate covered strawberries on top of creme brûlée on the house because the owner of the restaurant heard about what we were doing and thought it was really cool! I'm glad that I got to experience a traditional New Orleans meal and see yet another part of the city! We also went to a really cool coffee shop called Rue de la Course on Oak Street, which was set up very elegantly and like no other coffee shop I've ever seen (picture to come). After a lot of food, we just ended up walking around again.

Night Seven (Saturday): the final night and build day (and the day I'm finally caught up on with my journal)! Today we didn't have to be at the site until 10 (more sleeping in)! So we got up a little later and only had to work until 2. It was a very short building day. Also, at the build site, there was a gallon challenge between Greg, Rhys and Josiah. They had to drink a gallon of 2% milk in under and hour and then not thrown up for another hour after that. Greg was the only one to finish the gallon but he threw up almost immediately. Right after Greg did, the other two did very shortly after. I thought it was hilarious but also so so gross! I got some really good footage of them starting the challenge. After building, we came back to Camp Hope and did a massive clean up of the whole place and then went to a Bike and Build alumni's friend's house for a pool party! It was the coolest house I've ever been to! They had a full tennis court and a pool in their backyard, so it was perfect for us. They had more food than I could imagine and it was a really great time. It makes me so happy to see alumni involved in the program still and want to make our journey so much more memorable by contributing to the experience. Now, we are all getting ready for tomorrow! It's our longest bike day and our earliest wake up yet.. we are getting up at 4:00 tomorrow morning and doing 116 miles to Baton Rouge! It will definitely be hard but so worth it once I do it! It was a long, exciting but relaxing stay in New Orleans. Now I'm ready to hit the road!