New Orleans RUAB Spring 2014!

Our first Alternative Break meeting, we sat in a room full of 13 strangers from all different backgrounds, talking about a trip that seemed to be in the very distant future. We never would have guessed that after a spending a week in New Orleans together, we would go through life-changing experiences and become a perfectly cohesive, dysfunctional, and hysterical group of close friends. Not only did we become close, but the passion that we had for our project and the homeowners  was overwhelming. #NOLA2014 was something we'll never forget.

After landing in New Orleans early Sunday morning, we drove to the United Saints, which was the non-profit organization who led our community service. We settled into our little apartment for the week, and headed out to use our free day to explore the city. We passed things such as the Super Dome, The Smoothie Center, and eventually parked at The French Quarters.

The city of New Orleans itself has so much culture. Anything from Mardi Gras beads, to Dia de Los Muertos and Voodoo dolls. Even the streets picture the original Spanish names from centuries ago. There's so much art and culture to be seen around every turn. The architecture is unlike any you would normally see on the East Coast. Not to mention the food is out of this world. I'm pretty sure I magically grew tastebuds just for southern food during this trip.

Famous Cafe du Monde Coffee

Beignets

Blackened Redfish Tacos at Juan's Taqueria

It was very easy to appreciate every thing that the city had to offer on that first day. We got to experience to tourists' side of the city, however that enjoyment quickly turned into heartbreak and compassion as the week went on. Driving through the back roads of the city, the damage that was still left from Hurricane Katrina even after 8 years, was truly shocking. Each road had about 3 beautifully decorated houses, each separated by abandoned, over grown residences. The contrast between the beauty and the horrific damage still left untouched gave us a completely different experience than most tourists.

As the week went on, we were eventually assigned to a few smaller projects such as restoring a community garden in the Ninth Ward, and helping to roof a house. We soon fell in love with a specific project, which we made our home for the rest of the week. Morris and Steve, an older couple whose home was damaged in Hurricane Katrina, welcomed us with open arms to help them finish construction on their house before their June 2014 deadline. I can think of no other way to describe our experience with Morris and Steve other than the fact that they will forever be family. The personal stories they shared with us, both about the hurricane and their lives in general, will forever stay in the back of our minds. They sang and danced with us, they helped us with construction when needed, they laughed with us, they brought us tiny gifts and snacks, they gave us pounds and pounds of Mardi Gras beads, but most of all, they gave us a piece of our lives that we will never forget. Their infectious positive spirits, even after living through many tragedies, was truly inspiring. By the end of the week, we had put every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears that we possibly could into their house. We know that they will complete their project before their deadline, and will be stress free to enjoy their beautiful home and the rest of their lives together. 

Experiencing New Orleans from an Alternative Break standpoint was not your typical vacation. I now know that you can never truly appreciate a city until you have seen it all, the good, the bad, and the ugly. It might be painful to see and discouraging, but the work we did, the lives we touched, the lives who touched us and the lessons that we learned were worth every second.

Benefitting the Bay: Team Biloxi

March 16th, 2014 (Traveling & Settling In)

        Waking up at 4 AM to catch a shuttle to Newark International is not something I had ever done before. However, it was easy to start the day at this early hour knowing that our service projects were awaiting us right past those airport terminals in Mississippi. After everyone had made it through airport security, the pre-boarding hours proved to be an exciting time to get to know one another. A majority of us were wearing glasses, so naturally a few #teamglasses selfies were in order.

Our initial flight to Atlanta, GA went by fairly quickly (especially considering most of us were sleeping). After landing, we all grabbed a quick snack and prepared for our final flight to Gulfport, MS. When we arrived here, the humidity hit us immediately after exiting the airport. It was warm. There were palm trees randomly placed around. We certainly were not in NJ anymore. After sorting out the rental car specifications, we head to Camp Wilkes where we would be lodged for the rest of our service week.
        Inside of our living space, there were ~15 bunk beds for both our group and a group from Georgia Southern University separated by a small hallway. The bathrooms and showers were co-ed, which seemed a little odd to me at first, but became the rule instead of the exception by the end of this trip. After settling in, it was time for dinner and for us to meet the Camp Wilkes leader, Steve! The choices were fairly continental, but the most interesting part about eating was cleaning the dishes. In order to produce the least amount of waste products, the scraps of food were saved for composting, while the plates were cleaned using the Triple-Dip (scrub, wash, bleach) system we all grew to appreciate :p. I brought school work with me (even though I avoided it), so after dinner I attempted to start it and ended up having a wonderful get-to-know-each-other conversation with my site leader Saad. I encourage all of you to have these types of in-depth conversations with your site leaders and peers while on this trip :D. At 11 PM, it was time for us to sleep and prepare for our long and eventful first day at the Head Start program.

March 17th, 2014 (Service Day 1 at the Isiah Fredericks School)

        Our first day of service (for me and most others) started at 5 AM sharp. We ate a continental breakfast and then prepared for our rides over to the Head Start program location in Biloxi, MS. Up until this point, we were only told that we were going to be working with children of some age group at a school, so needless to say, we were all very excited and nervous to begin our first day of volunteering. When we arrived at our destination, we were quickly signed in and whisked away to our separate rooms. One Team Biloxi volunteer was admitted into each classroom and this was the last time we would see each other for a few hours. After being assigned to my classroom, I slowly closed the door and turned around to see about 20 3-to-5 year olds staring at me inquisitively.
        I gazed around the room to see the teacher, Ms. Dusset, preparing breakfast for these young children. I arrived just in time for the meal, so I was asked to sit down with them in order to model good behavior. This was fairly humorous considering I am 6' 2" and the chair I was sitting in was made for 3 year olds. After taking a seat, I tried to subdue my anxiety by asking some of the kids what their names were. After many blank stares and no answers, I realized that I should probably wait until they start asking me questions to begin talking comfortably. When breakfast was finished, I was in charge of cleaning up all of the tableware (and most of the tables, considering a lot of the food missed the mouths of these young children on account of their unfamiliarity with silverware and its purpose).
        Ms. Dusset began clapping her hands and singing which meant it was time to learn. I found my spot on the carpet next to all of the kids and began to clap/sing the nursery rhymes belted out by Ms. Dusset. Keeping the attention of the kids was a very challenging task and I commend Ms. Dusset for her ability to do so. After we were finished with the nursery rhymes, it was time for a bathroom break. As with any other time children are asked to line up, this was complete chaos. Eventually, Ms. Dusset brought them all into line and the trip was not problematic at all.
        Lunch time was soon which meant it was time for me to set up all of the plates and other dining accessories for the kids. After wiping down the tables, it was then nap time. I went to the break room to meet up with the rest of my peer volunteers. Many of us were exhausted from our early wake-up and classroom service. This break would become a time for us to exchange hilarious classroom stories and our feelings about the nature of the Head Start program. Upon my early return to nap time, I had the chance to finally talk with Ms. Dusset one-on-one and learn more about her story.
        Ms. Dusset was born and raised in the south (specifically, Louisiana). Currently, she was on her way to achieving a Master's degree in education and even thought about pursuing a doctoral degree afterwards. She had faced several hardships in her life with respect to personal matters and moving around often, but I never saw her not smiling in class. When I asked her how she made it through everything and still maintained a positive outlook, she replied with "Feel blessed wherever you are. Be blessed wherever you are". I thought this was quite profound and a wonderful motto to live by.
        After nap time, we all left the school and returned back to the camp for dinner and reflection. Reflection was my most favorite part of the day because I really enjoyed listening to how my fellow volunteers felt throughout the day and how they handled the chaotic nature of a pre-kindergarten classroom. Understanding the connections between the kids, our teachers, and each other also made for a great reflection experience.

March 18th, 2014 (Service Day 2 at Head Start/Day 1 of Boys and Girls Club)

        After another smooth wake-up, it was time to start our second day of service! We all felt a little less anxious heading into the school this time because we knew what was expected of us and how we should handle specific situations. Interestingly enough, on the ride there, we ran into one of Steve's cousins (The Tin Man) who offered words of wisdom and encouragement as we began our trek.

        When we arrived at our classrooms, both the teaching assistant and the head teacher were there to help facilitate the goings-on of the school day. For most of us, the school day went by fairly fluidly. The main challenges were trying to keep the attention of 20 3-year-olds and having to constantly explain to them the behavioral rules necessary for a school classroom. My favorite part of this day was "center time" which was a 35 minute period in the day where the kids would play with toys and just be themselves. I was on "puppet duty" where I got to entertain a young kid named Morris. Morris was the only one at the puppet center today, so I figured I should keep him company so he didn't feel left out. It was heartwarming seeing that the smallest amount of attention or care meant so much to these kids. This Head Start program was organized for kids who may not be growing up in the best familial or geographical setting, so being able to make them smile and be carefree definitely made this a wonderful experience :).

        As our second school day finished, we decided to head over to the Boys and Girls club in Biloxi to play games with the older kids.

This was a nice change of pace from the hectic school setting, but was still just as rewarding. We were only able to stay for an hour or so on this day, but several games of foursquare and dodgeball still took place which brought along a lot of positive energy.

        As the night came to an end, there were a few photoshoot opportunities that took place on the dock at our campsite. 

It was great to see that everyone was having a great time and I could not have hoped for a more cohesive crew than #teambiloxi on this trip :3

March 19th, 2014 (Last Day at Head Start/Day 2 at Boys and Girls Club)

        As we began our last day of service at Head Start, we felt saddened knowing that this was going to be the last time we would see our young students for a while. Fortunately, Steve's other cousin, the Hump Day Fairy, was there to see us off on this fine Wednesday morning.

        The school day routine in the morning was basically second nature to us at this point. There was a moment of spontaneity in my class on this day because we were finally well-behaved enough to go outside to play!! Playing on the playground with my class was another one of the best experiences I had on this trip. I was growing closer to Morris, so naturally I was his playmate today as well. After bringing out a bunch of toys and asking him what he wanted to play with....he picked the empty container that was holding all of them. He then ran around the whole playground with this container on his head while chasing me. Again, seeing all of the kids having fun and just worrying about being kids was a neat experience. The rest of the day seemed to fly by very quickly and before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye. Our respective classes lined up to give us hugs right before we left and then we were off to the Boys and Girls Club once more.

        We arrived a little earlier to the club this time around which meant more time to hang with the kids! The best part about being around these kids was the stress-free nature of everything. We could just play games and talk about their day and everything. The dodgeball game was especially fierce today since we arrived at the very beginning of it. Nota Bene: They picked teams and I wasn't picked last, so that was a very exciting time for me :D. After dodgeball, we returned outside to play a large game of catch with a kickball. There was a great feeling of inclusion while playing and it was great to see that we were directly affecting these kids in such a positive manner.

After returning to the camp, it was time to prepare for our New Orleans trip!!!

March 20th, 2014 (Beach Trip/New Orleans Trip/#TeamNOLA Meetup)

        After breakfast on this day, we decided to stop by a beach on the way to New Orleans to unwind and have another photoshoot. There were palm trees bright skies involved, so this was a great way to start the morning.

        After this brief stop, it was time to make our way to New Orleans!!! Our first stop in this lovely city of eclectic art, music, and culture was the famous Cafe Du Monde. Here, we tried a few beignets, which were basically densified funnel cake, but were still very delicious.

We met an eccentric magician after leaving this establishment and then we proceeded to walk around town and view the colorful architecture.

After traveling down the very interesting Bourbon Street, we got dinner at an authentic Nawlins restaurant where a few of us had the always popular Po Boy sandwiches. I even tried the fried alligator here (which actually does taste just like chewy chicken).

        When we were finished eating, it was time to meet up with our fellow Alt Breaks team! It was great sharing some RU pride and hearing others' stories of service and enlightenment on this trip.

        We then returned back to Camp Wilkes to get a good night's rest for our last day of service (which we were told was going to involve environmental work with Steve!)

March 21st, 2014 (Last Day of Alt Breaks Service/Environmental Day)

        On this Friday, we headed to a nature reserve to save the Mississippi-famous Live Oak trees which were covered in vines and unwanted underbrush. These trees would eventually die if such plants were not removed, so it was nice to know we were keeping history alive.

With the help of Steve and his son Francis, we cleared out a large chunk of area within a few hours. This definitely felt much different than when we were in the classroom, but it was still great to be conducting service with the #hellatight #teambiloxi. For lunch, Steve had a surprise for us and took us down to the giant Ruskin Oak tree nearby. This tree has been around so long that its branches have grown underground and formed roots again. As Steve said, this tree is a great metaphor of resilience for the people of Mississippi. Even after Katrina, everyone there re-grew their roots and began anew to face the day with an even stronger disposition.

        After visiting the tree, we returned to the nature reserve to finish up our outdoors work and then we all headed back to camp for our last night together.

March 22nd, 2014 (Returning Home)

        Just like when we were flying down to Mississippi, we had to get up very early again for our flight home. I didn't mind this wake-up because we were able to see the sunrise from the Atlanta airport :). After safely making it back to Newark International, it was time to prepare for our return to RU.

        On a personal note, this trip was the best social/service experience of my whole career here at Rutgers. Working with Head Start, the Boys and Girls program, my peers, and with Steve has forever changed me in a way that no other academic experience has. I've learned so much about everyone else (and myself) and even the thought of this trip inspires me today. We set out to uplift others and become hellatight and that's exactly what we did. I could not have asked for a more lovely, positive-minded, thoughtful group of participants and site leaders on this trip and I can't wait until we meet up again soon :D.

        - Fish Ludy

NOLA 2014! Days 3-5

RUAB NOLA
by Zeenie Sharif 

January 10, 2014

For Day 2 of service at Green Light New Orleans, I was in a different group than Jenn, so I had a different experience. Our group’s experience was also rich in learning and meeting the residents of New Orleans. Our route took us from wealthier areas of the city to areas that had clearly been hit hard by Katrina and were still in the process of rebuilding. The most interesting part of the experience was the opportunity to go into the homes of seven different people and see glimpses of seven completely different lives, from a young New York woman who had only been in New Orleans six months to an eighty-three year-old great-grandmother, living in New Orleans and Texas her whole life.

One particular person who made an impact on me was a woman named Missy. Her home, like a typical New Orleans home, was one room behind another, but every room was filled to the brim with bright colors and decorations. Her front room was actually a bedroom, so as soon as you stepped into her home, you were stepping into her personal, private space. Something she said had an affect on all of us and truly summed up the authenticity and welcoming nature of the New Orleans residents: “Come into my home; come into my life.” It was wonderful to be able to talk to her, and she was grateful and excited about us helping to make her home more energy-efficient.

In front of Green Light's Headquarters

In Missy's home

That night, we had some traditional New Orleans po’boys and were able to explore some of the city, although it was ridiculously wet and foggy. Green Light New Orleans and the people we were able to meet helped make this day memorable and impactful.

January 11, 2014

We were extremely lucky to have such a great end to our trip in New Orleans. The day started off well because the weather was beautiful, and we were getting to volunteer at NOLA for Life Day. NOLA for Life is an initiative that New Orleans mayor, Mitch Landrieu, to help inspire and work with the youth of the city to help “flip the script” on the high murder rates and street violence in New Orleans. NOLA for Life Day is a huge community day when volunteers from various non-profits (including Green Light!) and residents of New Orleans come out and work on projects in the A.L. Davis Park to clean and beautify it.

Our connection with NOLA for Life Day was actually through a Rutgers and Alt Breaks alum named Dan, who was stationed in New Orleans through Teach for America. He was extremely friendly and was able to introduce us to Mayor Landrieu. The mayor, like everyone else, was so welcoming and appreciative of us coming to help out; he baptized us as citizens of New Orleans and requested a photo with us. It was an honor to see someone in a position as he is being so down-to-earth and wanting to get to know us.

With Mayor Landrieu!

Most of us worked on something really cool: building benches to put around the park. I worked on a bench with a fellow group member, Rachel, and a teenager from New Orleans named Liam. It was a really awesome experience to figure out how to put together a bench and be able to use heavy duty equipment! It was also cool to talk to someone our age about his experience in the city and with Katrina, but also to talk to someone our age in general. Liam was so nice and friendly, and we had a great time working with him. Being able to see our bench complete at the end of the process was such a great feeling; we were able to sit on and see others sit on a bench we made. It’s a different feeling when you truly can see the fruits of your labor and understand how you’re making a contribution. Other members of our group also built benches and planted trees in the park.

Workin' hard on our benches

The finished product!

That night, we had some authentic New Orleans cuisine downtown at Chartres House for our last meal. It was a really cool place and the food was awesome! Of course, we had to stop at Cafe du Monde once more for beignets, hot chocolate, and coffee before heading back to the hotel to pack up for our departure early the next morning.

January 12, 2014

We had an early flight out this morning, so we were rustled awake, quickly packed up our things, and headed to the airport. We flew through security, confirming our beliefs that every airport is more efficient than Newark, and were at the gate for our flight in plenty of time. Back home, everyone’s bags arrived (yay!) and we all sadly departed.

Despite all the bumps in the beginning of our trip, we all agreed at our last reflection that our struggles are what made the trip so memorable. We bonded so much as a group and appreciated our time in New Orleans that much more. I realized that my time in NOLA showed me just a taste of the service that can be done in the city -- and in any city -- and only made my already-strong love of service stronger. I couldn’t be more thankful for the experience, for all the people I met and the friendships I made, and I wouldn’t have had the trip any other way. Thank you to my incredible site leaders and staff partner, my wonderful group, and Rutgers Alt Breaks!

NOLA 2014! Days 1-3

RUAB NOLA
by Jennifer Galati

The flight that left without us :(

January 5, 2014

So, technically this was supposed to be the first day of our trip. It would mainly be traveling, but this was the day we were supposed to arrive in New Orleans. We all arrived at the airport in the early hours of the morning (or the late hours of the night, however you wanna look at it) and were pumped for our trip. We thought we had ample amount of time to get on our plane, but boy were we wrong. After getting held up in bag check, we all were anxious on line of the security check. Once we got checked we sprinted to our gate, which happened to be the farthest one. Unfortunately, when we got there, to our dismay, the door was closed. What sucked the most was that we were 10 minutes early for boarding time! After that we hung around the airport for hours trying to figure out what we were going to do and if we were even going to be able to go. We were all upset, but were still hopeful.



January 8, 2014

ROUND TWO: Luckily, everything worked out and we were able to go on our trip. Sadly, one of our members couldn’t join us, but we still soldiered on.  Everything ran smoothly, we made our flights, we got our rental cars, and we got our luggage that was until we got to the house we were supposed to be staying at. When we arrived at the organization’s house, we were all so excited, but what we saw inside still our excitement. The house was a bit messy, didn’t have enough space for us, and was kind of unsafe. Again we felt unease and disappointment. We weren’t sure what we were going to do and just wanted to start doing service. Thankfully our team had the greatest site leaders (Val, Jocelyn, and Nicole,) who basically re-planned our entire trip in the span of a few hours.

So, we ended up staying in a hotel and ordering pizza that night. We all were exhausted and ready to do service the next day.

We made it! With bags in hand!

January 9, 2014

On this day we worked with the Lower Nine Organization. We got to paint the interior of a house that they were building for a family who lost their home because of Katrina. The house was located in the Lower Nine district, the area that got hit the worst, and the neighborhoods definitely humbled and shocked us. There were only a few houses left standing in what used to be lively neighborhoods. Around the house that we were working on were rubble and a few homes.

We spent the entire day painting and finished the entire interior of the house. We all felt a great feeling of pride. When we finished we went back to the Lower Nine house and ate dinner with the members of the organization. They were very welcoming and fed us a delicious taco dinner. We were able to speak to them about all there experiences and learn about what they had accomplished. When we were leaving their house, we witnessed a mini block party going on down the street. People were dancing in the street listening to music. That sight proved that the people who lived in the Lower Nine had a great sense of community that wasn’t lost because of the storm.

Hard at work painting a house in Lower Nine

When we got back to our hotel we washed up and then got delicious beignets, coffee, and hot chocolate at the famous Café Du Monde. There was some great team bonding that night.

Our first time at Cafe du Monde

January 10, 2014

Today we worked with the organization Project Green Light. This organization gives more energy efficient and cost efficient light bulbs to households across New Orleans. Our group was split into two so each team did a different route. My team went all around New Orleans implanting light bulbs in people’s homes.

The first woman we met was named Rosetta. She was an older woman who really touched us with her pride and thankfulness towards life in general. She was so happy to see us helping out and even though she had just gotten surgery, she was so thankful for the blessed life she lives. After Rosetta we met many other great people who told us all about their Hurricane Katrina experiences. Many of them got displaced during the hurricane, either to others states or other sections of the city. Everyone had a unique story.

The thing that stood out most to my group was the contrast in the city. We witnessed areas that had a mansion next to a house that was destroyed. Then there were some places areas that weren’t built up, but a street over were thriving. It was a strange juxtaposition to which we still don’t know the reason.

At the end of our service we met up with our other teammates and went back to our hotel to wash up. After washing up we got po’ boys at a local deli, went down Bourbon Street, and travelled down to the Mississippi River. It was super foggy though, so we couldn’t see much, but it was a fun time.

Filling out paperwork with a NOLA resident

Screwing in a lightbulb with Rosetta!