No Mucho Gustav

Well, after only five days down in the Big Easy, it seems life over the next few days is going to be anything but that. Hurricane Gustav, which is currently over Haiti right now is headed towards the Gulf Coast. The hurricane is expected to hit the U.S. somewhere between the Florida panhandle and south Texas on Sunday afternoon. My program has set up an evacuation plan for us where we can either drive out ourselves or take a train towards Memphis on Saturday morning. As of now, if we have to evacuate, I’m planning on parking my car at the train station and heading towards Memphis with other people in the program. The chance of the Hurricane hitting New Orleans is still unknown. I’m not really that concerned for my own safety at this point as it seems that Rebuilding Together has a pretty good plan ready for us. Also, it seems like the city is fully prepared and ready to handle an evacuation that could begin as early as tomorrow night. I am worried about how this Hurricane could affect the city of New Orleans. Many people who left New Orleans after Katrina still haven’t come back and another hurricane would mean even less people would probably return. The city is in bad enough shape already that another hurricane would be devestating. Also, I fear that a major hurricane (they are predicting a possible Category 3 or 4) would greatly impact my opportunity with Rebuilding Together. I have just gotten started and don’t know what would happen with the program if we are not allowed to return to New Orleans for an extended period of time. Right now, it’s too early to tell but I should no more by tomorrow or Friday.

My first few days on the job have been a great learning experience. My last post discussed my first day which included an orientation. On Tuesday, I got down and dirty and went to a home that I will be working on for the next couple of weeks. The house is a 4 room, shotgun house (meaning you have to walk through one room to get to the next room) and I spent a lot of time applying primer to the walls and painting. We also had to move a lot of different things to clear space and get the rooms ready to be painted. I probably would have had to walk to and from the copier about 5,000 times at Ernst & Young to equal the physical labor of one day with Rebuilding Together. It felt good to get out there and sweat from 8 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon. If this doesn’t get me into shape, I don’t know what will. Today, I had First Aid training in the morning which was at the Trinity Christian Community (TCC) Center. As soon as I walked in, I saw a picture that said “Jesus will save you,” so I knew I was in the right place. Many of the other volunteers applied through the TCC and the TCC is paying their living stipend and in charge of their progress. At the First Aid training, I was there with 7 other people, all who applied through the TCC. It was one of the first times in my life I really felt different than everyone else. At home, almost all of my friends and all of the people I associate with are similar to me. It was a very strange feeling to be, in a sense, the minority. I’m not Christian or Catholic and I didn’t just graduate college like many of the other volunteers. I feel a little self-conscious because of it also makes me feel good to be different because I know that many of the others haven’t met too many people like me. I have a lot to learn from them but feel that I can offer a lot to them. Anyways, the First Aid Training was very informative. I’m well on my way to being a doctor (harris), kidding. We did learn basic CPR and how to treat injuries and I feel better suited to handle an injury or emergency. With volunteers counting on us, it is important for us to be able to respond to situations that arise. The end of the day had me moving and organizing broken window frames and front doors in our scrapyard, and paint in our warehouse. It has certainly been an interesting first few days and I hope the experience can continue uninterrupted. I will keep you posted and hopefully Gustav stays away.