Hi Everyone!
We arrived safely back in Blacksburg Sunday night and have been slowly adjusting back into small town life and homework since then. We are all still excited and enthusiastic about our amazing trip and still thinking about all of the things we learned and people we met. The culture and pride New Orleans has is remarkable and being there made me think very hard about my definition of home and service. We all tried new things and took our service work very seriously. Getting up on scaffolding and ladders was terrifying but it was awesome to feel so accomplished after a long hard day of work. This photo is of some of our group and two of the amazing NOLA ladies we met and the French Market. They were so spirited and welcoming we had a great morning at their restaurant! 
Thanks,
Anna

Don't forget to check out our website. www.hillel.org.vt.edu

Now that we finished working with Rebuilding Together, today was a lot slower and more relaxing than we are used to. The day began with a 10am ride to Audubon Park (http://www.auduboninstitute.org/visit/audubon-park) where we strolled around and took some pictures of the live oaks, weeping willows, and Cyprus trees. In addition to the trees, some of the group members enjoyed climbing in the trees as well as bird watching. Eventually, we found a very old tree referred to as the Tree of Life where we sat down and ate our lunches and had our second to last group meeting where we discussed our definitions of home and community. 

The discussion wrapped up with a comparison of our trip and other alternate break service trips. We decided that the freedom to explore New Orleans at the end of the day really helped the entire group learn much more about the community than other groups we had met at the hostel. Without realizing it, we learned a lot about the history of the city as well as the effect that Hurricane Katrina had on the entire community of NOLA.

                After hanging out by the Tree of Life, our bus driver, Larry, showed us around the Lake and the surrounding neighborhood called Lake View. On the shore of Lake Pontchartrain (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Pontchartrain)  we were able to see the newly reconstructed bridge that spans 24 miles across. Afterwards, he showed us the largest of the 50 levee breaks from hurricane Katrina which has been rebuilt and is now closely monitored by the Army Crop of Engineers. 

We were also able to see a visible but faint yellow line above door frames to show how high the neighborhood had flooded. Much of the neighborhood consisted of empty lots.  Close by was a local shop for so called “snow balls”, which are comparable to slushies but with finer shaved ice similar to snow. There was a variety of unique flavors to choose from, including Thin Mint, Strawberry, Bubble Gum, Wedding Cake, Pink Princess, etc. A number of us also ate “stuffed” snowballs that had ice cream in the middle. They were delicious and a great way to enjoy a hot day!

Don't forget to check out our website. www.hillel.org.vt.edu

On March 14^th(PIE-DAY!), we got up at 7 AM and  packed our lunches for the day. Michael Callo led us in our daily Kavanah; we prepared for the day by concentrating on our breathing in order to ease our way into the day. Afterwards, we headed over to the work site for another day of painting Ms. Vivian’s new house. We painted both sides of the house, in addition to painting two coats of white paint on the latices. We all worked very hard today as Anna documented our experiences and took pictures of us posing as Rosie the Riveter in our paint stained bandanas. Anna even managed to take a picture of Jessica after she slipped and fell into a hole. Unfortunately we did not get the chance to meet Ms. Vivian, because she was unable to get a ride over to the site. However, we were able to get some pretty great pictures of the house which show all of the progress we’ve made. After returning from the work site, we listened to a speaker from the Gulf Restoration Network who presented an educational speech about the Gulf and all of the devastation it has faced in the aftermath of the BP oil spill. His speech opened our eyes to the importance of the many environmental issues which are threatening the Gulf of Mexico.  Science has shown that the oil levels will greatly affect the food chain and lead to the deaths of many beautiful sea creatures. While there is great deal of work left be done in the Gulf and all over New Orleans, we all feel extremely accomplished after our four days of work, and we look forward to spending some free time in the city of New Orleans.

-Jessica Lieberman & Alex Hilert

For more information on The Gulf Restoration Network visit healthygulf.org

Don't forget to check out our website. www.hillel.org.vt.edu

Last night we took a Ghost Tour through the French Quarter from a lovely local named Wendy. The stories we heard have had us on our toes as we've gone through today and this evening. Whether it is true or not, we heard some gruesome stories!

At Ms. Vivian Mason's house today we began to add color. We had students up on two level scaffolding, extension ladders, A-frames, and even seated on the ground to paint the bottom of the lattices. The sun was out all day, with a pleasant cool breeze tickling our noses. We have been eating lunch across the street from the work-site along the sidewalk and in the grass. Today, Ms. Mason's neighbor who lives behind the area we enjoy our bagged lunches in came over to talk to us and offered us water. This is just one example of how friendly everyone we have met is, and we are always asked where we are from. The city is flooded with other Alternative Spring Breakers, and there is a lot of amazing work being done here. At the end of the day, we had completed the entire left side of the house and half of the back....with only minor paint spill accidents and students changing their hair color. ;)

This afternoon we were picked up by a car service driven by Larry, the same driver the group had last year. Larry drove us from United Saints Church where we are staying, and over to our tour of the Lower Ninth Ward. Larry was born and raised in NOLA, and he is very easy to talk to. Larry told us that the only time he has ever left New Orleans was because of Hurricane Katrina, and he was so homesick he had to come back. He said simply, "There is no other place like it." When we asked him about his concerns for future natural disasters he chuckled and responded that "Hurricane season is coming up and you don't know what the future holds." Larry commented on the progress that the city has made since Katrina and said that it is groups like ours that helped put the city back together.

We met Derreyl from The Sierra Club (http://neworleanssierran.blogspot.com/) outside of The Holy Cross Church, his long grey beard blowing in the wind. He informed us that he has not trimmed his beard since September; however, he has not shaved since 1972. Derreyl took us to the Industrial Canal Levee, Bayou Bienvenue, the Global Green Project homes, and the Make It Right Foundation community (http://makeitright.org/) ...AND THEN WE SAW BRANGELINA! ...Just kidding we didn't see Angelina, just Brad. Just kidding we didn't see Brad either. But we did play with an awesome puppy and a couple children with cool bicycles.

The Global Green (http://www.globalgreen.org/articles/global/115)  homes are sustainable, fashioning solar panels on the roof. As our engineers would say, they are Lead Certified Platinum. The Make It Right Foundation homes are as well. Most of the students were struck with all of the innovations going on. New Orleans is truly an amazing place.

As we twisted and turned through the streets of the Lower Ninth Ward we couldn't help but wonder how the locals felt about tours constantly coming through their neighborhoods. Derreyl and Larry both talked about how most tours are not allowed through, they are now mainly only volunteers and those involved with doing work for the city.

On Friday we will be seeing Larry again. We are looking forward to asking him more questions and learning more about the locals here in New Orleans.

Until next time!
Stephanie, Mark & Isabel

Please check out these pictures of us at the works site! Painting Khaki and White!

Don't forget to check out our website. www.hillel.org.vt.edu

Hello Readers,

After yesterday's relaxed introduction to the city, we finally got our hand's, feet, and pretty much every piece of our clothing dirty as we began our project with Rebuilding Together. We arrived to a nearly complete house, in a vibrant neighborhood which showed great signs of progress from the devastating effects of Katrina. The goal of our project is to paint the exterior of Ms. Vivian Banks' new house.  Her old house faced overwhelming damage from the hurricane and had to be demolished and rebuilt. In the process of rebuilding, Ms. Banks faced further difficulties when her contractors failed to rebuild her house and left with her money. Rebuilding Together stepped in to help make her situation right. It was great to feel truly involved in the rebuilding process. Many of us overcame our fears of heights as we braved ladders and scaffolds to prime the house for painting by taping off the ventilation,  windows, and storm guards, and by filling in the cracks with our trusty caulk guns. The rest of our group huddled under house, which is raised six feet above ground, and painted the lattice work. It was arduous work, but extremely fulfilling. We're all looking forward to meeting the owner of the home, and learning more about her life.

With love,
Alex Hilert & Sam Costanzo


Don't forget to check out our website. www.hillel.org.vt.edu
For more information on Rebuilding Together New Orleans visit rtno.org