Hey all!!
So, we (Marie, Brianna, Jasmine, Stephanie, Dara, Jessica, Eleanor, Connor, Austin, Jimmy, and Gabriel) arrived in New Orleans after a very long drive, on Saturday night. It rained on us after we got south of Jackson, MS, but that didn’t stop the temperature from rising 16 degrees from Jackson to NoLa. We’re volunteering with the United Saints which is a volunteer organization that is run out of a church in central New Orleans. Were staying in an apartment just across the street from the Church, and while its cramped, its certainly enough. In fact, if we had enough hot water for all of us, it would be comfortable.
The first day here in New Orleans is our off day because the United Saints doesn’t run on Sundays. First, we went to a small donut café called ‘The District Donuts.’ It was a great first taste of New Orleans (both the food and people). We then went to the WWII museum which is the national WWII museum. The museum doesn’t just tell you about the war, it shows you. By including rooms that are covered in fake snow with lights simulating snow on the walls, or environments that make you feel very much like you are in a German D-Day bunker, the museum does a great job of contextualizing the war and helping you understand it by seeing and feeling the big picture.
After the museum we tried our luck with some authentic Cajun seafood by going to a restaurant aptly named “Cajun Seafood.” It was an interesting experience for sure, but we’re going to keep looking. From there we decided to explore the wetlands of Louisiana by going to Barataria preserve. We hiked a wooded trail through the swamp and marsh and even saw some alligators. I was hoping they would run away at the sight of 11 tigers, but I suppose they just don’t get it yet. Afterwards, we went to a restaurant called “Voodoo BBQ” which was close to where we are staying and it was very good. The KC kids were less impressed than the others, but that’s to be expected, and even so they liked it too. We rounded out the day with some ice-cream (from Walgreens) and a short walk back to our apartment. Overall the day was great, with some new experiences and a great culture supporting us along the way.
Today was our first day of service. We were tasked with going to ARC, which is an organization that takes recycled beads from Mardi Gras and resells them. They are a non-profit organization who uses the proceeds from these sales to pay their workers. The unique part is that most of those workers are people with mental disabilities, which makes it a great purpose and a great place to visit and volunteer at. Our job was to sort all of the donated beads into certain categories, to help organize and clean the storage area, and to have a good experience. We did all of those things. It may seem trivial to some, sorting beads, but it all came into focus later that day after lunch. One of the workers, Michael, who is a person with a disability, decided to put on a show for us. That show consisted of him dancing for three minutes to ‘Wobble.’ It was fantastic and entertaining. More importantly though, that dance put into perspective why we were there. Yes, we sat at a table organizing beads. But, what we were really doing was making it possible for people like Michael and Eric and Christina and the other workers to have a great experience themselves. Because of volunteers (and many many other people of course), those individuals had a place to work, to support them, to embrace them, to thrive in, and to enjoy. That is why we were there, and that 2-3 minute dance illustrated everything it needed to.
Tonight we're going to hit up the French Quarter via streetcar, and we’ll let you know all about that in tomorrow’s blog post! Thank you for reading and supporting us! Attached here are a couple pictures from today and the hike yesterday. I've also included a link to watch the video of Michael dancing!
MAB love,
-NoLa 3
Michael: http://youtu.be/xwXLTIoVm4c
So, we (Marie, Brianna, Jasmine, Stephanie, Dara, Jessica, Eleanor, Connor, Austin, Jimmy, and Gabriel) arrived in New Orleans after a very long drive, on Saturday night. It rained on us after we got south of Jackson, MS, but that didn’t stop the temperature from rising 16 degrees from Jackson to NoLa. We’re volunteering with the United Saints which is a volunteer organization that is run out of a church in central New Orleans. Were staying in an apartment just across the street from the Church, and while its cramped, its certainly enough. In fact, if we had enough hot water for all of us, it would be comfortable.
The first day here in New Orleans is our off day because the United Saints doesn’t run on Sundays. First, we went to a small donut café called ‘The District Donuts.’ It was a great first taste of New Orleans (both the food and people). We then went to the WWII museum which is the national WWII museum. The museum doesn’t just tell you about the war, it shows you. By including rooms that are covered in fake snow with lights simulating snow on the walls, or environments that make you feel very much like you are in a German D-Day bunker, the museum does a great job of contextualizing the war and helping you understand it by seeing and feeling the big picture.
After the museum we tried our luck with some authentic Cajun seafood by going to a restaurant aptly named “Cajun Seafood.” It was an interesting experience for sure, but we’re going to keep looking. From there we decided to explore the wetlands of Louisiana by going to Barataria preserve. We hiked a wooded trail through the swamp and marsh and even saw some alligators. I was hoping they would run away at the sight of 11 tigers, but I suppose they just don’t get it yet. Afterwards, we went to a restaurant called “Voodoo BBQ” which was close to where we are staying and it was very good. The KC kids were less impressed than the others, but that’s to be expected, and even so they liked it too. We rounded out the day with some ice-cream (from Walgreens) and a short walk back to our apartment. Overall the day was great, with some new experiences and a great culture supporting us along the way.
Today was our first day of service. We were tasked with going to ARC, which is an organization that takes recycled beads from Mardi Gras and resells them. They are a non-profit organization who uses the proceeds from these sales to pay their workers. The unique part is that most of those workers are people with mental disabilities, which makes it a great purpose and a great place to visit and volunteer at. Our job was to sort all of the donated beads into certain categories, to help organize and clean the storage area, and to have a good experience. We did all of those things. It may seem trivial to some, sorting beads, but it all came into focus later that day after lunch. One of the workers, Michael, who is a person with a disability, decided to put on a show for us. That show consisted of him dancing for three minutes to ‘Wobble.’ It was fantastic and entertaining. More importantly though, that dance put into perspective why we were there. Yes, we sat at a table organizing beads. But, what we were really doing was making it possible for people like Michael and Eric and Christina and the other workers to have a great experience themselves. Because of volunteers (and many many other people of course), those individuals had a place to work, to support them, to embrace them, to thrive in, and to enjoy. That is why we were there, and that 2-3 minute dance illustrated everything it needed to.
Tonight we're going to hit up the French Quarter via streetcar, and we’ll let you know all about that in tomorrow’s blog post! Thank you for reading and supporting us! Attached here are a couple pictures from today and the hike yesterday. I've also included a link to watch the video of Michael dancing!
MAB love,
-NoLa 3
Michael: http://youtu.be/xwXLTIoVm4c
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