Today we were lucky enough to not have meet until TEN O’ CLOCK. This may not seem like a big deal to some, but considering our usual seven/eight o’ clock report time, it was like a dream come true. Darren, an OUDC Class 3 alum, came to join us for breakfast, which was not only pushed back due to a rain delay, but moved to an entirely different location. Once again, innocent civilians were overwhelmed by the sight of 30 hungry teenagers, four frazzled chaperones, and one amazingly calm photographer. Although there were a few incidents with remembering food orders, we all managed to get something to eat.
Unlike most of our free time, today we actually had time to walk around the French Quarters of New Orleans and shop. This would have been even more enjoyable if it weren’t for the blistering heat. Eric, Julia, Thomas, and I had enough time to visit a few stores, but the irritating humidity drove us to search the street for a cool snack. Word of advice, don’t ever ask a café shop employee where you can find ice cream. These cunning employees will try to convince you that a chilled cappuccino is similar to ice cream. Ha!
Next, we visited New Orleans’ 9th ward, the place that experienced the most damage from Hurricane Katrina. It is amazing to me that after almost five years, the area still has not fully recovered. We saw the levees, which don’t look like they could have even been useful even if they hadn’t broke. Some projects have been started to rebuild affordable houses for Katrina victims, but only a few seemed to have been built. The new houses look really futuristic, with solar panels and are elevated from the ground. They were being built by the Make it Right project founded by Brad Pitt. Then, after playing in a park in the Lower Ninth Ward that was donated by Kellogg, we visited a man who is an active participant in the Mardi Gras parade. He had a little museum built in his backyard, which was packed with costumes, pictures, and his fierce six-year-old niece (and assistant director of the museum). (You can take another bumper sticker!).
Then, we visited the Jewish Community Center to spend a couple of hours of downtime. At first, almost everyone was in the gym; sitting, watching or playing in the Class 5 vs. Trip Leaders basketball game (Class 5 won). About fifteen minutes into the game, the group divided and some of us went swimming in the pool (I was in that group). After a pasta/pizza/wing feast we loaded up the bus and rolled into the sunset. Thanks Aaron for helping me end this blog with some beautiful imagery.
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