Back from New Orleans
So after a fantastic 19 hour busride, I am home. It feels very strange. New Orleans was amazing, in both good and bad ways. The city is still in such terrible shape, considering that its been a year and a half since Katrina. Houses are still barely standing, needing to be gutted, waiting for families that most likely are not coming. There is still debris and garbage all over the place and on every house there are reminders of Katrina: markings of when the house was checked for survivors and how high the water was. Its absolutely devastating to see. Because no one realizes that this once beautiful city is still in such terrible shape. And while we were seeing all this chaos, for a little while this trip seemed a bit pointless, hopeless almost. What was one week going to do? But the wonderful part was when we got to the work sites. When we started working with these people who had been down here for months, doing everything they can to rebuild the city. It was so beautiful to see on our first day the row of new, bright colored houses, ready to be lived in. It contrasted with the bleak, weathered homes that surrounded it and renewed hope. Maybe bright blue or vibrant purple isn't a color I would choose for my own home, but it seemed so appropriate for this neighborhood. Really beautiful. And the people were so welcoming, so grateful that we were there to give what we could. It was really inspiring to hear them talk. The city of New Orleans, the French Quarter are all so wonderful too! I didn't spend as much time as I wanted to in the city, but its on my list of things to do. Bourbon Street was great fun. I was surprised I liked it as much as I did. There really is no place like it. The lights and the music and of course the drunk people :)
While I was down there I was reading Anderson Cooper's memoir. He talks a lot about Katrina and how covering it for CNN was a really life changing time for him. His committment to the story, even when the media had moved on to different stories was really inspiring. He talked about how hard it was to leave New Orleans:
"I don't want to leave these colorless streets, the mud and debris, cars hanging from trees. I don't want to return to the cleanness, the convinence, the traffic rules. I want the roadblocks, the hassles, the heartache, the look in peoples' eyes -- thankful you're there. There is no good that comes from the storm, no silver lining, no Hollywood ending. Death descends. Lives are lost. No good comes of it, but you meet people along the way. They open up their homes, they cook you food, give you a cot to crash on. I was honored to be here, privileged to have been a witness to so much feeling, so much kindness, so much heroism."
I read this on the busride today, and I was struck by how greatly I felt the same way. Yes, I needed to come home, I wanted to be home. But at the same time I didn't want to leave because I felt so scared that we didn't get enough done. That these people were being left behind, forgotten by a country whose priorities are not in the right place. I worry I will forget this feeling of being more grateful for everything I have than I have been in a long time. I don't want to. I need to hold on to this feeling that I can make a difference, no matter how small it may seem. Just keep chipping away. Change will come soon enough, but for now just keep doing what you can because it really is all you can do.
To end on a bit of a different note: Who wants to come party with me on Bourbon Street??
love and peace.
While I was down there I was reading Anderson Cooper's memoir. He talks a lot about Katrina and how covering it for CNN was a really life changing time for him. His committment to the story, even when the media had moved on to different stories was really inspiring. He talked about how hard it was to leave New Orleans:
"I don't want to leave these colorless streets, the mud and debris, cars hanging from trees. I don't want to return to the cleanness, the convinence, the traffic rules. I want the roadblocks, the hassles, the heartache, the look in peoples' eyes -- thankful you're there. There is no good that comes from the storm, no silver lining, no Hollywood ending. Death descends. Lives are lost. No good comes of it, but you meet people along the way. They open up their homes, they cook you food, give you a cot to crash on. I was honored to be here, privileged to have been a witness to so much feeling, so much kindness, so much heroism."
I read this on the busride today, and I was struck by how greatly I felt the same way. Yes, I needed to come home, I wanted to be home. But at the same time I didn't want to leave because I felt so scared that we didn't get enough done. That these people were being left behind, forgotten by a country whose priorities are not in the right place. I worry I will forget this feeling of being more grateful for everything I have than I have been in a long time. I don't want to. I need to hold on to this feeling that I can make a difference, no matter how small it may seem. Just keep chipping away. Change will come soon enough, but for now just keep doing what you can because it really is all you can do.
To end on a bit of a different note: Who wants to come party with me on Bourbon Street??
love and peace.