Page 27 - Priorities #67 2017 Spring

NEW ORLEANS
On February 18th, with bags in hand, I along with six other Priory girls, Kate, Kate, Cate, Olivia, Olivia, Chelsea, and Jenna, and our three brave chaperones, Father Martin, Mr. Molak, and Mrs. Brown, stepped out into the heavy, unfamiliar air of New Orleans, Louisiana. The intrepid gang that would eventually be lovingly referred to as “The Dream Team” had just embarked on a Rustic Pathways service trip.
OBy Eva El Fishawy
Our mission was to assist in the recovery of New Orleans post the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. At the time, we did not know each other very well and had no inkling of the exciting and inspiring journey ahead. I dreamily stared out the window of our van at the city skyline draped in the orange haze of a setting sun. We were all oblivious to the ways in which our small community, awkward at first, would come together in work and play and how each of us would be deeply affected by the charm and character of New Orleans.
We were warmly welcomed at the Rustic Pathways base house with homemade jambalaya, the first of many incredible Louisiana style meals. As we settled in and intro- duced ourselves to our two Rustic leaders, Josh and Ashley, each of us was content and sleepy from both the delicious food and the long flight. The leaders described to us the tragedy of Katrina using the documentary When The Levee Broke. We witnessed the dysfunction and abandonment that the hurricane left in its wake. We saw how the destruc- tion of the levees and the consequent flooding left 80% of the city under water. Before the trip many of us knew very little about Katrina. Before watching the film I did not fully understand the complexity of the hurricane and the impor- tance of the work we would be doing. We drifted to sleep that night with visions of flooding water, hot sun, bursting levees, and all those people packed into the Superdome.
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After the devastation we saw in the film the night be- fore, I was unprepared for the charm of New Orleans and our adventures in Jackson Square. I have never seen a city with more culture and diversity than New Orleans. Live music, jazz and funky blues, can be heard from every cor- ner and the delicious smells of food waft from restaurants and pubs. The city features a plethora of unique architec- tural styles, from creole cottages to the grand mansions on St. Charles and the balconies of the French Quarter. Enjoy- ing the foreign atmosphere and exotic cuisine, we strolled, shopped, and ate. We admired paintings and street per- formers, and I even had my palm read by a fortune teller. At one point we found ourselves in the middle of a Mardi Gras parade. People were singing, marching and throwing the famous Mardi Gras beads at us. Soon we were decked out in beads, flower crowns, and huge smiles.
That day we also visited the Hurricane Katrina muse- um and the areas most hard hit by the storm including the famous 9th Ward, a wetland grave, and the levees. The mu- seum opened our eyes even more than the documentary. Walking through the museum I felt frustrated by the lack of attention and care to people who were suffering during and after the hurricane and flooding. I couldn’t believe that my country’s government would abandon people in a crisis for months without basic necessities. I was astonished that after a decade these people were still undergoing hard-
SERVICE TRIP