Home, kind of~Matt

So this past Saturday as most of you know, the NMRHS New Orleans Service Learning group returned home. This was my first year in New Orleans and simply saying that it was amazing when all my friends stormed me with the "how was it" question is an understatement. This trip has offered me so much to evolve as a person. And at times, down there, it felt as though New Orleans offered me more than I offered New Orleans, if that makes sense. The hospitality down south cannot be compared with anywhere in the world, especially up here in Massachusetts. Everywhere we drove neighbors would be having BBQ's on each other's porches or one neighbor might lend a hand gardening to his or her other neighbor. During Green Light on Saturday of last week some of the NOLA group went around in cars and changed resident’s light bulbs from the normal globe light bulbs, to the CFL swirly light bulbs. Before we embarked on our task, I felt a little unsure of how well the residents would treat us just coming into their home. But to my surprise, 4 out of the 5 houses we went to were beyond friendly. They welcomed all 7 of us into their homes, actually one woman offered me dinner. It was refreshing to see this kind of hospitality. So when people say "Southern Hospitality", they mean it!

Coming home to face the reality that I am still in school was hard. Throughout the day I kept thinking to myself that right now at 11:00 AM, I could be rebuilding the Stokes' house with Twiggy, or I could be painting the Williams' house. But instead I was stuck in school doing geometry, rather be rebuilding and painting. I guess I will just have to wait until next year. This trip also brought me closer to 35 other students and allowed me to become closer friends with all of them. It also allowed me to know 5 other chaperones (aside from Kane) better. I "accidentally" maybe made one mad by playing the song "Birthday Cake" by Rihanna too much. Hopefully she won't beat me someday.

So to wrap up what I am trying to say here is that I am glad to be home in New England, but I also miss New Orleans dearly, as most of the NOLA group and I refer New Orleans to as our "home". Basically our second home. Because "home is where the heart is", and at this very moment in time, my heart is still in apartment 2 of United Saints on First St. in New Orleans, LA. I'm anticipating on returning home 10 months from now to NOLA.

Sitting at home

This past week I kind of pushed back blogging and I am not sure why. I think it is because I found myself a little overwhelmed by my surroundings. This is my second year returning to New Orleans for service and I wasn't sure what to expect. Yeah my first time around was fantastic, but what was going to happen when I went back? To be honest it didn't even hit me. Not sitting at the airport, or on the plain, not even stepping into United Saints.
Sitting in my room now I am seriously rushing with all kinds of thoughts and emotions and regretting not allowing myself to transfer all these thoughts on words throughout the week. But I don't want to live in the past because I honestly did not feel ready back then. I was at a lost for words. The first few days where tough because I kept trying to keep up with everyone's enthusiasm and joy. I was stuck in an emotional limbo. Yet, something in me changed at some point. And as I spent the day reflecting on my last week, I understand what caused this magnificent change in me. And what I mean by reflecting today, I mean full on reflection. Of my approximate ten hours of homework I had planned for the day, I didn't even spend a minute on it. I couldn't bring myself to do it because finding the answers was just too important and I don't regret a single minute of just   sitting and thinking.
It is no secret that everyone in our group had a special connection even before the trip itself that was hard to explain. I mean, here are 36 high school students from every background imaginable and still, throughout our ten months of preparation for the trip, hard work, and service, we became a well oiled machine that just worked. There really is no other way of putting it. We could work well together and no one else seemed to understand. It is the connection that is made not by words but by actions.
Those first few days down there I thought to myself, why am I not feeling anything? I had reached the conclusion that it was because I already knew everyone too well and those understandings and connections that we made through our actions had lost their touch. I felt like everyone was already perfect in their own way and that they all got it and that is why we worked so well. It got to the point where I felt like no one was getting anything out of the trip. But today I realized that I have never been more wrong in my entire life. Today, it really hit me. It hit me straight in the face with no compassion or warning.
Today it occurred to me the real meaning of our trip and it directly connects back to a quote that has had its share of time on back but now I have understood its real meaning. "The best way to find yourself is to loose yourself in the service of others." No other person but Gandhi could have said it any better. Not just finding your true self but changing yourself. And there is no mystery more amazingly inexplicable than watching people that you thought you knew change into people that just simply get it in front of your eyes. I am so honored to have witnessed this true change in my friends throughout the week.
From the least unexpected person in our group came the key to what we do and why we do it. Before service had a different meaning and it was another way to bring self satisfaction, and it was a way to even make your own life better. But after spending a week lending a hand to people you don't know and will never see ever again, in a place that you probably will never visit again for the rest of your life, it becomes clear to you that service is not a tool to make you feel good about yourself because it makes it seem like you are making a difference in the world. It is used for the benefit of a person, or an animal, or a place, or a community. We do what we do to not for self gratification but for the benefit of that cat whose cage hadn't been cleaned that day, or that dog who needs company, or that woman who has not lived in her house since hurricane Katrina because it is in serious needs of repair and she has no money to afford it.
While listening to these wise words come out of this person I was struck by the maturity and understanding that was present now in that person but not present before. And that is when it hit me. It is this week of just service and goofing and talking around with friends the catalysts that opens your eyes and allows you to see the world as it truly is.
We should be grateful because we are the lucky ones that get to see experience the real meaning of service, friendship, and overall humanity.

Back Home - Anastasia

I'm sadly writing this post back at home, wishing I was back in New Orleans. I woke up in my own bed and I laughed a little since all I wanted was to be back at United Saints, waking up on the top bunk of the bunk bed I shared with my bunk mate. I hated that top bunk the whole time I stayed there, and now all I wished was to be back there.

I have a feeling I'm not the only person from NOLA who is feeling this way, but it's such a weird sensation. I feel like my mind, my heart, and my soul are still sitting on the wooden steps of Ms. Williams house, eating my lunch of peanut butter and jelly. Or the back yard at United Saints where we played so many games of basketball, and held our reflections by the fire each night. But that now i'm stuck back at home, procrastinating on the homework I didn't glance at yet this week thinking about how tomorrow it's back to the daily grind of high school.

This was my first year on the trip and I have to say it changed my life. Never before have I put so much of myself into a program, and then come out with more than I could of ever imagined. Not in souveniers, or anything materialistic you can show to someone to describe the trip but in stories, and knowing and remembering how what we did down in New Orleans touched so many peoples lives in some way. The untold lessons and wisdom you learned just from experiencing and being in the city of New Orleans. Seeing even if it was only one day we could spend on a work site, the amount of effort, and passion everyone was putting into the work was amazing. I don't think anyone ever gave less than 110%. No one ever complained about anything instead people just kept asking what can we do now? What's next? Again, never before have I met so many selfless people, who enjoyed what they were doing, and all just understood you do what needs to be done, and more. I'm so honored, and so happy I was able to spend this past week with the most amazing group of people I have ever met.

It's hard to be able to put into words and explain how the trip has changed me. I know that I see everything I do at home differently. How being down there really has put into a better perspective of how lucky I am to have the life I do. But also to be able to see just the different life style it is down there, by the different views on simple things. For example people we say in New Orleans were on "Southern Time" where they did things at their own pace, didn't worry about where they had to be next and just kinda went with the flow. Then here comes us, a huge mob of people from up North who just keep going and going, constantly worrying what time it was and how we were going to make it places on time. From that you also just got the pure friendliness of everyone. One of the first days down in New Orleans I noticed everyone you saw, whether it was driving in the car or walking down the street stops, smiles and waves.

I guess what i've been trying to figure out how to say this whole post is that I'm still trying to unwind, and adjust to being back home. To understand everything that happened in New Orleans and understand how it has affected me. Though I do see some ways which it has already. I just really want to thank Mr. Kane, the chaperones, anyone and everyone who makes this program work, and go down every single year without fail. I can't express how much this opportunity means to me, and I am so excited and ready to begin planning for next years New Orleans trip already. 

Final Hours- Alli

So I have been on this trip two years now, and I can't believe it is coming to a close. I have learned so much and met so many wonderful people. I am going to miss this place so much. It is great to spend eight days with some of the best people at school losing yourself in your work, not worrying about anything else in the world.

For my final day I went to Kresent City Kids again and primed the fence outside (since all of the murals are now finished). It was honestly one of the funnest days of my life. The two people I was working with made the day so much fun with their conversations, their singing, and dancing. I am going to miss going their and making that Day Care such a better place than their old building. I know the kids are going to love it!

Tomorrow we are leaving at five thirty AM, which is early. I know it is going to be sad to say goodbye to this place for a  final time (in my high school career, I know I am going to come back, I just don't know when) but at the same time these trips have given me so much I wouldn't trade any of it for the world.

A Week to Remember...

So I have been in New Orleans, Louisiana for seven days and I have had a remarkable time that will be one of the most unique and valuable experiences of my life. I have seen and learnt more in one week than I ever thought I could. With the other 41 people with me from Massachusetts helping and working together, things have changed, people have grown and bonds have been made. I am sad to leave but I feel incredibly lucky that I at least had one chance to go on this remarkable journey.

We are called a service learning group rightfully because we provide our services to people who need help either in a local area or in New Orleans and we learn a great deal of culture and social awarness through our service. We all work very hard and plan for eleven months to make this trip possible and put in a great deal of effort while we are down here. However, to me it didn't really feel like work when I was unloading food off of trucks or at meetings or repainting a house. When I think of hard work I usually associate it with pain or struggle, but never have I considered it to be fun and enjoyable. Every moment I have spent throughout this year working with other group members and Mr. Kane has been an absolute thrill. I loved every second of every minute of every day spent working towards coming here and the time I spent in New Orleans. I am so greatful for everyone who made this experience what it was for me and I know I'm going to go through life remembering my week in New Orleans and what I gained from it.

Joe Recco

Final Reflections Amy Jones

This year was my first year coming down to New Orleans. I think back over ten months ago when I almost did not pass in my application to be a part of this group, I had forgotten it at home and thinking that was the end of it I did not plan to act on it anymore. One of my friends promised me that Mr. Kane would allow me to pass it in late and, to my surprise not only did he accept my application but he accepted me.
I can reflect now on this last night in New Orleans, why it was so important for me to be on this trip that fate had to play a hand in making sure I took part in it.

This week I work on many different projects, I tore up floor boards in a home, painted an exterior of a house, sorted food, painted a daycare, and in the midst of all this service I was cleansed of the parts of my self that masked the true person that I am. During this trip I was simply alive, fulfilled with the purpose of service.

I'm sure its no surprise to all the parents out there that I, like all the other amazing students who were my family over these eight days, do not want to leave. I do however see coming home as a blessing. I see it as a blessing because I will have an opportunity to embrace the person I have realized that I am and to come back into the reality of the everyday and be able to stop simply going through the motions of life but to think back to what it felt like to have a purpose and then find that purpose in every moment.

Our Last Reflection

Tonight was the night we have all been dreading for the entire trip.  We have pushed it into our subconscious, avoiding the negative energy which comes with the ideas of having to leave our home away from home. 
  At our final reflection tonight, I knew that I would find closure by talking with my friends about all of what I had learned and experienced.  My expectations were fulfilled.  There were a lot of tears tonight from many different people for many different reasons.  Of course, we all don't want to leave and we all have our reservations about returning home.  But I think we all have gained a lot here, and together at reflection we pooled the lessons we learned.
  I was among those who cried.  As I spoke it came on me in a rush when I adressed the group and opened up my soul to them about what New Orleans taught me this year.  I can trust them with this because I know they understand the way that this trip can change a person.  I am so glad to have people who share my experiences.  We carry what we have learned together.
  I continued to cry through out a good portion of reflection.  I was thinking of my dread of returning to school, my despair at leaving New Orleans, and my sadness at not being able to spend every day with my  friends any more.  But I am a firm believer that expressing your emotions helps you deal with them.  So as I cried and cried, I felt myself lightening.  My heart grew a little warmer, and the lump in my throat disappeared, and the nausea I felt as a result of my overwhelming emotions began to weaken.  Working through the tears, I now realize, was the only way to feel ready for the oncoming weeks away from New Orleans. 
  I am now happy.  I feel ready to go back to Townsend and carry in my heart and soul all of the lessons I have learned here, and maintain all the friendships I have been blessed to gain here.  Reflection is so important to this group.  I especially understand that now.  We communicate with each other in a place free from judgement about issues which we need to express.  No where else is there such safety for expressing emotion as around the fire in New Orleans with these amazing individuals.   I can breath again and be joyous because I have listened and been listened to by some of the greatest people I have ever met. 
  Thank you to these people, these friends. 
~Colleen Schroth