Just so you all know, because the news has blown everything way out of proportion, it was not a hurricane that we had this past weekend! It was a tropic storm that kicked up a lot of wind and rain but nothing that we had to really worry about. And we all survived :) There was some major flooding in other parts of Louisiana but not in the Orleans perish. Sunday night was the only scary night because of the harsh winds. A large tree branch went down in our front yard but did not damage anything. It was a site to wake up to! Then about 2:00pm a few of the neighborhood guys came around and started chopping the branch up for us. Our landlord was out of town for the weekend so they came over to help out. What nice gentleman, to help a house full (mostly) with young girls haha.
Despite the heavy rain that came in waves throughout the weekend we still got out every now and then to keep ourselves busy. Friday night we volunteered at a fundraising party for Project Lazurus (one of the girls in my house wors for them). It was hosted by the magazine called Passport with is mostly geared towards the gay population, which made the party cround, majority, gay guys. We had so much fun! Everyone was so willing to donate and there to have fun, which was made easy but the open wine and vodka bars haha.
Saturday we were able to escape the rain by going to the Tulane game in the Superdome! Don gave Annie and i 4 free tickets. We had a blast! The superdome is huge and a fun place to explore.
Sunday we met our two support people for the HD JV house. Eric and Matt are both former JV's (or FJV's) and great guys! They took us on a tour all over the city. We went up to lake Pontchartrain to see the levees that are in some of the nicer parts of the city. Lake Pontchartrain will end up being the best i can do as far as an ocean near by but i am ok with that. It is a huge lake and looks like an ocean because you cannot see the land on the other side. The only odd part is that there is a bridge running straight out into the lake. Its one of the longest bridges reaching up to about 27 miles and looks like it is going to no where. The best part about the lake is that it is swimmable and only about a 25 minutes bike ride away (yet another reason this city feels so small).
We also went down in the 9th Ward. I am glad that we went because it is something that i have wanted to do for a long time. The 9th Ward no longer has the houses in trees and smashed cars like the news showed. Instead the 9th Ward has become a desolate place. There are hardly any houses and the ones that are there are funny shapes, sizes, and colors. The new homes are part of the program that Brad Pitt set up providing new homes for families who wanted to come back. But the houses are very out of place and not anything like typical New Orleans homes so many people refuse to embrace the generosity. Which i think is a perfect example of this cities pride. They are family people who stick together and do not make change easily. Since there are not many new homes the rest of the land is grass filled and spooky feeling. The new levees are ugly steel enforced cement walls that look omenice. There are hardly any people around and no noise, no birds, no nothing. Public transportation is far away and the grocery store is also no where near by. I have never seen an area like the 9th Ward or the city of New Orleans as a whole, but the one thing that i have observed about the city so far is its intense pride, self worth, and resistance. I feel like the rest of this year will just prove those qualities even more but in many different ways.
Monday we went to a BBQ with the Jesuit community in New Orleans! We were literally the only 8 females in the room although we were not the youngest. There were Jesuits of all ages, drinking (alot), eating, talking, and having a good time. It was a fun experience and we learned a lot about the Jesuits. We also went home with the most leftover food i have ever been given. We will be set for at least 3 more days of dinner!
Laundry went well last week but im back on showers this week and am glad!
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