TCNJ Bonner NOLA 2019

Although it has only been three days since we arrived at United Saints, it feels like we've been here forever. Now at first that sentence may seem negative, but I wholeheartedly mean it in a positive way. In these last three days, I have made so many unforgettable memories and immersed within the culture of New Orleans, where  it almost feels like our group has been here for several days. Although at times the construction components of the house can be tedious and repetitive, with only three days of work, the house has changed drastically. Did I mention the mouth-watering and unique flavors of the food offered here? After learning about the history and roots of New Orleans prior to working on the houses I realized how much our presence and service meant to this community. Moreover, I was surprised to see how United the community was even through many of the drastic experiences they have faced. As the time goes on, I hope to learn from the individuals here and grow as person. Until...

Words can’t explain how I feel on this  trip right now. The amount of inspiration, culture, and learning experiences this city has to offer is amazing. Living in my tiny living space with all my friends has been nothing but fun. I was a little worried about how it would work out, but now that I’m here I have nothing to say but positive things. I have bonded with so many new people, and have met some really amazing people while I’ve been here. I am learning so many new things, and skills that I never knew I could do. I am so excited to see what the rest of the week entails and everything else I will get to experience while I’m here. 

I expected the work to be difficult, and I was not wrong. There’s a lot of back breaking work that leaves my body sore by the end of the day, but it has been a lot of fun so far. I’ve talked to people whom I don’t usually talk to, and I’ve become closer to some of my friends. I have also learned more about the devastation that hurricane Katrina has had on New Orleans, specifically in the lower ninth ward. I liked the tour because I was able to see the different neighborhoods. The garden district was beautiful and the touristy areas were very nice. But I’m glad that we were also shown the ninth ward and areas that have not been sufficiently repaired since the hurricane. The most surprising part so far has been that painting is actually a very difficult and tiring job. By the end of the trip I hope to learn more skills while working on the house beyond painting skills. And I would also like to become closer to even more Bonners and chaperones

This trip has meet my expectations in terms of service. I expected that I would paint the homes. Most of my service on this trip was painting homes.  The damage was worse than I expected. Many houses haven’t been rebuilt. There are plenty of empty spaces. Seashells and clamshells were under the houses I worked on. There is much work that needs to be done for New Orleans to completely recover from Hurricane Katrina. The most surprising part was how bad the damage was and how much income disparity exist in one city. When the trip is over, I would like to learn more about the truth on income inequality in our country.

This trip so far has met my expectations because I have gotten closer to my fellow Bonners and I have had a lot of fun with working on the houses. I think the most surprising part has been that I didn’t realize how much fun the work would be. Being able to paint the house has been a very rewarding experience. Before this trip ends I would like to become closer with the chaperones. I would also like to try other work besides painting. Overall this experience has been awesome and I can’t wait to continue the work!

The trip so far has definitely exceeded the expectations that I had prior to the trip. I knew that I was going to bond more with my Bonner class but I did not know how much closer we would become. Getting to see everyone everyday, instead of just for FSP, had made me very happy because I am learning new things about each person every day that we are in New Orleans. Some of the people that I have been talking to are the ones that I don’t usually see at school and who are not in my site for service during the semester. I can also say the same for the chaperones, I have never talked to many of them and now that I know who they are I can't wait to say hi to them whenever I see them on campus. The service aspect of the trip is also nothing that I expected. If someone had told me that I would be demolishing a house I would not believe them. Because of the rainy weather today, my group had to go to a different house in the area. At first I was confused on why we were helping to ...

New Orleans is very different from how it is portrayed in the media. For the general public, it is a city of night parties, drinking, and other festivities. For people that think back to Katrina, New Orleans is shown as a wasteland with specific areas dedicated to tourism to cover up the problems. As I have come to observe, both viewpoints are not necessarily false, as there is both a nightlife and devastation, but we hardly see the average resident. From what I have come to learn from locals of New Orleans, the community still needs work, but they have come a long way thus far. The areas that have been previously listed as “unsafe” in the city are far better now as the communities have banded together to help their neighbors. Honestly, meeting residents of the city on my morning jogs have been the most eye opening experiences of the trip, as they share true and unfiltered stories. I’d love to hear more of these, as they truly represent New Orleans’ resilience to disparity...