Although
we woke up to a slight rain, the storm was over, and it turned out to
be a gorgeous, sunny day. After another hot breakfast of eggs, waffles
and biscuits, we headed out for a short college tour before our
scheduled work shift. We took a walking tour of Tulane University,
which is situated right next to Loyola New Orleans. Both campuses were
beautiful, and the students were especially impressed by Tulane’s
fitness center. All of us agreed it was better than any gym facility
we’d ever seen. It included an indoor track, pool, cardio room, and
basketball court. Students browsed the extensive bookstore and took in
the all the sights of a college campus. Maybe one of them will be a
Tulane Green Wave or a Loyola Wolfpack someday!
We decided we hadn't eaten enough this week, and seeing as it was nearly lunchtime, we adventured to Dat Dog, a new, hip, hot dog shop near the university. I really think the draw was alligator sausage! We had regular hot dogs, Louisiana hot links, and alligator sausage loaded with relish, sauerkraut, cheese and mustard. Put a smile on all of our faces!
With full bellies once again, we arrived at the work site for our afternoon shift. The staff was ready for us and efficiently assigned each of us to specific tasks. The first team, Marek, Jimmy, Mark, and Nico, primed boards for the door frames, and instead of watching the paint dry, they cleaned all the materials used by the earlier shift. The second team, Beau, Eric, and Joey put the first coat of paint on the master bedroom, and then measured and cut flooring for the kitchen. In the center of the home, the final student team, Simon, Henry, Chris and Steven had the unpleasant but necessary task of scraping paint and mud off of the hardwood floors because the homeowner really wants the original hardwood floors to be saved. The adult team, Mr. V and Ms. A, also had the very dirty task of scraping the ceiling of the porch, preparing it for primer and paint. When the ceiling was smooth, Marek joined in and the three of us put a coat of primer on the porch's ceiling. We now have a greater appreciation for working upside down like Michaelangelo did, although this piece fell a little short of the Sistine Chapel.
The highlight of our day came when Ingrid Legohn, the daughter of the homeowner, stopped by to say hello on her way to work. She shared a little about her mom's improved health, and thanked each of the boys for their help to get her mom back in her home soon. She chatted with the boys, asking them about their trip and their impressions of New Orleans. She was extremely gracious and grateful for our service and in true New Orleans welcoming hospitality, she invited us to visit next year.
The workday ended with a team meeting lead by Eddy, our site supervisor (pictured above left). He asked the boys to share their "highs" and "lows" of the work experience and asked for feedback on ways the St. Bernard Project could improve. The boys were amazingly honest and insightful. Eddy expressed his gratitude for our hard work and cooperation. Despite the rain delay, we left the project one day ahead of schedule, getting Mrs. Leghohn one step closer to returning to her home. What a great feeling!
We staggered home to more of Jean's great cooking. Unbeknownst to us, she heard the boys talking at breakfast, listing the great food they had already eaten in New Orleans. One of the students mentioned that he had not yet tried fried chicken. Well, you can guess what we had for dinner. She made the best fried chicken and jambalaya, and James told us on the sly that they hadn't cooked fried chicken for any group in over five years. Yes, we are special.... we are CRUSADERS! We were so tired that even though Mr. V offered to take us out for snowballs, we were so full and tired, we couldn't move. What a great day! Tomorrow we look forward to our last bit of service, which will be different than what we have been doing all week. More to follow...stay tuned!
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