Personal Narrative: Working In New Orleans

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Maya Bamba Mr. Holland English Literature and Composition 12 1 October 2013 Working in New Orleans “Ugh, it is way too early!” I said to Jackson as we got on the bus. “I know.” He says as he takes his seat. We left the Tulane University campus and headed into New Orleans’ lower ninth ward. I watched out the window as the fancy hotels and the famous Superdome turned into damaged houses and abandoned hospital buildings. My thoughts wandered back to the days of vacation that occurred just two days earlier, before the People to People program began. I remembered how our tour guide told us about various places in the area saying “GONE… It’s all gone!” My thoughts were interrupted by the screeching halt of the bus. I got out with the…show more content…
Then we were off to our worksites. On the second day, my group was dropped off in front of a small house. Connor, a guy I met the first day, told me all about how fun this house was. Excitement filled me as I approached the small house. That changed quickly when an intimidating French man came out. His name was Alexis and he seemed like he meant serious business. He handed us crowbars and shovels and told us to get to work. Lots of heavy lifting was done that day and the group got so much work done! Alexis even warmed up and made us laugh after a while. It was, once again, a good day at the worksite. We tore rotting wood off of the walls and cleared tiles off of the floors. It was amazing to see the results of our hard work! The next day we were introduced to a new worksite. This was our last new site; we would visit the others again. I remember not being as energetic on the third day of hard work. I walked with my group and we talked along the way. We passed the remnants of a blue house that had a Katrina Cross on the door. We later learned that these crosses were made by the inspectors, telling how many people were in the house and whether or not it was safe to…show more content…
James began again saying, “I grabbed them and my whole family and we sat on the roof.” He finished the rest of his story, telling us that they had to go to the Superdome for shelter. It was not very safe there, so he took his family and they sought shelter with relatives. The other girls and I held back tears as we listened. He told us about how people were still trying to rebuild their homes, and most were just making it by. The bus pulled up and we hugged the men goodbye, thankful for the humbling experience they offered us that day. We spent another day working at a site we had already been to. All of us got one day to relax and mingle, but before we knew it, the program was over. Our last morning was spent saying goodbye and exchanging phone numbers and Facebook names. Soon, it was time for Jackson and me to go back to our hotel for a few days before coming back to Washington. “That was actually fun. I’m glad we did this!” I said to Jackson as we walked off campus. “So am I,” He told me. We spent our last few days lounging around the hotel and exploring more of New Orleans. Neither of us could wait to get back and tell everyone all about our

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