Stephen desilets
These first two weeks of “engaging” in New Orleans have been so awesome! I’ve spent most of my time working at my placement, Covenant House. There are about a dozen people who work on my floor, and they’re all so friendly. I’ve been spending most of my efforts trying to gain a deeper understanding of the structure of the organization. My boss realizes that I’m thinking about working for non-profits after I graduate next year, so he’s been trying to give me projects that expose me to all of the interactions between the grants, departments, and projects at Covenant House. To say this experience has been rewarding would be an understatement. The results of our work are so tangible. Covenant House houses, clothes, and feeds 150 young people per night, and pushes them to build stable, independent lives. It’s truly remarkable.
Not only have the days been rewarding, but the evenings have been so much fun! The food in this town is unparalleled by anything I’ve ever eaten. Between the crawfish, the oysters, the gumbo, and the jambalaya, I feel like I’m in food heaven. Plus this city is so proud of its culture. Musicians play day and night on every other street corner throughout the French Quarter. My goal for next weekend is to explore Frenchman Street, where jazz enthusiasts can find the best musicians in the city on any night of the week. Also, the locals are so friendly that strangers will just strike up a conversation with me. Just today, my coworker told me she ran into Rose Leslie from Game of Thrones, and they had a conversation in line. (I am still so jealous.) Our program director Ashley has also been organizing dinners with community leaders every Thursday. All of our speakers have been very knowledgeable about their areas of expertise and have helped increase my understanding of some of the main hardships concerning the Big Easy today.
I’ll wrap up this blog post by talking about some of the most memorable activities I’ve done, and the goals I have yet to accomplish! Our first Saturday morning, the fifteen of us all attended the New Orleans School of Cooking. I felt as if I was sitting in the audience of a daytime cooking show, but the best part was that I got to eat all of the food! Afterwards, we visited the Katrina and Beyond Museum in Jackson Square. Listening to the stories of everyday heroes during the hurricane was by far the most moving part of the museum. One man told a story of how he waded next to a woman in labor lying on a raft, and he delivered that baby in the aftermath of the storm. When he finished, he said, “Through all of this destruction, a life was brought into the world,” and chills ran all over my body. Then, this past weekend I wrestled an alligator! Actually, I just held a baby alligator, but they’re basically the same idea. Ashley took all of us on a swamp tour and we learned all about the geography of New Orleans and how the terrain affected its history and culture. My goals for the upcoming five weeks include: explore Audubon Zoo, have an old-fashioned crawfish boil for the Fourth of July, have my palms read by a psychic in a voodoo parlor, and leave no part of this city unexplored!
Thanks for reading, and I hope this blog post was engaging!
Thanks for reading, and I hope this blog post was engaging!