First day...

WELCOME TO NEW ORLEANS.
Its 92.3 degrees inside the distribution center. Its way more that that outside.

Mike and I arrived to NOLA after an exciting 24-hours filled with moving and shopping and lacking sleep. We created a bit of a stir, well ok, i created a bit of a stir... My name was spelled wrong on the ticket. It said "Suzi" not "Susan" and so i was then tagged for a search and all that fun crap. I was tired and grumpy and being pulled aside was no what i was looking for at 5:30am. Once we arrived we came straight to common ground and got signed in. We were told to watch all our stuff and lock up any major belongings that we could not part with. Where would we lock them up you ask?

Where we are staying is St. Mary's of the Angels elementary school on congress street. Its been cleaned up to where it habitable to an extent (the asbestos on the stage is being covered by a plastic tarp with the writing "asbestos=bad do not remove").
Everyone is sleeping in classrooms which either have a few beds, cots or the floor.

Lunch is cooked outside in a large makeshift kitchen and its pretty tasty. Today was corn on the cob, dirty rice, chicken and beans, salad, potato salad and kiwi. Water is sparse and also potentially dangerous. We can only drink the water from the blue hose. There are 2 bathrooms which have a total of about 5 working toilets, none of which have doors. The rest are just porcelin holders for shit. litterally. The sinks are ok to wash your hands, but not your face or to brush your teeth with. There are also port-a-potties which have been gleefully basking in the sun all day. Nice and ripe!

In our classroom there is a message on the chalk board which reads: "Sorry for the school, but the shelter was a blessing. We had to bring over 200 people here with no help from any coast guard boats. People died and are still in there house, we had to leave them. We asked the coastguard for help and got NONE. Thanks to Micky, McKinley, Eric, Phil, Tyrone, Karl B, Cory, TJ, Roy, Ray Ray, Richard, Cedrick, Jeff D. Jeff, Ben, Big Greg, Rick, 10th Ward Al, Lance, Boogie Anthony. We saved the whole project. They left us here to die. God, Sons, Spirit Ghosts." Thats kinda hard to read as well as hard to be sleeping under. We both have cots which is nice and hopefully they'll stick around.

Mike and i have a corner to ourselves where we hope to keep our stuff, but its going to be probable that we will lose some stuff to looters. For example : today while working in the distribution center, organizing clothes, my sunglasses happened to wander off. Luckily for me, I was being taught a lesson by "Skunk", as he had grabbed them and said becareful what you leave around.

Tonight is a fundraiser some where that we hope to attend. Its going to be based on car. We decided not to rent one because of cost, but in retrospect, it may have been easier to have. Whatever. This is all just a shot in the dark. It is most likely that we won't go, only because we are both exhausted and have to get up early for the begining of our work schedule.

Tomorrow we hope to start our work in the lower 9th Ward. There will be alot of gutting work to be done. We're told that its going to be miserable so prepare for the heat. As for showers they are outside, so, its a quickie. We're hoping that Russel and Amy might let us have a real shower every so often :)

Things are weird here. Good parts, things are happening. I can see changes from March, which is great. The people here are strange, and unfortunately have not a lot of respect for other peoples belongings. We have been told again, so many times, "one thing to remember, don't leave your stuff around".

I am hoping that after our orientation on Monday, we'll get to know some more folks and feel more comfortable. We had a community meeting tonight where we introduced ourselves. I think with people knowing we're new, they might be kinder. I am hoping to adjust to the heat and be able to sleep tonight.

Wish List:
fan for room (we do have electricity so, wanna send us a fan?)
clean and endless supply of water
friendly and trust worthy people
bigger lockers
a rental car
a clearer understanding of what i am doing here
stregth and patience to perservere through tough times (including very hot days)

it was suggested that while i am here to leave my address. Realizing of course, mail is not garunteed to be delievered.

2225 North Congress St New Orleans, LA 70117