Day 4 - Our Cultural Awareness Day

Thank you to everyone who has been following this blog and supporting us on this most important endeavor.  Day 4 was a break from the physical labor of the past two days and we focused on where we are and who we are.  Our day started with a tour of the Louisiana Swamps and we saw many alligators along the way. Jay, our tour guide, has lived in the back country for his entire life and was able to share with all of us how the eco-system of the swamps has changed over the years and what is being done to preserve this natural treasure.  From the swamps, we ventured into downtown New Orleans and headed to the aquarium to further our understanding of the marine life that exists in this part of the country.  The students have a better understanding that the flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina and other tropical storms is caused by the fact that the City of New Orleans lies 6 feet below sea level and how this physical characteristic has contributed to the wrath of the storms.

When we left the aquarium, we took a walking tour of the French Quarter to experience the history and architectural uniqueness of this part of the city. Dinner at the Magnolia Cafe  was followed by a visit to the Cafe Du  Monde for beignets.  We also met with a local couple who contributed a camera to our trip.  We returned to Tulane University for our nightly debriefing and spelled out our work assignments for our final two days in New Orleans.  The students are looking forward to finishing strong and completing as much work as possible be leaving.

One "game" that we had the students play today was requiring them to spend time with someone that they did not know prior to coming on this trip and each student was called upon to share with the group information that they learned about the other person.  This allowed the rising 9th graders to form a closer bond with their rising 12th grade peers and it is our hope that this bond carries well into next year in the hallways of New Milford High School.

The students on this trip continue to impress me every day. To the incoming seniors, it has been three years since they left DEO and I interacted with them on a daily basis and I can not be more proud of the  caring individuals that they have become and to the 8th graders who just graduated from DEO, I have spent the last three years with them and know how they respect each other and have a true desire to serve those who need some assistance.  That is the way that they have been since they entered the middle school three years ago.  When disaster strikes, this nation rallies behind those in need.  We experienced this first hand in New York City in 2001 and the nation came to the aid of Katrina victims in 2005.  Donations came in from all parts of the country and the nation stood up in with one collective voice and wanted to know what it could do to help.  As the years pass, others have issued that same cry for help in other parts of the country and our fellow citizens have answered those calls for help. The difference here in New Orleans is that everyone was a victim of this disaster.  Government ceased to function and people were left on their own to rebuild their lives.  For many, there was no hope.  This trip, and the work being done by our students is about restoring hope to those who thought help would never arrive.  August 29th will mark the 7 year anniversary of this storm and for many, they are just getting back into their homes.  By cleaning their yards of debris, removing the damaged items from their homes, or painting their homes so that the homes that have just been rebuilt and reoccupied look like every other house on the street, our students from New Milford have brought back hope to some and restored faith in others that there are still people out there who care about them.  The work that the students are doing here will be remembered for years to come, even if it is just by the one person who owns the home, as work that was done by caring students who brought hope with them from New Milford.

Russell Petrocelli