Today began like any other day in New Orleans for the St. Martin's youth, accept for the fact that today was our last day on the Habitat site. I think all of us were a little more than sad at this fact. We've all had such a wonderful experience this past week and, in my opinion, we're going to miss this city and its inhabitants greatly. Throughout the week, SMIF youth have been working on laying out the foundation for a house that would go to a mother and her two children. Not only was this a very difficult job, but it was a crucial step to building this home for a family that really needed it. If we didn't do this job the right way, then the house wouldn't be safe for the family that was going to live in it. No pressure, right? I am pleased to say, however, that our group, along with the New Jersey kids, finished the foundation that we have been working on ever since the first day we showed up on the site. And, might I say, everyone did a fantastic job.
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| Anna Frances and me screeting concrete to ensure the strength of the foundation. |
The rest of the SMIF crew worked on a house down the street, continuing to prime & paint the entire house. The majority of the rooms were finished: two coats of primer and two coats of paint. And our paint-splattered clothes reinforce this statement entirely.
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| The finished product. |
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| TEAMWORK! |
Earlier in the week, we learned that the last day of one of our site leaders was Friday. Anticipating this, our group & the Jersey group "borrowed" a brick from the site & wrote our names & a small message on it. The quote written on the brick was, "Everything good starts from a good foundation," - Paris Hilton. Hahahaha, yeah right. Overall, a very productive day on the work site.
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| Kadie and her brick. |
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| Our foundation... |
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| Our group on the cable car. |
After we returned to the house for a few quick showers, all of us hopped on one of the many cable cars in New Orleans. We went to a place called William's Plum Street Snoballs. Here, each person bought a different flavor snoball to taste and they were all absolutely wonderful. For those of you who are wondering, a snoball is shaved ice with flavoring added to it. It's like a snow cone but way better. (I recommend chocolate.) In the end, all of us ended up sharing and switching snoballs and tasting the different flavors the snoball shop had to offer.
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| Yeah, that's a po'boy. Be jealous. |
I know you all are probably going to say, "These kids are eating more than they are working," which is not true. We simply immerse ourselves in the culture of New Orleans by sight seeing or, in this case, eating some delicious NOLA cuisine. This evening, the SMIF group ended the day by going to a restaurant that has been operating since 1911 called the Parkway Bakery & Tavern, and their specialty is a type of sandwich called a "po'boy". Of course, the restaurant was great and everyone loved this classic sandwich.
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| Slayden and Elizabeth |
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| Snoballs!!! |
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| Slayden and her VERY green snoball. |
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| Parkway Bakery a.k.a. Po'boy Palace |
Throughout this week, I have learned much more about myself and I have become very close to the other people on this trip. I'm so happy that I could have the opportunity to help a community that has suffered so much and are very thankful for what our group has done this week, showing their support by beeping their car horns or just stopping by to look at the work we had accomplished during the day. With everything from bagpipes to Commander's Palace, our group has grown closer to one another and to God throughout this week. I feel so lucky to be a part of something as awesome as this and to take part in this awesome experience.
-Jessica Yarborough
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