February 19, 2013
Things are going pretty good down here
in lovely New Orleans. We have about 46 volunteers, which includes 40
high schoolers and 6 adults. They are from Massachusetts. Pretty fun
group. Oh, to be a high schooler again. So far, a few are working in
Algiers with 8 Days of Hope, working on siding at Mr. Davids and
yesterday, the group I was with worked at a community garden in
Algiers. We did pretty well, mulching the pathway, removing invasive
species, basic gardening and clearing away debris. That was the first
group I had to lead on my own this week. It wasn't too bad because
the lady who is over the garden was there all day giving us things to
do.
But today was kinda different. I was
with one of the other staff members and two of my roommates as team
leads. While one group worked on a mural, the other half came with me
to do a lot cleanup and then to prime two houses in Hoffman Triangle.
It's nice having the chaperones around to help out as well, just
communicate to them what needs to be done and they will relay the
message to the kids. My only problem is getting over my fear of
talking to people, especially groups of people and having them listen
to me. Totally out of my comfort zone here.
To make my day even more worse, I
misplaced my phone, found my phone, stepped in a fire ant mound, got
black paint all over the leg of my favorite jeans and I had to haul a
few ladders back to the work site because I gave the volunteers a
choice of continuing to prime our last house, which I had a choice to
go half way. When they say halfway, they mean the whole darn thing.
For me, I'm just getting back into this
volunteering thing. I have done actual labor in 2 years (not
including that one time during FEMA Corps). But I'm happy to be
working again and finally getting back into the swing of thing. By
next week I should be a pro at finding these tools and what not. I'm
not looking for a pat on the back and someone telling me that I did
good. I'm not looking for that. I have my own issues I need to
overcome, so why not start now.
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