Sunday, February 24, 2013

Home Sweet Home (Anastasia)

After a long day of travel yesterday, I have to admit I was disappointed to wake up in my own bed. I missed waking up, laying in my bunk and turning to my roommates and the rest of the cave woman, to give them a quick hello before getting ready to start the work day.

 I quickly grew accustomed to the new routine in New Orleans and found myself one of the first people awake in my house at 8AM, which was 7AM in New Orleans and breakfast time at United Saints. Even now I'm looking at the clock and thinking how we would all be eating dinner around the many tables in the Violet Jackson room in just 15 short minutes. For me I think that is part of the hardest parts of the trip, is adjusting back to life back in Massachusetts.

Mr. Kane stated what I (and i'm pretty sure all the NOLA members) are feeling now perfectly last night. He described it as us feeling maybe a little lost, along with us wondering what is the point in the all the work we are trying to catch up on before school tomorrow. We truly did just leave a Utopian enviornment I believe, we were able to just take a break from the daily grind of school, work, and the basic stresses of life to serve others. We had no worries other than to do the job we were asked to do, to the best of our ability. I had the week of a life time with all my friends, and my NOLA family working hard, and believe it or not relaxing, and just totally immersing myself in the work in New Orleans. Seeing all the snow falling now, as it has been all day just puts a finality that the trip really is over. I wish that this week could have stretched on for two weeks, a month, just more time. But, I've always heard that all good things must come to an end, so i'm no longer sitting on the balcony at United Saints, with the late night breeze in shorts and a t-shirt. I am sitting at my computer at home, writing this blog. I'm still having a hard time coming to grips with that since this was my second and final year on this trip because I will be graduating this spring.

To end this blog post I guess I just want to say how much I have enjoyed my time in this program, it was truly life changing in so many ways. I can't even begin to express how much this program and all the members mean to me. As I kinda do a last reflection on the trip, and flip through all the thousands of photos that are making their way onto Facebook...I am just so proud of our group and what we accomplished this week. I'm so grateful I was able to be a part of it, and I'm honestly crushed that the week is already over, but I will forever cherish all the memories made. From hard work on work sites, singing/rapping in the cars, or just playing some basketball at night with everyone I'm glad I was able to leave my mark in New Orleans, the same way it has left a mark with me in my heart and soul, forever.


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