When I heard that today we would be going to the senior citizen center I was unsure about what I would take away from there but I ended up having a better experience than I thought I would. Not only was it interesting to talk to the men and women but driving through the neighborhood and seeing how much damage occurred there from hurricane Katrina was impacting. I didn't realize how many people evacuated not only their homes but the state and ended up coming back after a couple of years. Almost all of the people at the center explained how they went to other states but made sure to come back to New Orleans because they missed it so much. I found it to be interesting that even though they experienced so much devastation they still wanted to come back to their home towns even though their community was destroyed. Going into the center I wasn't sure how to approach the topic of hurricane Katrina and many of us learned that it would end up being brought up because it was such a big part of their life but not all of them would elaborate on their experiences. This was when I realized that it was something the natives are still grieving and it isn't just a devastating hurricane that was all over the news.
At the end of our volunteering we went and got ice cream at Creole Creamery in the garden district. We were all amazed by the size and architecture of the houses but it was evident that it was in better condition compared to the other areas that we had seen. We hadn't seen the "nice" neighborhoods until today and we were all amazed and in shock by the how little damage was done to the garden district and how much damage was still there in the other neighborhoods. At the end of the day I got a better understanding of how the natives feel about the hurricane and how they view their city. It was amazing to see the differences between the damages done to each area and the passion that everyone has for their city and although their communities were destroyed they are still persevering to make it better and grow their community.
Claire Mansur
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