May 12, 2013 Katrina Recovery Team

5-12-13

Today was a great day in New Orleans! We spent this beautiful Mother's Day morning at the Barataria Preserve--the wetlands south of NOLA. Some of us saw alligators, geckos, snakes, and turtles! It was calming and peaceful, and I think we can say that everyone enjoyed themselves.

The wetlands of this area are home to 2 million people and are such an important part of the environment as they provide homes for fish and wildlife.  They also offer needed protection from storms and hurricanes, but we are losing them due to coastal erosion, sea level rise, storm surges,  and poor management at the rate of 16.6 square miles annually, just in the state of Louisiana.

Our afternoon and early evening was spent in the French Quarter of New Orleans. We all split up into smaller groups; some of us went to museums, others went shopping...but definitely all of us ate some delicious food!

Alexa, Alisha, and I wandered through the French Market, which was extremely busy for a Sunday afternoon. They had lots of local food, handmade jewelry, and little souvenirs. We wanted to return to an art fair off of Frenchman St that we saw last night, but unfortunately it was closed this afternoon. Little did we know, a short way down the road there was a Mother's Day parade where apparently 18 people were injured in a shooting. We were shocked to hear the news when Alexa's uncle called us! We had no idea whatsoever that it happened.

We walked all the way from Frenchman St to Magazine Street because Alisha was told that there were many museums and galleries along this road. We ended up at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art where we experienced many different representations of southern life at various stages throughout history. We only had an hour to explore because the museum closed at 5pm, but it was undoubtedly an hour well spent!

We ended our day at the Gumbo Pot restaurant where we bonded over some mouth-watering southern dishes (seafood gumbo, boudin balls, and a shrimp po-boy)! The food here is seriously to die for.

We came back to Camp Hope for our first large group reflection, and are now headed to bed. Happy Mother's Day to all of our beautiful moms back home--we missed you so much today, and love you very much! Stay tuned for an update tomorrow!

Alexa and Emily