Spring Break
Column: Cigar staffer sees hurricane's destruction firsthand
Rebuilding New Orleans
Betsy Cohen
Issue date: 1/22/09 Section: Editorial/Opinion
01/22/09 - On Sunday, Jan. 4, I awoke to the sound of my obnoxiously loud cell phone alarm. My phone read 3 a.m. and I was so tempted to press the snooze button, but I knew that I needed to be at the airport within the hour. Already, I was not looking forward to my trip. Not only was I unfamiliar with the area, but I also did not know anyone else from the University of R.I. who was going.
Never having been to Louisiana before, I had no clue what to expect. Led by the URI Hillel Student Life Coordinator Lisa Friedman, nine students (myself included) traveled south to New Orleans to re-construct houses with Rebuilding Together, a national non-profit organization.
After a turbulent flight to Newark, N.J., and a long flight to New Orleans (during which I accidentally fell asleep on the man next to me,) I had finally arrived at my destination. Hungry and already shedding layers of my New England attire, I headed off to explore the New Orleans airport with two others from the URI group: Becca Kraut, a freshman and Jeff Scherr, a sophomore. We settled on Sonic, a small chain restaurant in a tiny airport terminal food court. It was there we had our first Louisiana experience.
"One cherry-lemon slush and chicken strips dinner," the woman behind the counter shouted over the large mass of people waiting in line behind us. Her thick southern accent was quite different than my Boston accent, Becca's New York accent and Jeff's New Jersey accent. Sitting at a table in close proximity, we quietly chuckled to ourselves as the reality of our trip and our excitement began to sink in.
Louisiana Coach buses picked us up, along with about 80 other students from nine other Hillel organizations. Our hour-long bus ride was a real eye-opener. Staring out my window, I was shocked to see houses with gaping holes in their roofs and shutters tilting away from their windows, threatening to fall at the slightest breeze. There were very few people milling about, and a ghostly sense crept up on me as I noticed the deserted area. New Orleans appeared as though Hurricane Katrina had struck only a few days before our arrival.
Never having been to Louisiana before, I had no clue what to expect. Led by the URI Hillel Student Life Coordinator Lisa Friedman, nine students (myself included) traveled south to New Orleans to re-construct houses with Rebuilding Together, a national non-profit organization.
After a turbulent flight to Newark, N.J., and a long flight to New Orleans (during which I accidentally fell asleep on the man next to me,) I had finally arrived at my destination. Hungry and already shedding layers of my New England attire, I headed off to explore the New Orleans airport with two others from the URI group: Becca Kraut, a freshman and Jeff Scherr, a sophomore. We settled on Sonic, a small chain restaurant in a tiny airport terminal food court. It was there we had our first Louisiana experience.
"One cherry-lemon slush and chicken strips dinner," the woman behind the counter shouted over the large mass of people waiting in line behind us. Her thick southern accent was quite different than my Boston accent, Becca's New York accent and Jeff's New Jersey accent. Sitting at a table in close proximity, we quietly chuckled to ourselves as the reality of our trip and our excitement began to sink in.
Louisiana Coach buses picked us up, along with about 80 other students from nine other Hillel organizations. Our hour-long bus ride was a real eye-opener. Staring out my window, I was shocked to see houses with gaping holes in their roofs and shutters tilting away from their windows, threatening to fall at the slightest breeze. There were very few people milling about, and a ghostly sense crept up on me as I noticed the deserted area. New Orleans appeared as though Hurricane Katrina had struck only a few days before our arrival.
