I'm not going to put up pictures, partly because I have so many it would take too long to upload, and partly because I just don't want to.
Start about halfway down the page, that's where part 1 is.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
New Orleans part 4 (Thursday, Friday, Saturday)
Thursday, March 18
This was our last day working on the house, and to be honest, we were glad to go. There was a lot of frustration that had built up, because we’d work hard on a project only to be told we did it wrong by the project manager, and so we had to re-do it. He hadn’t shown up on Wednesday and didn’t show up until after we ate lunch, then gave us several large projects to try to complete. It was irritating. However, Andrea and I finished the Bathroom of Doom as best we could.
We completed to the best of our ability 4 rooms (master bedroom, master bath, secondary bedroom, and Bathroom of Doom), but there were several others that needed completion (kitchen, living room, front room, another bedroom).
After working we went back to the church to shower off (lukewarm this time) and get ready to see a presentation on the Katrina effects. Unfortunately we didn’t realize it was next Thursday, not this week, and so we changed our plans. We went out to supper in the French Quarter for the girl’s birthday at a place called Montrel’s Bistro. I had crawfish bisque and the house salad. The bisque was sneaky-hot and burnt my throat, but it tasted good. The house salad tasted good. For dessert we went to Café du Monde for beignets. These are kind of like funnelcake or fritters, with a ton of powdered sugar on them. I got 3 in my order and when we returned to the church, I measured the left over powdered sugar. It was just over ¼ cup. Wow.
We walked through part of the French Quarter and then went back to the church. It looked different in the dark, but it was still the French Quarter with its air of mellowness. There was a man playing saxophone as we waited in line for the beignets. It felt comfortable, in its way. I wouldn’t mind visiting again.
Friday, March 19
We got going around 8:30 for the trip home. We drove straight through. I got annoyed because the girl who was navigating kept flipping the radio channel and kept turning it up, until it was at ¾ the power of the speakers. The van was vibrating from the bass and it made my head hurt. Plus she didn’t navigate well.
Our final gas/bathroom stop was in Missouri, and we drove on. Between Fairfield and Oskaloosa we hit a snowstorm. What a difference from New Orleans, where we were going around in tee shirts! At Oskaloosa, a different girl was going to navigate, and I had the atlas, so I said to go on Highway 34, while she said take 63, and so the driver got annoyed, stopped, switched with the other driver, and then we listened to her. We ended up taking about three hours to go what should have been less than two hours’ worth of driving. On 92 we nearly hit a deer, but the driver never lost control, and we made it safely back to Indianola. I was so tired (because I’d been awake since 7:00 with no naps) but I was happy to be back safely. God heard my prayers.
Saturday, March 20
We got here at 2:30ish this morning. It was tiring but it was good to be back. I’ve had today mostly to myself, which has been a good de-compression day. I did some homework and catching up on things, and did laundry too. In conclusion, this trip was a good one, but not as life-changing as I would have hoped, since we never got to meet the homeowners. I got to see and do new things, and that was a good thing.
This was our last day working on the house, and to be honest, we were glad to go. There was a lot of frustration that had built up, because we’d work hard on a project only to be told we did it wrong by the project manager, and so we had to re-do it. He hadn’t shown up on Wednesday and didn’t show up until after we ate lunch, then gave us several large projects to try to complete. It was irritating. However, Andrea and I finished the Bathroom of Doom as best we could.
We completed to the best of our ability 4 rooms (master bedroom, master bath, secondary bedroom, and Bathroom of Doom), but there were several others that needed completion (kitchen, living room, front room, another bedroom).
After working we went back to the church to shower off (lukewarm this time) and get ready to see a presentation on the Katrina effects. Unfortunately we didn’t realize it was next Thursday, not this week, and so we changed our plans. We went out to supper in the French Quarter for the girl’s birthday at a place called Montrel’s Bistro. I had crawfish bisque and the house salad. The bisque was sneaky-hot and burnt my throat, but it tasted good. The house salad tasted good. For dessert we went to Café du Monde for beignets. These are kind of like funnelcake or fritters, with a ton of powdered sugar on them. I got 3 in my order and when we returned to the church, I measured the left over powdered sugar. It was just over ¼ cup. Wow.
We walked through part of the French Quarter and then went back to the church. It looked different in the dark, but it was still the French Quarter with its air of mellowness. There was a man playing saxophone as we waited in line for the beignets. It felt comfortable, in its way. I wouldn’t mind visiting again.
Friday, March 19
We got going around 8:30 for the trip home. We drove straight through. I got annoyed because the girl who was navigating kept flipping the radio channel and kept turning it up, until it was at ¾ the power of the speakers. The van was vibrating from the bass and it made my head hurt. Plus she didn’t navigate well.
Our final gas/bathroom stop was in Missouri, and we drove on. Between Fairfield and Oskaloosa we hit a snowstorm. What a difference from New Orleans, where we were going around in tee shirts! At Oskaloosa, a different girl was going to navigate, and I had the atlas, so I said to go on Highway 34, while she said take 63, and so the driver got annoyed, stopped, switched with the other driver, and then we listened to her. We ended up taking about three hours to go what should have been less than two hours’ worth of driving. On 92 we nearly hit a deer, but the driver never lost control, and we made it safely back to Indianola. I was so tired (because I’d been awake since 7:00 with no naps) but I was happy to be back safely. God heard my prayers.
Saturday, March 20
We got here at 2:30ish this morning. It was tiring but it was good to be back. I’ve had today mostly to myself, which has been a good de-compression day. I did some homework and catching up on things, and did laundry too. In conclusion, this trip was a good one, but not as life-changing as I would have hoped, since we never got to meet the homeowners. I got to see and do new things, and that was a good thing.
New Orleans part 3 (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday)
Monday, March 15
We had to get up for a meeting at 8:00 in the church’s sanctuary turned warehouse, and there we were assigned our house to work on. We learned that the organization that we were working with (LA United Methodist Disaster Relief) was likely to shut down by the end of the year. This saddened us, because they focus on the least, the last, and the lost. But we took heart in the fact that they had done so much already, something like $85 million worth of work (I think), and in that we were going to help them do more.
We loaded up our van with tools and found our way to the house. It had 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, a nice kitchen/dining room area, and a large living-room. It turned out that we were doing finishing work. We didn’t know what to do at first, because there was no supervisor to tell us what to do until about 9:30, and this supervisor came in, told us what to do, and then left. This was definitely different from my experiences with Habitat for Humanity! In Habitat there is always someone there who knows what they’re doing, someone to ask questions.
Andrea and I started working on what we would later call the Bathroom of Doom. Whoever put the walls in the house did a poor job. The walls were not straight, and the bathroom was not square. One wall was longer than the opposite, and the door was narrow, and the floor wasn’t straight either. But we made it work throughout the week.
We put in baseboard and quarter rail. I got to the level of professional with cutting 45 degree angles using a chop saw. I also scraped my backside on a pipe that was sticking out of the wall. It hurt. But I had a semi-warm shower so that was nice.
Tuesday, March 16
A new group came to stay with us, a group of retirees. They had money and would go out for supper instead of making food in the church’s kitchen. I don’t remember much about Tuesday’s activities other than in the evening, everyone else went to the French Quarter and I stayed back because I was A, tired, and B, needing some peace and quiet, and C, a little nervous about going to the French Quarter at night. It was a relaxing evening. I also got to talk to three middle-aged ladies for a while. It was pleasant to have adult conversation. Four of the girls on the trip just drove me bonkers because they were loud and juvenile (granted, they were freshmen/sophomores, but that’s no excuse) much of the time. At least they were having fun, right? I just didn’t associate with them much, and tried to keep my mouth shut when they grated on my nerves. The shower this night was cold.
Wednesday, March 17
Since it was St. Patrick’s Day, I wore green while we worked on the house and afterward. It turned out that Thursday was one of the girls’ birthday, and so two of the girls, one of the guys, and I sneakily made muffins while the other girls took her out to play tennis with the racquets that they bought on Tuesday night at Wal-Mart. They ended up not being able to play tennis anywhere, but they still stalled so we could get the muffins made.
This was the day we visited the Lower Ninth Ward. I took pictures but they don’t do the desolation justice. It was extremely saddening. However there is hope. Brad Pitt’s Pink Project has built about 10 homes that are super-energy-efficient and have solar panels and the like, and these houses look like they could actually last in a flood. The really sad part though, is the way there’s old, beat-up houses right by these new, high-tech houses. It’s jarring.
We got lost on the way to the Lower Ninth Ward, and it was strange because the area we ended up going through (which was near Tulane University) was so spruced up and the houses looked more expensive, better built, etcetera. And then we found our way to the Lower Ninth Ward. It was such a contrast.
I went to bed by 11 but apparently the other girls stayed up much later decorating the downstairs for the girl’s birthday surprise. It is hard to sleep when the light is on and you are light-sensitive. I had a warm shower though, so I didn’t get too grumpy.
We had to get up for a meeting at 8:00 in the church’s sanctuary turned warehouse, and there we were assigned our house to work on. We learned that the organization that we were working with (LA United Methodist Disaster Relief) was likely to shut down by the end of the year. This saddened us, because they focus on the least, the last, and the lost. But we took heart in the fact that they had done so much already, something like $85 million worth of work (I think), and in that we were going to help them do more.
We loaded up our van with tools and found our way to the house. It had 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, a nice kitchen/dining room area, and a large living-room. It turned out that we were doing finishing work. We didn’t know what to do at first, because there was no supervisor to tell us what to do until about 9:30, and this supervisor came in, told us what to do, and then left. This was definitely different from my experiences with Habitat for Humanity! In Habitat there is always someone there who knows what they’re doing, someone to ask questions.
Andrea and I started working on what we would later call the Bathroom of Doom. Whoever put the walls in the house did a poor job. The walls were not straight, and the bathroom was not square. One wall was longer than the opposite, and the door was narrow, and the floor wasn’t straight either. But we made it work throughout the week.
We put in baseboard and quarter rail. I got to the level of professional with cutting 45 degree angles using a chop saw. I also scraped my backside on a pipe that was sticking out of the wall. It hurt. But I had a semi-warm shower so that was nice.
Tuesday, March 16
A new group came to stay with us, a group of retirees. They had money and would go out for supper instead of making food in the church’s kitchen. I don’t remember much about Tuesday’s activities other than in the evening, everyone else went to the French Quarter and I stayed back because I was A, tired, and B, needing some peace and quiet, and C, a little nervous about going to the French Quarter at night. It was a relaxing evening. I also got to talk to three middle-aged ladies for a while. It was pleasant to have adult conversation. Four of the girls on the trip just drove me bonkers because they were loud and juvenile (granted, they were freshmen/sophomores, but that’s no excuse) much of the time. At least they were having fun, right? I just didn’t associate with them much, and tried to keep my mouth shut when they grated on my nerves. The shower this night was cold.
Wednesday, March 17
Since it was St. Patrick’s Day, I wore green while we worked on the house and afterward. It turned out that Thursday was one of the girls’ birthday, and so two of the girls, one of the guys, and I sneakily made muffins while the other girls took her out to play tennis with the racquets that they bought on Tuesday night at Wal-Mart. They ended up not being able to play tennis anywhere, but they still stalled so we could get the muffins made.
This was the day we visited the Lower Ninth Ward. I took pictures but they don’t do the desolation justice. It was extremely saddening. However there is hope. Brad Pitt’s Pink Project has built about 10 homes that are super-energy-efficient and have solar panels and the like, and these houses look like they could actually last in a flood. The really sad part though, is the way there’s old, beat-up houses right by these new, high-tech houses. It’s jarring.
We got lost on the way to the Lower Ninth Ward, and it was strange because the area we ended up going through (which was near Tulane University) was so spruced up and the houses looked more expensive, better built, etcetera. And then we found our way to the Lower Ninth Ward. It was such a contrast.
I went to bed by 11 but apparently the other girls stayed up much later decorating the downstairs for the girl’s birthday surprise. It is hard to sleep when the light is on and you are light-sensitive. I had a warm shower though, so I didn’t get too grumpy.
New Orleans part 2 (Sunday)
Sunday, March 14
This was quite possibly the best day of the trip. Nobody was on my nerves yet, I was fairly rested, and there were a lot of awesome things about the day. First, we got up late (late being 9ish) and walked over to the same little strip where Pizza Milano was to the Sweet Savors bakery. I got an apple Danish as big as my hand and a bottle of apple juice for less than $4! The Danish was so delicious- fresh with a hint of warmth left in it. We ate our food outside in the parking lot of the church. The weather was so comfortably warm, I was wearing short sleeves.
After eating we went to church at First Grace UMC on Canal Street, and I have to say that it was an amazing experience, possibly the best of the entire trip. This church is actually two congregations who merged in 2007, First UMC and Grace UMC. They are so diverse, with black people, white people, Hispanic people, and Asian people. They had two pastors, one white and one Hispanic. But the diversity isn’t what struck me. It was the pure joy that they had at being able to worship. They weren’t even in their sanctuary because it was being remodeled, but they were SO happy to be there in their fellowship hall. It was standing-room-only, but nobody cared, they were sharing seats and pointing out empty seats.
This was a church that definitely had taken Jesus to heart and was trying to truly live out His message. To quote the blurb in the bulletin: “As you can see with your own eyes, our congregation mirrors the diverse wonder of our city. Our mission is to celebrate that wonder as the body of Christ through our commitment of living together in our city and joyfully engaging all city dwellers through our worship and missional ministries, serving meals on Sundays, sheltering women at Hagar’s House, having Wednesday night pot luck and community Bible study, an organic community garden, and various other ministries. We want you to feel welcomed and moved by the loving Gospel that lights our path.”
We, as a group, didn’t even care that the service was nearly two hours long, it was so very joyful. There was jazz music performed by a live band, a choir of people singing, and the Spirit was in that place. There was communion, with the sweetest communion bread I’ve ever tasted. It was like being in a family. Even though they were strangers to us, they hugged us, clapped for us, and thanked us profusely for doing what we were going to do.
There was one woman in the choir who didn’t stop smiling almost the entire time. Even though I didn’t get the chance to talk to her, I could tell that she had the joy of Jesus, and she was magnetic to watch as she sang and clapped with the choir. I don’t think I will forget her face; she was almost glowing.
Once the service was almost over, they asked, “Does anyone want to be the first new member to come forward?” and two men got up and went to the front, and the din was deafening as the church cheered and clapped for them. It was amazing.
Thinking about it now makes me desire that kind of community on Simpson’s campus. If we could really have the joy of Jesus shining through us… Wow. I don’t know how to get it going, but I really want to share it.
After church we went to Walmart to get food for the week. The Walmart was disgusting but we got our food and got out. We ate lunch and then headed down to the French Quarter. The French Quarter was an interesting experience. The roads are narrow, the shops crowded close. Signs everywhere, dollars changing hands. The flea market was so crowded I made sure to keep a hand on my wallet and phone in case someone decided to be a pickpocket. It was a little overwhelming. Two of the other girls and I escaped from the commercialism and went down to the cathedral. Passing to the back we saw a statue of a man (I assume it was Jesus) who was missing fingers. But then we turned to the other direction, and it seemed like we were in a movie set: the balconies and colors and such, the way the sunlight was hitting things. It was a little disorienting, but fascinating.
We went down to see some break-dancers, and it ended up being an uncomfortable experience too. They seemed to be greedy, always asking for money, but what was worse was the way they were making jokes about race. I admit that I laughed at first, almost because it was so shocking to me, but then I felt bad, and actually a bit offended, because they were making these jokes about people who didn’t know what they were getting into. We didn’t give them any money (but we stayed to watch the show… hmm.). They actually were impressive when they were doing their dance moves, but most of the show was the joking and banter.
We left the French Quarter as the sun was setting, and we walked along the river. I got pictures of a bridge and a steam/paddle boat. The atmosphere was laid-back, mellow, easy-going. We ended up at the van and found our way back to our church. We had a reflection meeting and then I went to bed.
This was quite possibly the best day of the trip. Nobody was on my nerves yet, I was fairly rested, and there were a lot of awesome things about the day. First, we got up late (late being 9ish) and walked over to the same little strip where Pizza Milano was to the Sweet Savors bakery. I got an apple Danish as big as my hand and a bottle of apple juice for less than $4! The Danish was so delicious- fresh with a hint of warmth left in it. We ate our food outside in the parking lot of the church. The weather was so comfortably warm, I was wearing short sleeves.
After eating we went to church at First Grace UMC on Canal Street, and I have to say that it was an amazing experience, possibly the best of the entire trip. This church is actually two congregations who merged in 2007, First UMC and Grace UMC. They are so diverse, with black people, white people, Hispanic people, and Asian people. They had two pastors, one white and one Hispanic. But the diversity isn’t what struck me. It was the pure joy that they had at being able to worship. They weren’t even in their sanctuary because it was being remodeled, but they were SO happy to be there in their fellowship hall. It was standing-room-only, but nobody cared, they were sharing seats and pointing out empty seats.
This was a church that definitely had taken Jesus to heart and was trying to truly live out His message. To quote the blurb in the bulletin: “As you can see with your own eyes, our congregation mirrors the diverse wonder of our city. Our mission is to celebrate that wonder as the body of Christ through our commitment of living together in our city and joyfully engaging all city dwellers through our worship and missional ministries, serving meals on Sundays, sheltering women at Hagar’s House, having Wednesday night pot luck and community Bible study, an organic community garden, and various other ministries. We want you to feel welcomed and moved by the loving Gospel that lights our path.”
We, as a group, didn’t even care that the service was nearly two hours long, it was so very joyful. There was jazz music performed by a live band, a choir of people singing, and the Spirit was in that place. There was communion, with the sweetest communion bread I’ve ever tasted. It was like being in a family. Even though they were strangers to us, they hugged us, clapped for us, and thanked us profusely for doing what we were going to do.
There was one woman in the choir who didn’t stop smiling almost the entire time. Even though I didn’t get the chance to talk to her, I could tell that she had the joy of Jesus, and she was magnetic to watch as she sang and clapped with the choir. I don’t think I will forget her face; she was almost glowing.
Once the service was almost over, they asked, “Does anyone want to be the first new member to come forward?” and two men got up and went to the front, and the din was deafening as the church cheered and clapped for them. It was amazing.
Thinking about it now makes me desire that kind of community on Simpson’s campus. If we could really have the joy of Jesus shining through us… Wow. I don’t know how to get it going, but I really want to share it.
After church we went to Walmart to get food for the week. The Walmart was disgusting but we got our food and got out. We ate lunch and then headed down to the French Quarter. The French Quarter was an interesting experience. The roads are narrow, the shops crowded close. Signs everywhere, dollars changing hands. The flea market was so crowded I made sure to keep a hand on my wallet and phone in case someone decided to be a pickpocket. It was a little overwhelming. Two of the other girls and I escaped from the commercialism and went down to the cathedral. Passing to the back we saw a statue of a man (I assume it was Jesus) who was missing fingers. But then we turned to the other direction, and it seemed like we were in a movie set: the balconies and colors and such, the way the sunlight was hitting things. It was a little disorienting, but fascinating.
We went down to see some break-dancers, and it ended up being an uncomfortable experience too. They seemed to be greedy, always asking for money, but what was worse was the way they were making jokes about race. I admit that I laughed at first, almost because it was so shocking to me, but then I felt bad, and actually a bit offended, because they were making these jokes about people who didn’t know what they were getting into. We didn’t give them any money (but we stayed to watch the show… hmm.). They actually were impressive when they were doing their dance moves, but most of the show was the joking and banter.
We left the French Quarter as the sun was setting, and we walked along the river. I got pictures of a bridge and a steam/paddle boat. The atmosphere was laid-back, mellow, easy-going. We ended up at the van and found our way back to our church. We had a reflection meeting and then I went to bed.
New Orleans part 1 (Friday and Saturday)
Friday, March 12
This day, we left the chapel around 3:30/4:00, in a rented 15-passenger van. There were ten of us (three guys and 7 girls), and we needed the whole 15-passenger van because we had so much luggage. I sat in the middle of the front bench seat, which was a very good spot because I could get out relatively quickly, I had access to the food/cooler, and I could see out to the front and the sides. We drove and drove and drove, finally ending up in Lake St. Louis, MO. We stayed at an ELCA Lutheran church, which, once we found it, was very comfortable and accommodating. Some of us slept in the sanctuary on the pews, which actually was a great night’s sleep for me, and some slept in the youth group’s room. I think I would have liked to be a member of the church because it was large, had a praise band, and the pastor was kind to us when we arrived.
Saturday, March 13
When we arose in the morning, the men’s group had prepared breakfast and was watching a Nooma video. As we ate the delicious sausage-egg casserole and donuts, we watched the video with them. Once the video was over there was a bit of discussion of who we were, what we were doing, and church issues relating to our generation. After a while we had to get on the road, and so we did.
There’s not much to note about the driving except for a few incidents. One incident was that we were driving in AR and a truck of drunken rednecks pulled up beside us. They didn’t harm us, and they were actually rather stupidly funny at first, but we were relieved when they finally pulled off at an exit. Another incident was stopping at a gas station in MO and finding out that MO does not have the public places smoking ban that IA does. This gas station was a real throwback and felt like stepping into “a time capsule from 1972” as one of our leaders said. Another MO incident was stopping at a Phillips 66 in the St. Louis area and finding out that A, they had no flush toilets (we ended up using a portapotty), and B, they had gone through the floods of ’93 and it had been over the door.
Anyway, now I can say I’ve been through AR, TN, and MS. Another interesting thing was to note how the road quality changed between the states. MO had great roads, but half the rest stops were closed (I assume for renovation?). AR was bumpy, but the roads were among the flattest country I have ever seen, and I fell asleep despite the bumpiness. TN was not very memorable (we did pass the Graceland exit in Memphis though!). MS was not memorable either. I heard the song “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga at least 6 times during the whole drive. I hate that song because it’s always playing.
At last we made it to LA, and the light at the end of the tunnel grew brighter. We stopped at a Shell gas station to fuel up, and there I experienced the awkwardness of being the minority. We were the only white people there, and we found ourselves joking about being “so white” and “Iowa bumpkins”. We were uncomfortable. It was not a pleasant experience, even though there was no reason to be afraid or suspicious. One thing that struck me about being there was that the place was extraordinarily clean, and it also seemed to be a “third place” (a place of social networking that isn’t school/work or home). But we were still uncomfortable. Clearly we need to travel more.
We finally found our sleeping quarters, in a former Methodist church near Elysian Fields Avenue. I found it appropriate that it was “Elysian Fields” because that is a reference to Heaven. We girls ended up in a room with 5 bunk beds. It did not feel very large, but it was a place to rest, and that’s all we really needed. The guys were in the room next door, and they had it all to themselves, three guys to a room with 4 bunk beds in it. There was another college group there. Dickenson College in PA had brought about 30 people. Later another group would join us.
We ate at a little pizza joint across the street called Pizza Milano. It was surprising that it was still open, because it was at least 9:40 pm and the other businesses in the little strip there were closed. There was only one person there to run the place, but he brought us our pizzas quickly and they tasted good to our road-weary senses. After eating we returned to our church and had a reflection meeting. Finally we got to go to bed.
This day, we left the chapel around 3:30/4:00, in a rented 15-passenger van. There were ten of us (three guys and 7 girls), and we needed the whole 15-passenger van because we had so much luggage. I sat in the middle of the front bench seat, which was a very good spot because I could get out relatively quickly, I had access to the food/cooler, and I could see out to the front and the sides. We drove and drove and drove, finally ending up in Lake St. Louis, MO. We stayed at an ELCA Lutheran church, which, once we found it, was very comfortable and accommodating. Some of us slept in the sanctuary on the pews, which actually was a great night’s sleep for me, and some slept in the youth group’s room. I think I would have liked to be a member of the church because it was large, had a praise band, and the pastor was kind to us when we arrived.
Saturday, March 13
When we arose in the morning, the men’s group had prepared breakfast and was watching a Nooma video. As we ate the delicious sausage-egg casserole and donuts, we watched the video with them. Once the video was over there was a bit of discussion of who we were, what we were doing, and church issues relating to our generation. After a while we had to get on the road, and so we did.
There’s not much to note about the driving except for a few incidents. One incident was that we were driving in AR and a truck of drunken rednecks pulled up beside us. They didn’t harm us, and they were actually rather stupidly funny at first, but we were relieved when they finally pulled off at an exit. Another incident was stopping at a gas station in MO and finding out that MO does not have the public places smoking ban that IA does. This gas station was a real throwback and felt like stepping into “a time capsule from 1972” as one of our leaders said. Another MO incident was stopping at a Phillips 66 in the St. Louis area and finding out that A, they had no flush toilets (we ended up using a portapotty), and B, they had gone through the floods of ’93 and it had been over the door.
Anyway, now I can say I’ve been through AR, TN, and MS. Another interesting thing was to note how the road quality changed between the states. MO had great roads, but half the rest stops were closed (I assume for renovation?). AR was bumpy, but the roads were among the flattest country I have ever seen, and I fell asleep despite the bumpiness. TN was not very memorable (we did pass the Graceland exit in Memphis though!). MS was not memorable either. I heard the song “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga at least 6 times during the whole drive. I hate that song because it’s always playing.
At last we made it to LA, and the light at the end of the tunnel grew brighter. We stopped at a Shell gas station to fuel up, and there I experienced the awkwardness of being the minority. We were the only white people there, and we found ourselves joking about being “so white” and “Iowa bumpkins”. We were uncomfortable. It was not a pleasant experience, even though there was no reason to be afraid or suspicious. One thing that struck me about being there was that the place was extraordinarily clean, and it also seemed to be a “third place” (a place of social networking that isn’t school/work or home). But we were still uncomfortable. Clearly we need to travel more.
We finally found our sleeping quarters, in a former Methodist church near Elysian Fields Avenue. I found it appropriate that it was “Elysian Fields” because that is a reference to Heaven. We girls ended up in a room with 5 bunk beds. It did not feel very large, but it was a place to rest, and that’s all we really needed. The guys were in the room next door, and they had it all to themselves, three guys to a room with 4 bunk beds in it. There was another college group there. Dickenson College in PA had brought about 30 people. Later another group would join us.
We ate at a little pizza joint across the street called Pizza Milano. It was surprising that it was still open, because it was at least 9:40 pm and the other businesses in the little strip there were closed. There was only one person there to run the place, but he brought us our pizzas quickly and they tasted good to our road-weary senses. After eating we returned to our church and had a reflection meeting. Finally we got to go to bed.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Back
I'm back from New Orleans, it was a loooooong drive (from 8:30 A.M. to 2:30 P.M.) but we made it back. Blog post about it to come eventually.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Breathing...
I got things done today...
- laundry
- paper for New Testament
- paper for Lit
- letter for job app
- packed
- mailed off my scholarship stuff to my dad, he'll sign and mail for me.
- relaxed... just breathed...
Grandma got out of the hospital! yay!
I got meds for the plague. yay again.
God is good, friends. Friends are good, too, thank God for them :)
Feeling peaceful, finally. It's been a good hour or two of sitting, just listening to calm music, breathing... Listening to this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghZfnQxUhzQ "My chains are gone, I've been set free, my God my Savior has ransomed me, and like a flood, his mercy rains, unending love, amazing grace!"
- laundry
- paper for New Testament
- paper for Lit
- letter for job app
- packed
- mailed off my scholarship stuff to my dad, he'll sign and mail for me.
- relaxed... just breathed...
Grandma got out of the hospital! yay!
I got meds for the plague. yay again.
God is good, friends. Friends are good, too, thank God for them :)
Feeling peaceful, finally. It's been a good hour or two of sitting, just listening to calm music, breathing... Listening to this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghZfnQxUhzQ "My chains are gone, I've been set free, my God my Savior has ransomed me, and like a flood, his mercy rains, unending love, amazing grace!"
I am extremely frustrated and stressed
The title of this post says it all.
Right now, I'm sitting here, feeling like I got run over by a truck, because my cold/allergies/whatever it is, is attacking me.
Emotionally I am trying to deal with the fact that my grandmother is in the hospital again and they don't know what's wrong with her. She thought she was having a heart attack which is why she went in, but they said she didn't.
I have two papers due tomorrow and only an opening paragraph for one of them. The other's "done" but needs to be revised, PLUS I have to write a reflection about writing the paper.
There's a deadline for my Methodist scholarships, which is Monday, and I just found out I need my dad's signature on all of them, and he's 4 hours away in Omaha, and I can't go to him to get the scholarships signed because I don't have a car.
I found out today that my Methodist scholarship that I *thought* I had received never got disbursed to Simpson, so I'm out $2k because of that.
I'm not packed up for my trip which is leaving tomorrow at 3:30 to go to New Orleans.
I just want to curl up in a ball and cry right now, but I've got to do my laundry and I've got to pack and I've got to write my paper.
Right now, I'm sitting here, feeling like I got run over by a truck, because my cold/allergies/whatever it is, is attacking me.
Emotionally I am trying to deal with the fact that my grandmother is in the hospital again and they don't know what's wrong with her. She thought she was having a heart attack which is why she went in, but they said she didn't.
I have two papers due tomorrow and only an opening paragraph for one of them. The other's "done" but needs to be revised, PLUS I have to write a reflection about writing the paper.
There's a deadline for my Methodist scholarships, which is Monday, and I just found out I need my dad's signature on all of them, and he's 4 hours away in Omaha, and I can't go to him to get the scholarships signed because I don't have a car.
I found out today that my Methodist scholarship that I *thought* I had received never got disbursed to Simpson, so I'm out $2k because of that.
I'm not packed up for my trip which is leaving tomorrow at 3:30 to go to New Orleans.
I just want to curl up in a ball and cry right now, but I've got to do my laundry and I've got to pack and I've got to write my paper.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
foggy
This is a crazy week.
A list of what I've done just today (not in order):
- Finished a 5 page paper
- Finished a calculus assignment, even though I did a wrong problem
- Called about a job
- Wrote on a letter for the job
- Had a deep conversation with someone who wasn't entirely awake
- Said goodbye to my poor hyacinth
- Worked out
- Studied Spanish
- Wondered where the sun went (it's very very very foggy here)
- Found out that my college is now doing Direct Stafford loans, which means I have to fill out a new master promissory note because I can't use the lender I used for this year. This irritates me.
- Found out some info for the New Orleans trip, woo hoo!
I think I've run myself down this weekend, so I'm trying not to do too much, but the life of a college student requires busy-ness, does it not?
But you know, life is good. It really is.
A list of what I've done just today (not in order):
- Finished a 5 page paper
- Finished a calculus assignment, even though I did a wrong problem
- Called about a job
- Wrote on a letter for the job
- Had a deep conversation with someone who wasn't entirely awake
- Said goodbye to my poor hyacinth
- Worked out
- Studied Spanish
- Wondered where the sun went (it's very very very foggy here)
- Found out that my college is now doing Direct Stafford loans, which means I have to fill out a new master promissory note because I can't use the lender I used for this year. This irritates me.
- Found out some info for the New Orleans trip, woo hoo!
I think I've run myself down this weekend, so I'm trying not to do too much, but the life of a college student requires busy-ness, does it not?
But you know, life is good. It really is.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Sliding into Saturday morning, 2 am...
Thursday I went up to ISU with a few of the RLC people to a talk called Promoting Religious Pluralism by a guy named David Fraccaro. He was an interesting fellow, a UCC pastor and former starving artist who saw 9/11 happen. He related the story of that experience and explained how it showed him that he needed to promote religious pluralism because of the hatred that arose for Islam. Religious pluralism is promoting communication and understanding between various religious factions (and atheists/agnostics too). I think I am somewhat a pluralist in the sense that I enjoy learning about and trying to understand other religions (see previous posts about Rosh Hashanah, Diwali, and Purim).
There's an organization called Interfaith Youth Core which is attempting to promote this pluralism. It's college-based and hoping to use college students to spread the message of peace. I'm not sure how comfortable I am with this.
Friday I got to color in my religion class! (it was slightly spoiled by having to analyze the drawings I was coloring, but hey! Coloring in class!) I got a letter from a dear home-church friend, and it made my day even better.
I went home with one of my friends and am typing this on my laptop (they've got wireless). When I came into the house, I was amazed by just how big it was. I was expecting it to be large because her parents are both doctors, but it has 4 bathrooms, 4.5 baths, two kitchens, two studies, a sunroom, two large hang-out spaces, a dining room, an exercise room, 3-car garage, and other rooms. It's huge. The bedroom I am in has a full bathroom and a walk-in closet, and it's just one of the kids' rooms! It has a bay window and a queen-size bed, along with an easy chair and ottoman. This room is huuuuge compared to my dorm room!
Anyway, the house is gorgeous. But that's not so important as that I got to meet three of her friends, all of whom are cuckoo, but so are MY friends. :D We played what is quite possibly the best party game ever (Apples to Apples) and watched two movies- The Great Muppet Caper and Spirited Away (an animated film).
I've got homework to do, but hopefully I will be able to work on it tomorrow/later today (Saturday). I'll be heading to bed now.
There's an organization called Interfaith Youth Core which is attempting to promote this pluralism. It's college-based and hoping to use college students to spread the message of peace. I'm not sure how comfortable I am with this.
Friday I got to color in my religion class! (it was slightly spoiled by having to analyze the drawings I was coloring, but hey! Coloring in class!) I got a letter from a dear home-church friend, and it made my day even better.
I went home with one of my friends and am typing this on my laptop (they've got wireless). When I came into the house, I was amazed by just how big it was. I was expecting it to be large because her parents are both doctors, but it has 4 bathrooms, 4.5 baths, two kitchens, two studies, a sunroom, two large hang-out spaces, a dining room, an exercise room, 3-car garage, and other rooms. It's huge. The bedroom I am in has a full bathroom and a walk-in closet, and it's just one of the kids' rooms! It has a bay window and a queen-size bed, along with an easy chair and ottoman. This room is huuuuge compared to my dorm room!
Anyway, the house is gorgeous. But that's not so important as that I got to meet three of her friends, all of whom are cuckoo, but so are MY friends. :D We played what is quite possibly the best party game ever (Apples to Apples) and watched two movies- The Great Muppet Caper and Spirited Away (an animated film).
I've got homework to do, but hopefully I will be able to work on it tomorrow/later today (Saturday). I'll be heading to bed now.
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