Tourists or Servers
My name is Ashley Herrera and I decided to go to the New Orleans trip because I am interested in the culture and I also wanted to learn about the impact that hurricane Katrina left on the city. It is day 4 of our trip and today started off a little different. We woke up earlier than usual and got ready to start our day. Since today was our free day we headed down to the French Quarters and had breakfast at the famous Café du monde. It was my first time trying the beignet and they were pretty good. After that we went to the St. Louis Cathedral and toured the hurricane Katrina museum. I truly appreciated getting a taste of all aspects of New Orleans Culture. We toured the French Quarters and walked down bourbon street. Getting to experience this part of the trip helped me see the difference between coming to New Orleans as tourist and serving. Most tourists come to New Orleans to see the “fancy parts” or to do the “fun things”. They do not get to see the real part of New Orleans and the people that make up the community. We were able to come here to serve the community and it really helped me engage with the true people of New Orleans and be able to hear their story. Being able to drive around the city and look at the poverty sides of the city really made me see New Orleans as a whole, and I can go back home knowing that I got to see New Orleans as the city that it really is not just the tourist parts. This was something that I didn’t think I would get the chance to experience so I am thankful that I got to experience it.
Every Deed Makes a Difference
Overall, our time here in New Orleans has been amazing. We have been able to experience all aspects of New Orleans. We started the week working with Greenlight and installing energy efficient lightbulbs in people’s homes. I feel like we were able to revitalize the community by going into peoples’ homes and installing the energy efficient lightbulbs. By doing this not only is it helpful to our economy but it also saves people some money and gives them the opportunity to have lightbulbs if they are not able to buy some with their own money.
-Ashley Herrera