With one more day left of our Bear Break trip in New Orleans, I am amazed by how much I’ve learned and the different perspectives I’ve gained in just four short days. About four years ago, I spent about a day and a half in New Orleans on my way to another destination. Thinking back, I realize how naive I was, and how much I misunderstood this city when I was in it. For starters, I mainly stayed in the French Quarter and did all of the tourist things that one is expected to do in Nola. Looking back now, it’s crazy how much community and culture I missed out on. I thought I knew the city by the things that I did, heard, and been told, but there was a disconnect when it came to hearing the stories from the actual residents of New Orleans.

Through Bear Breaks, I got my second chance of learning about Nola through service in the lower ninth ward. Our partnerships with Garden on Mars, Grow Dat Youth Farm and Sustain the Nine opened my eyes to the hardships that people are still fighting post-Hurricane Katrina, despite the assumption that everything is good and back to normal, which is far from the truth. Luckily, our partnerships and many more organizations are working extremely hard every day to continue to rebuild their community.

Never in my life have I ever met such passionate, humble, and caring individuals.

 Today we had our tourist day in the French Quarter, and as cool as it is, I found myself really missing the ninth ward and the people we partnered with. There is this sense of strength, genuineness, and community when you’re in the 9th ward and it was hard to part with that for the day. I am so excited to go back to ninth ward tomorrow with one more day at Garden on Mars with Miss Jeanette. I am definitely going to miss my time here in New Orleans, but it only makes me more excited to go back home and share my experiences and a new perspective with my family and friends.