TFW

Today we realized our week is going to consist mostly of flooring, but we’re hoping we’ll see some significant progress. We worked together to frantically finish grouting a floor before taking a late lunch, and we learned to install bamboo flooring. We learned that, even though the bathroom we are using in our house does not have a door, we are lucky to have access to one. Other teams have Port-a-potties, or nothing at all.

This afternoon, we learned what 'TFW' means, which we often see on the vacant houses: 'Toxic Flood Waters'. This is written on almost any still vacant house, indicating that it was filled with water for an extended period of time. Water receded around the houses, but the houses stayed filled, filling them with mold and damage, rendering them uninhabitable.

We've had the opportunity to hear many Katrina stories since writing yesterday:

- Our bartender last night grew up in the Lower Ninth Ward, a completely desolated area of the city. He said that he thinks that the city would not re-build if a disaster like Katrina happened again any time soon. It would just be too much. He did say though, that he could never imagine leaving.

- We’ve heard a lot of stories about the crime that occurred in New Orleans soon after the flood, and still continues today. Our bartender told us about how he was shot at for trying to get food from a nearby store. Imagine, calling 911 did nothing. The city was shut down, and local law enforcement was worrying about their own families. We’ve heard of many instances where construction equipment and copper wiring has been stolen from the houses we are working on, often because there are still no neighbors around to keep watch. You’d think a disaster like this would make people bond and help each other, but it shows the desperation that still exists in this city.

- Our crew leader, Henry, was a sophomore at Tulane when Katrina happened. He was away for the weekend, and was not given much information as to how extreme the damage was in New Orleans. When he finally saw what had happened, he felt that he couldn’t handle it and had to go right to bed. He had to very quickly decide what school he would transfer to for the semester. He is now working for extremely low pay because he cares so much about this cause.

- Our roommate Leigh is a fire fighter in Texas. She was available to assist the refugees of Katrina who had fled to Texas. These people had been without a shower for a number of days. They were without refrigeration for their medications, and without a doctor to call to get refills. They ended up building showers, connected to a fire hydrant!

- This afternoon, we drove around a mostly vacant neighborhood taking photos to bring back to NY. A resident seemed concerned that we were taking photos, so we explained why. We told him that our friends in NY often think that New Orleans is completely cleaned up by now, 5 years later. The resident looked at us, shocked, stating “It isn’t cleaned up at all!”

Muffalettas for lunch tomorrow! Can't wait!

- Sumalabarbgie