Day 2 = drywall

Well, the day started off with me getting separated from my peeps. They were late arriving at the office so I had to register without them and I got assigned to a house where I didn't know anyone. I hitched a ride with Liz who I felt some affinity to because she had just lived in Scotland until a month ago. So, we took off in her car and proceeded to get lost. The thing is, many roads around here still do not have street signs so you really really have to pay attention to landmarks and such. We finally made it around 10am.

We worked on the Peres house. Maria Peres is a single mom with a 10 year old son, Logan. They currently live in a FEMA trailer just down the road in her mom's yard. I have been inside her trailer. My apartment in Charlotte now seems huge. They make it work. I just can't imagine living like that for almost 2 years. Anyway...

We got thrown into drywalling almost immediately after a crash course by our site supervisor Lindsay. Well, it wasn't much of a course. We saw where the drywall was, we knew to hang it perpendicular to studs and we knew to put about 5 screws in each piece. That's about it. Liz and I were both a bit timid about this. We didn't want to screw up and we were both very unsure of ourselves. I cannot even explain the joy I felt after getting this one ceiling done today. It was ridiculous. The bathroom was small, but it meant a lot to me. I was able to use a keyhole saw for the first time ever. Oh, and I drilled. I had never really done a whole lot of drilling.

This is a worthy cause. No one around here is being paid to help. Volunteers are the ones making a difference. Anyone who is able to come, should come. People with spoiled kids should bring them here! It's an eye opener. This is real life and it's been taken off Americans' radars. We don't think about it anymore. It's a tragedy and you can't even begin to understand it until you see it (for example, the rows and rows of deserted homes) and start talking to people about it.

One guy named Joe, a retired firefighter, was rescued from his second floor living space. He had a shop below (this shop now serves as the St. Bernard Project office). Well, he was rescued from his house in a boat. He had to leave his dog and his bird. The water had gone from his ankles to above his waist in an hour. It jumped to 10 feet over the next couple of hours. Joe was taken to another roof with 200 other people. They thought someone was coming for them. They thought the military was coming. Day three is when they lost hope. A lot of psychological damage was done over these few days. Joe was rescued on day 5. His dog and bird were saved 17 days later.

It is just unfathomable what some of these people have seen and gone through.

SoI am really sore after holding up drywall overhead most of the day. My shoulders hurt and even my forearms ache. We came back to our hotel, showered (which was needed so badly) and headed out to dinner at The Praline Connection. This is authentic New Orleans food. Our poor waiter was new and from Honduras so there was a slight language barrier and a slight service debaucle ensued. Bless him. Anyway, when people ordered sides, he thought they were ordering a whole extra dinner. So, we ended up with a lot of food on our table!

But anyway, I am so excited about getting a lot of sleep tonight. I think I'll be switching houses tomorrow so that I can ride with my friends. Today I was bumming rides and it just worked out that I could hitch each way.

Tomorrow will sure to be another adventure. I'll be sure to try to keep up my postings.

I'm so glad I'm here.