Dancing through life!: Adios & a weekend of debriefing

Yes, it's true. I'm back home in Pittsford for another quick transition between chapters. Last Thursday was our last day at the CLRC. Shani took us out to a Guatemalan restaurant for one last hurrah together and we enjoyed some delicious authentic food over sharing our summer memories, etc etc. As is expected, goodbyes were tough but even more so because many of the usual guys were not at the center during our last week (due to having regular work or whatever else). It's often hard to predict when they will come in, so I didn't get to say adios or hasta luego or gracias por todo to them. Nonetheless, it was time for me to depart from what I came to know as my home and family for the summer in Centreville. Before I went HOME home though, there was a stop in between...

NEW ORLEANS
All of the interns from the Summer Communities of Service program reunited once again but this time in the beautiful southern land of Louisiana!

Highlights of the trip?
-sharing lots of stories and reflections with interns from other cities
-live jazz music
-salsa dancing at a salsa club
-French Quarters
-Dirty Linen Festival with open art galleries
-singing in a legit southern gospel choir at church service
-eating Beignets (state donut of New Orleans...yes, apparently those do exist)
-hearing personal stories from church member who was a police chaplain during Katrina. She told us that the population is still half of what it was before the storm hit. Many people still had to pay mortgage on their homes even if it was destroyed in the storm. Those who were hit hardest were impoverished in the lower ninth ward. She shared such emotional stories of her visits to families and homes to visit people in desperate need, trying to bring God to the forefront of the disaster.

Quite the diverse city, let me tell you...or rather show you!

"Brad Pitt houses" - new homes in lower ninth ward that he supported to be renovated or built from scratch after destruction from the storm

Part of infamous wall that water came over during Katrina

Old abandoned yard

Abandoned front stoop

Lots of overgrown greenery and boarded up homes

Beautiful colorful homes downtown

French Quarters

Bourbon Street - that day there was a 5K Red Dress Run...essentially an excuse for anyone and everyone to wear red dresses. Many were throwing down Mardi Gras beads from balcony bars.