A day at the Tulane Medical Center

Jules fell and cut his shin yesterday. He was chasing a chicken that had gotten out of the pen. I wasn't here when it happened but Jamie determined he needed stitches (and, boy, he was right). So, Haley, Jamie, and I drove Jules to the Tulane Medical Center in downtown.

Considering the fact we were in an emergency room of New Orleans, the wait was not bad - within an hour and a half he was seen by a doctor, who pupt on anesthetic gel and disappeared for another hour. She came back and stitched him up - 5 stitches in all. Jules was a trooper - not even a whine, taking it all in good spirits. What a guy!

We checked in at 10:30AM and were out of there by 2PM. Not bad.

Haley, Jules and I treated ourselves to a nice lunch in the French Quarter afterward. We thought we needed a little luxury.

Never a dull moment at OSBG!

Not your typical tour

Turner took us to the levee yesterday and gave us all a history lesson on New Orleans. He told us about how the FEMA money to rebuild the Lower Ninth post Katrina went to white contractors hiring immigrant labor rather than the local businesses hiring local residents. He also touched on the nuances and the complexities of the injustices in our society. Tons of food for thought. The young people in our group had lots of great questions and comments. They fill me with such hope!

We were ambitious with our dinner plans last night. We wanted to grill. Luke, who has never cooked before, marinated chicken and served as the grill master. He did a fantastic job! Of course grilling always takes longer than one thinks, especially when you are cooking for an army. We didn't sit down to eat until a little past 7 and Turner was out there cooking the extra chicken until close to 8. But, the meal was fantastic!

They took the night off - no workshop discussing the ills of our society. We all need a little break now and then!

Mardi Gras!

I guess we were given the day off from work today. We piled into a pick up truck (yes, it is perfectly legal to ride on the back of a pick up truck in Louisiana and I didn't go over 35 mph) and headed into town. Saw the parade of various iterations of Zulu King and Zulu Queen. We all accumulated several strands of beads (they are thrown off the floats). Mardi Gras must be a legal holiday - the parade was packed with spectators who were not tourists (as evidenced by their barbecue grills and picnic tables with tons of food).

Then we headed into the French Quarter in search of lunch. Bourbon Street was, as expected, rowdy and crowded. We strolled toward the waterfront and ended up at a touristy restaurant (really, what else is there in the French Quarter anyway?).

Walked leisurely along the waterfront after lunch - it's a bit like the Halloween parade of the city with many people in wacky costumes. But, it is in the 70's and you can walk around in a glittering bikini without freezing your butt off.

Stopped at the supermarket and Walmart on the way back - a very suburban experience in a parish right next to the Lower Ninth.

The kids are discussing environmental justice and personal responsibility in a workshop led by Danielle, Hailey, Em and Cai. Quite impressive considering the fun-filled by tiring day we had.

First day

We took a tour of the farm at Our School at Blair Grocery. There are two greenhouses here. Jamie told us the growing season here is 10 months out of the year with July and August being the non-growing months! Unthinkable to us northeasterners - those are our prime growing months! Indeed there is a beautifully red and ripe tomato in the greenhouse and there are herbs and greens growing outside ready for harvest.

The area is desolate even though the lot sizes are rather typical of the fringes of urban centers (a little like Queens in terms of the development density - but that's where the similarity ends). There are so many vacant houses and abandoned lots around. It is mind boggling that the wound of Katrina are still so raw.

In contrast there are people all around at OSBG. Seven people live on site with several others who come to work during the day. There is another group of college students who are here this week to work at OSBG. They are staying elsewhere in the neighborhood. We are a group of a dozen, and will be experiencing communal living for a week - no special treatment for chaperons!