University of Virginia, New Orleans Journals

Wednesday, January 11 , 2006

Lindsay McCook, School of Architecture

This trip has been nothing short of amazing. Every day I’ve

been fortunate enough to do something different, and yesterday

I helped at Xavier University. Justin and I helped a man named

Joe work on the auxiliary convent. He has already gutted the

downstairs and is reworking the insulation, sealing the wood,

and doing general brunt work. Joel and Madeleine sealed the

wood yesterday, Joe continued to put up tar paper, and we

were given a different assignment. Our work consisted of

cleaning the exterior of the house.

During our drives around New Orleans I had wondered just how

they would go about removing all the watermarks on the exterior

of all the buildings to erase evidence of the flooding. Now I

know -- it’s simply elbow grease and a lot of bleach. We worked

all day there, and returned to Xavier Prep early in the afternoon

for our “shower appointment” at Country Day. The other groups

cleaned trophies, went to the unveiling of the new city plan, and

helped with demolition. They finished the house we had started

two days ago, but when they went to the second home, they

were unable to do anything because it was structurally

unsound.

Last night was our free evening and a lot of people went into the

French Quarter to have dinner. For most of us, it was the first

time on the trip and in our lives that we’d seen the area. I loved

it. Being an architectural history major and seeing one of the

most historic districts in the country was wonderful.

I really only have good things to say about the people we’re

here with and the things we’re doing. Although most of the time

it’s overwhelming and emotionally hard to grasp, the work we’re

doing is making a difference in at least a few lives. You’ve got

to start somewhere, right? Original URL:

http://www.virginia.edu/topnews/releases2006/NewOrleansJourn

al10.html