Postcard from New Orleans

Dec. 11, 2005
Dear MC Friends:

After 20-plus hours in the vans and more than 1,000 miles later we have finally arrived in New Orleans! Once the Marietta convoy was within 60 miles of New Orleans we started noticing some of the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina. Trees that lined the road were snapped in half, and the guardrails had been dented by debris. 

We crossed the state line and finally entered Louisiana where the damage grew more evident with every passing mile. It quickly became obvious that daily life in the Big Easy is anything but easy. As we drove down the highway we passed where homes used to be and others that were missing shingles and siding. We also saw collapsed buildings and street signs that had been ripped out of the ground.

As the convoy continued we noticed boats in ditches or on the side of the road where there wasn't any water to be seen. Just before reaching downtown New Orleans we crossed what was supposed to be a separated highway bridge over Lake Pontchartrain, however parts of the bridge were missing due to Katrina so the bridge was restricted to one lane north and south.

We are now settled in at the Gretna Police Training Academy, which is across the Mississippi River from New Orleans. We are all sleeping in a carpeted classroom that has been cleaned out for us, and we have access to the compound's gym and bathroom.  The department has also provided us with a shower trailer to accommodate our group of 32 students and six chaperons.

Tomorrow morning we will head out to the Delgado Community College campus to begin the clean up regiment and meet with the trustees, which should provide countless other experiences to share with you.

• Manda

Manda Scheub is a sophomore from Grand Rapids, Ohio. She is writing a daily postcard from New Orleans to relay what she and the 37-person traveling party from MC are doing at Delgado Community College and in New Orleans from Dec. 11-16.

David Brock and Crystal Hunter in one of three vans headed from Marietta to New Orleans.