Over Thanksgiving break most people go home to see their families. It’s a time of relaxation, food, family, friends, et cetra. This thanksgiving however, I decided to do something different. I went to New Orleans with Queens on a service project.
There were seventeen other Queens students who decided to experience this alternative Thanksgiving break. Some students were international, and couldn’t have gone home even if they didn’t go on the trip. Others had been every year they had been at Queens. For me, and most of the other students, this was our first Thanksgiving away from home.
It turned out to be one of the best Thanksgivings for all of us. The service trip works with a group in New Orleans called the St. Bernard Project. They rebuild houses that were destroyed in Hurricane Katrina seven years ago. Yeah, there are still families that haven’t moved back home since 2004. That was eye opening to us too.
We were split in to groups at different work sites. At my worksite, we put drywall up in almost every room of the families house. It was a very rewarding feeling. We accomplished so much the week we were there, that the worksite supervisor now felt that the family would be able to move back in by Christmas.
Besides the work we did, we cooked dinner every night and ate together, family style. The group that I went down with really did become family. We bonded together so well, the group couldn’t have been better picked. We hung out every night in the living room, playing cards, or talking, just sharing life with each other.
By the time the week was over, and we were packing back up the van, no one wanted to go back to Charlotte (no offense Queens friends). The trip was so great, we really did leave a part of ourselves in NOLA. We all want to back and help some more. It was a great way to spend Thanksgiving break and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
-Calvin Lescault
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