Today was the first day of filming and interviewing. The first interview wasof a man working on a house off Canal St. which was not planned for and I was really nervous approaching him with the idea. The day continued and we heard stories from the people we interviewed which really touched us. It seemed like we interviewed non-stop and my feet hurt from standing for the large part of the day. I think they touched me a little bit more than they did with the guys because not only did I have to pay more attention to what they were saying but because all of a sudden I became the director of the majority of the interviews (a lot of which I had no questions planned for). I did not like the burrito at the taco stand where we ate that day, by the way. Also, I had the best chocolate cherry freeze at a diner that Ms. Eva recommended to us.

On this day, we took a tour of New Orleans’s most devastated area, the 9th Ward. To the extent of our eyesight all we could see were grassy lotswith the occasional reconstructed house peppered here and there. We were lucky enough to have been able to walk in to some gutted houses where we got the idea of someone’s old room, closet, kitchen, and bathroom. To me, this is when a lot of it sunk in. I thought to myself, “How would I feel if I lived next to something that was supposed to have been able to save me (the levee) and been let down by human flaw so badly that everything that I owned and cared about was gone?” That hurt really badly in a metaphysical sort of way because I felt this pain for something that had only happened to me through speculation. We had come back to our hotel after this and were allowed to wander through the French Quarter. I tried to buy some clothes but everything was over-priced and when I was about to buy something, Mr. Zarazua called Juan who then called Phillesha telling us to meet him on Bourbon St. to meet some friends of his. We took a street-car ride to the back of the French Quarter and went to the French market where I bought some souvenirs and then ate some beignets. We walked back in order to meet Eva again. Now, I had to interview her mom. Her interview brought some tears to my eyes as she recalled parts of her life. I was happy that the filming was done for us but sad that I had to hear all of these stories that could not be fixed with a simple band-aid.

On this day, we were to get up early with our things so we could be ready to head out to Alabama. This day really sucked for me because I had only slept three hours and was nauseous and crabby for the large part of the day. At around 11:30 AM we met the people who we were supposed to spend the time with on Sunday and shadow Monday at the Target parking lot. Even though I was feeling ill I managed to put my best foot forward and introduced myself to Penny and the rest of her friends. From there, we took a two hour drive to the “East Bay” where we went to a very pretty white-sanded beach. We had lunch there and bonded somewhat. Penny and I really had fun sea-shell hunting to add to Phillesha’s collection. We had dinner in Mobile at a place called BBQ King where my stomach could not hold all of the food. That night I did not let the boys come into the room at all and fell asleep almost immediately. (Mr. Z note: boys in the room?)

This was THE bonding day with our new buddies. Phillesha and I had become really close and we hoped to share that with Penny. Penny was very reluctant to open up in the beginning but her mom’s boisterous chatter and zealous stories led her to break out of her shell. On this day I must say that I’ve never wanted a puppy so much in my life because we had gone to the Semmes Flea Market and it seemed this was the main article for sale. Also, I had loved her two indoor dogs (Little Bit and Bandit!). Both Phillesha and I bought some things there and then Penny drove us back to her house. Before boredom could settle in Penny, she had her sister’s brother-in-law take us mud riding. I was like, “What theheck is that?” To us back in The Town, it would be the equivalent of a sideshow but with mud involved and in a very big truck. Phillesha didn’t come with me and Penny but she watched as we flew over trenches in the back yard, got stuck in a rut, and got pulled out by the family tow-truck. We had dinner with her mom, sister,and brother. There was more story swapping and picture taking on the trampoline and in the house. Finally, at night time, we got ready for bed and I went to sleep the earliest I had in the whole trip. I had never fallen asleep to country music but there’s always a first time for everything.

On this day, all three of us woke up at 6:00 AM to get to Penny’s school, Mary G. Montgomery High School. Her classes started at 7:15 AM and this rattled both me and Phillesha. Her classes there were almost two hours each with a five minute passing period. We only got to follow her to her American History class, where her teacher pretended that we not even there. This teacher had a very dry, boring, and unimaginative way of teaching that seriously made me appreciate Mr. Z’s style. Then, we went to Penny's Earth Science class. The teacher in this class was actually aware that we were visiting students and chose to wrap the curriculum and discussion according to the Cali way of things (at that moment they were learning about the moon). It was kind of funny to have experienced both of the extremes of the spectrum: ignoring us and completely paying attention to what we had to say. We got some lunch at one of the three school cafeterias (fake "Mexican" tacos) and brought them over to Ms. Wilson's Advanced Art class. Unfortunately, while Edwin and I were roaming the halls, I washarassed by a pseudo teacher there. I had been wrongly accused of bumping into her and not apologizing and then being "smart" about what I was saying to her... just because I wasn't taking the blame and trying to prove myself innocent. I will admit this made me upset but this did not stop me as I facilitated the round table discussion among the Unity students and the MGM group there. I asked questions that made both groups reflect on the pre and post ideas that they had of each other. We said our farewells and drove back to New Orleans so we could catch our plane in the morning.

I tend to be a pretty jaded person and if it wasn’t for teaching I’d probably be a regular Scrooge. Yet everyday I love
coming to work and being inspired by our students, even if I want to strangle them at times. In some ways this trip reinforced some of my cynicism about fairness in society, but more than anything I felt inspired by not only our students, but also our hosts, who took time out of their lives and treated us as if we were life-long friends.

I was disappointed that not everyone who was scheduled to come with us or host us didn’t work out. Although I’ve been part of similar trips in the past and know the world isn’t a perfect place, I still get a bit down when not everyone works out. But what can you do besides move on and focus on the remaining crew? On another note, while I didn’t expect a cover on Newsweek or interview by Oprah, I was a bit surprised that we weren’t able to get some coverage by local media. We sent out press releases, including to progressive independent outlets, but there were no bites (In hindsight, there was interest from a writer friend of mine. Sorry, Rachel!). I have some different theories, but I coldly remarked to a friend one day who asked if anyone had done a piece and I said that none of our students made it a point to shoot someone or beat up anyone on YouTube yet. I’m being a bit harsh, and oversimplifying things, but I just think there was a good story here. Even some of the students joked about this. “Inner-city” youth from east Oakland, all students of color, spend spring break in the south, learning about post-Katrina New Orleans and do an exchange program with predominately rural White youth in Alabama? Overcoming obstacles? How about foster care system, immigration, violence (at least half of our students have lost a parent or sibling to violence), etc, yet they’ve risen above these obstacles and all five of the seniors who attended the trip are going to four-year universities! 60% of our students at the school come from homes where no one graduated from high school. You never want to limit someone’s identity to their struggles, but they have some amazing stories. Then again, I think the students’ efforts will get recognized once they complete their follow up projects to this trip. But in the end, does it really matter? This isn’t about getting recognized in the press, it’s about connecting with other people, which we did!

In terms of fund-raising, one organization donated $500, but everything else pretty much came from food sales and from donations from individuals in cities as far away as New York and Fairview Hts., IL. Random parents at the school who didn’t even have a student going on the trip would slip us a $10 or $20, which is significant considering some of the financial hardships they face. While it would’ve been easier to have some big corporation foot the bill I take some pride knowing that this was a community effort. I’m not letting the government or corporate America off the hook for funding community projects, but it showed that this can be done at the grassroots level.

In terms of personal connections, I really feel like our school has been a surrogate family of sorts for me and trips like these cement that feeling. A highlight was bonding with students and other staff members, going through all the highs and lows of a shared experience, far from home. The value of meeting new people and reconnecting with old friends cannot be overstated. Our hosts welcomed us with open arms and we would’ve loved to have taken them all back to California. In particular, Eva San Martin of New Orleans not only took time out of her busy work schedule, but introduced us to a number of family members and friends. Gail Spinnato of McComb, Mississippi, and her close friend drove down nearly two hours to show some of us around, and Ms. Gloria Wilson took us to the beach, let us crash at her place, and connected our students with hers, which proved to be a highlight of the trip. The host families were wonderful and I wouldn’t be surprised if life-long friendships were forged.

I was excited to see how excited the students were. There’s a saying that you “teach who you are” and I’m definitely one to project my interests upon students, including my love of travel and exploration. Watching them experience the white-sand beaches, trying out new food such as frog legs, and bonding with people of such differing backgrounds was powerful. Beyond having a good time, it’s been great hearing our students reflect on the trip and hopefully they’ll be inspired to make more positive change in the community and better connect the dots of oppression, and success, around the world. The aftermaths of Hurricane Katrina and Rita have been tragic, but when taken in the context of other suffering around the world and within the U.S., the roots are much deeper than “mother nature” or “God’s will.” But that’s another essay, for another day.

I definitely gained a new appreciation for our school. Listening to the students talk about why they appreciated our school made me more proud to work there and the high level of discussion from all of the students made me proud to be a teacher. I briefly spoke with a visiting teacher from Dallas and after hearing about his struggles with overcrowding, a limited budget, and violence I was even more grateful to be returning to Unity High, possibly preparing for our next trip! All in all, an experience I’ll remember for the rest of my life.