Well, I just woke up. That bus ride was exhausting. It's really sad that we're home. I actually woke up at 8 am (which would have been 7 am in New Orleans, our wake up call) just out of pure habit. It was nice to be back in my own room and not having to share a bed with Shukri, haha, but I do miss the hassle of dealing with my roommates in the morning and trying to battle those elevators in the hotel.
Friday was our last day in the Big Easy. We got to go to Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World, the place where they make over 75% (don't quote me on that) of the Mardi Gras floats. We saw the huge props, and got to try on costumes (I have pictures of Mr. Aguglia, just wait for them), and we even got to make our very own masks. The building itself was very unassuming, when I saw it from across the Mississippi river, I was a little skeptical that this could be such a cool place. But we walked inside and the whole place screamed Mardi Gras. There was every prop you could imagine, all your favorite movie characters and themes. It was really cool.
From there we went to the Aquarium. We saw an Imax movie about Katrina and how it affected the Bayous. It was interesting. Then we got to explore the Aquarium. I don't know about everybody else, but I thoroughly enjoy Aquariums. We didn't stay too long, but I got to see Jellyfish so I was content.
After the Aquarium, we got to explore the French Quarter with our chaperones. We got to shop and eat and really look at this place. We were lucky enough to be there during the French Quarter Festival so we really got to experience the food and music of the French Quarter. We all did a little bit of shopping in the French Market, a giant flea market that stretches like five blocks. It was so cool.
Dinner was at Michaul's. It was our last taste of authentic New Orleans. We ate great food and danced and celebrated our last few hours. It seems everywhere we ate dinner, there was music. It was so fun to dance with our friends and even see the teachers get in on the action.
The bus ride was so long. We left Michaul's at 7pm and got back home at around 9:30 pm the next day. But We got to spend time with our friends and watch movies and talk all about everything that just happened to us. We still can't believe we had such a great experience. If I didn't have the pictures and the battle wounds to keep my memories intact, I'd think this was all a dream.
Thanks to the parents for letting us go and supporting our fundraising and everything. Thanks to our chaperones for being there for us, whether we needed them to hold our money or wrap our wounds they were great. Thanks to Mr. Aguglia and Mrs. Bauser, for planning our trip and everything. Thanks to our other teachers and administrators for understanding the importance of this trip and helping us get there while still keeping up on our schoolwork. But mostly I'd like to thank my fellow bandmates. We all got so much closer on this trip, I feel like I'm best friends with people who I've never spoken to before because of this trip and it's really cool that we got so close. This trip would not have been the same without the people that were on it, they really made the experience whole.
Thanks for reading the blog while we were gone, I got so many compliments from parents at pick up last night but I was just relaying what an awesome time we all had. Don't rely on me for the true experience, I just told you how I saw it. Ask your kids, ask their friends, ask the teachers. Each and every one of us brought something special back from this trip that nobody else got, our memories.
I'm going to try and find a website that will let us post every picture I have in photo albums based on what we did so that will be easier for all of us. I'll work on that tonight so keep checking. I'll send Mr. Aguglia those links too so everybody gets them.
This trip was great and I'm still in awe. What a way to end my senior year.
4 comments:
I'm still trying to wake up. I've been working on my basement for hours but I feel like a zombee.
All the kids were great on this trip. There has been a change in all of us. Most escaped unharmed, but we had a few medical issues:
Amy fell through a floor, Mike P. was bit by a catipillar and had a reaction to it, Ms. Bauser was attacked by fire ants, Diana had to go to the hosipital for an infection, Melissa twisted her ankle walking down stairs, Brittany L. cut her finger, Jason J. got a sliver. I'm sure I forgot someones ills. Bottom line is that the chaperones were on the ball! they attended to every need and helped the kids get through it. Special thanks to Mrs. Paolini and Mr. Bourke for spending time with Diana in the ER while we were performing on the boat.
My hope is that this trip will have a lasting impression on all of us and inspire us to do what we can to keep helping others. The Lusher teachers and parents gave us some books to share about the Katrina disaster that are gut wrenching. Remember we chose N.O. because we are musicians helping musicians in the birthplace of american music and we did our part to rebuild New Orleans "one instrument at a time".
Thank you Amy for this innovative way to communicate with folks about our experience. Hopefully it has helped a few people connect with us.
God Bless the Lusher School kids, the 60,000 school age children of New Orleans who still are not in schools, and all those who are still displaced and are suffering. We'll be back!
As a mom back on the home-front I just want to say that I am very proud of each and every one of you. What you did for New Orleans was awesome and something you will have with you all your lives. Disregard the negative comments left on the WGRZ website blog. They mean nothing. You know what you accomplished and how much work you did to accomplish it. This trip was an unselfish, pure gift from the heart of each and every one of you. So reach out your right arm in front of you, lift it up over your left shoulder and give yourselves a pat on the back, you deserve it. Welcome home!
Liz's Mom, Ms. M.
I can't believe that it's over! I spent like 2 hours explaining everything to my parents. They were tired and my mom had to work today so I couldn't tell them everything last night but they got the idea that it was amazing! It doesn't feel like we went on the trip. It feels more like a dream we all had that teased us! I can't wait to hear from the Lusher kids and I hope that we stay in contact with them over the years. I want to see where they are by next year. Those kids will go far! Everything about the trip was simply amazing and I don't know anyone who went on the trip that didn't have a good time. If there were people like that they shouldn't have gone on the trip. I wish we could go back next year just to see how things are. I will never forget those Lusher kids. It felt so sereal (sorry I can't spell) to give them that check and see their reactions! I can't wait to talk to everyone about it at school when we've had time to let everything sink in and when we've gotten used to the cooler weather again. Thank you to all those who had anything to do with this at all!
~Fred
THANK YOU, AMY, for keeping this blog! It meant a lot to those of us back at home to be able to keep up with what our kids were doing. I'm sure we'll be hearing stories about the trip for quite a while, and I hope all you travelers are writing down your memories for the future.
You kids are truly awesome!!
Mrs G.
(aka Fred's mom)
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