Untitled for Now

This was an interesting week. It's always an experience coming from a substantial break and then trying to reacquaint ourselves with everyday life. I went to New Orleans for Spring Break and had an AMAZING time. I worked with a group called Gulf Coast Volunteers for the Long Haul and every day we did something a little different than we did before. No two days were the same for me, even though I spent a majority of my time at Sarah Reed Elementary and A.P. Tureaud School. If I talked about everything that happened on the trip...this post would be 10 pages long...so I'll just give some highlights...

• Working on specific assignments with some of the kids I came in contact with. There were three who really struck me and I felt a connection to.


• Painting the 8-10 ft. fence at McDonough Elementary School. We transformed this rusty "prison" fence by painting it forest green.


• Building relationships with the people on the trip. (Staying up until 1am, just talking)


• Interviewing New Orleans legend Leah Chase, owner of Dooky Chase's restaurant.


• Going to the Bayou and taking a swamp tour!
• St. Patrick's Day Parade and getting LOTS of FREE stuff!

This week, I had to fight back tears and feelings of deep sadness, because all I wanted to do was return to New Orleans and be around the other volunteers and work on a worthwhile project that impacted the community. Check out some of my pictures from the trip!

Taking Pictures This Week

Taking pictures this week was interesting. I tried different angles and ways of holding the camera. I don't know how successful I was, but I think I took a couple of good shots (which is OK, since we only have to turn in three anyway). I wanted to make sure the pictures reflected a piece of who I am and what I'm interested in outside of school work. I will be featuring some pictures of my sorority's events. As a Christian ministry on Maryland's campus, what we do to serve God is important to me. Hopefully this will be conveyed in the shots...

But of course, my week would not be complete without a little technology mishap...

Right before I went to download my photos, I realized the USB cord my mom gave me for her camera wasn't the correct one. This wouldn't be a problem if she didn't live an hour away... or if the assignment was not due tomorrow. I guess I will have to figure something out...

Life Lesson for the week: Always check your USB cable...one size does not fit all.

Up next...photojournalism!

I'm actually excited to start the next portion of the class...Video was fun! I got to play around with a camera and editing and tap into a new skill (that definitely needs to be developed). So...YAY! :-)

I've used a digital camera before and I've done some artsy-fartsy stuff with the various functions...(sepia and black/white tones are great!)...but this will be the first time I'll use photography on this particular level. We'll see how it goes. Once I actually take some photos for the class, I will post them.