The Untouched Gym

The untouched gym is at the Boys and Girls Club near downtown New Orleans. The Superdome was just a couple of blocks away. We were what the Americorps volunteer called "beautification" of the building. Basically we did some clean up work in and around the building and a vacant lot across from the building. In the afternoon, we discovered an empty gym that hadn't been cleaned up from Katrina. The roof was partly torn, the wooden floor was covered in several layers of dirt. We thought that the floor had been removed but it was so covered we couldn't see it. The second layer was covered in sand. It looked like people just had just got up and left right before Katrina struck. Words can not describe the destruction and the eeriness. Tomorrow we are returning to the Boys and Girls Club and were taking a tour of New Orleans.

Andrew Bridgewater

Smokey Mountain Range...

I titled this one, "Smokey Mountain Range" because I had the chance to go to wonderful Estes Park, CO and walk along the mountains on a one mile trail to Alberta Falls. Unfortunately, the waterfall was frozen and we couldn't really tell that it was a water fall! The mountains were BEAUTIFUL! I could not stop taking pictures of them. It was a warm day walking on the trail, so it was a little weird having the sun beating on my face, but the cold from the snow soaking into my shoes. My face got a little sun burnt. I got to meet one of Renee Voves's friends in the area, Kevin, and he talked about his experiences at Wartburg. He was a broadcast/PR major, so we found a lot to talk about! He led us through the park and showed us around.

I also got to experience Casa Bonita, a restaurant you should visit if you're ever in Denver. There is a waterfall in the middle of the restaurant where performers and customers have the opportunity to take a plunge. Also a mariachi band band roams around the restaurant while playing. It was pretty sweet!

Tomorrow we actually start our service. Our service trip is centered around working with those in poverty, so we have the chance to help out at The Boys and Girls Club, the food bank, and an after school program.

Pictures of the mountains will be posted tomorrow as I am having trouble uploading them.

-Ellen

WTV8 Staffers Blog About Service Trip Activities

Follow the WTV8 staffers all week as they report during their various Wartburg College Service Trip opportunities!

Ellen Kurt is with a group in Denver, CO; Andrew Bridgewater and Brianna Nielsen are with their IS 201 class in New Orleans, LA; Justin Conner is in Tennessee; and Maribel Lopez and Nate Vaughn are in Costa Rica.

Other staff members are spending break outside of Iowa, as well.

Stay tuned for updated postings!

--Dr. Jeff Stein, Wartburg Television faculty adviser

New Orleans Update

The food at Camp Restore is awesome! I have become a huge fan of jambalaya after trying it for the first time tonight!

Andrew Bridgewater
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Made it to New Orleans!

We left Wartburg at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday and arrived in New Orleans after more than a 1,000 miles and 20 plus hours of driving around 1p.m. We got lost a few times but we made it here in one piece. Trying to sleep was interesting but I managed to get six hours of sleep! We are staying at Camp Restore in East New Orleans. More to come in the days ahead but right now, it's time to relax!

Andrew Bridgewater

Finally Here!

After 14 hours of sleepless driving and riding, we are finally at Our Savior Lutheran Church in DENVER, CO. Along the way, we discovered that there was a Waverly, Nebraska, that you don't insert the gas card into the receipt slot, and we all came up with unique Indian nicknames for each other. I got to drive through beautiful Colorado as well. Early to bed tonight because we have a full day tomorrow: service at 8 and then off to Estes Park for a day of hiking and exploring! We will also be dining at Casa Bonita tomorrow night for supper!

Off to bed, but will write again tomorrow to catch you up on our adventures!

Denver here we come!

Classes are done for the day and I'm getting started on packing my things up to go to Denver! I'll be traveling with the Student Alumni Council and I'll try to find time during the trip to blog often. We leave tomorrow at 7 a.m. and travel the 12 hours to the church we are staying in and then Sunday, we're up at the crack of dawn getting ready to go to our church service!