Our first job of the day was to accomplish a task list for the Scavenger Hunt in the French Quarter. Imagine being brand new to a city and expected to find very particular things on the list. For example, we had to find a New Orleans fire station, a major waterway, and Exchange Alley, among other things. We are used to asking strangers for directions so we were brave and asked strangers questions like, "Where is Jackson Square?" "What do you like best about New Orleans?" "Where is the local fire station?" This was a great way to tour the French Quarter and make connections to images and references from the classroom.
We spent a good amount of time in the French Quarter. One highlight was getting to try Beignets (a fried donut) for the first time. Ms. Prout spent the day with us - we may have mentioned that she is very special to the Jomana Team. She followed our project when during our initial fund-raising efforts and we were so lucky that we had a local as one of our guides on our trip. Ms. Prout started each day with us and always had something positive to contribute. She is encouraging all of us to return every two years: 14 to volunteer for the Kaboom playground projects, at 16 to volunteer service to build homes, and at 18 to go to college at one of the universities we got to see - either Tulane or Xavier. It was a tearful parting, but we really hope Ms. Prout comes to Madison so we can return the adventure back to her and show her our beautiful city! 
After the French Quarter, we went to John Lafitte National Historical Preserve where we got to witness New Orleans' ecosystem, and the wildlife and habitat. Of course our main goal was to see alligators and snakes, but we were also there to find out why swamps are important as a valuable part of nature in Louisiana. We saw quite a few alligators so that was very exciting! They pop up out of nowhere and even though they move quickly, these were pretty slow so we got to observe and examine them as we walked along the boardwalk. One group saw several snakes native to Louisiana, birds, frogs, and turtles. It was a great way to spend the day and get to experience both the city life and the wild-life.
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And speaking of alligators, the restaurant, "Mulate's" served them fried. A few of our students were adventurous and ordered a platter. They said it tasted great - "just like chicken," no lie. This restaurant served Cajun food - everything from fried oysters, crab, chicken, catfish, and shrimp, to pasta with traditional Cajun seasoning. It was our chance to try Cajun food and even dance to a band that played square dancing music. It was a great way to spend our final night in New Orleans - most of us dressed up, a few of us were bold and tried new things, and mainly, we got to spend more quality time with our friends.
It's our final night in New Orleans and we are pretty sure none of us want it to end. Tonight we packed our luggage and cleaned the Hands On Volunteer house so we could just roll out of bed, brush our teeth, and head onto the bus. Our journey isn't quite over - there are many people to thank, a lot to reflect upon, more things to learn, and of course, lots more fun times with our friends on that long bus ride back to Madison. Yesterday we titled our post, "Epic Education," and said we'd be interviewing students to see if this fits their description of the trip. We'll leave you with one now, and plan to share more in the days to come.
In case this video doesn't work here, try this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW_VTCjwQO8
And don't forget to check out our FB page - it's been updated with photos from today. Thanks for being there for us!
I especially like "there's a lot you can do, anywhere, not just here" -- yes, go after it! You CAN make a difference. Wonderful to hear about your learning opportunity.
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