Appreciating the Neighborhood
On my first exploration of this incredible city, I was immediately taken by the varying shapes, sizes, colors and textures of the homes. I fell in love with the vibrantly colored shotgun houses as we were introduced to the 9th Ward. To me, they represent beacons of passion and audacity, traits they seem to share with their owners. We passed houses that have still not been gutted, taken over by meandering vines crawling across boarded windows. These walls also house messages that are so clear in thick definite spray paint: PROUD TO CALL IT HOME. As I biked along Simon Bolivar, I was greeted by old, wise porches dutifully holding up rocking chairs. I couldn’t help but imagine all the conversations these porches have heard, how many relationships and generations they have kept cool in the hot summer days. There are plots of grass that mark where houses once stood, bits of foundation and front steps so remarkable they will never be erased. I turn a corner and find myself lost equally in awe among ancient oak- lined boulevards with old gorgeous mansions planted firmly in neat rows. I’m torn. I keep wanting to choose a favorite type of house, a favorite type of experience and a favorite type of exploration.
In the three weeks that I’ve been in New Orleans, I’ve felt overwhelmed and excited about how much there is to see, do, hear, taste and talk about. I decided to participate in AVODAH because I was equally excited about the work I would get to do at the New Orleans Women’s Shelter, the intentional community I would get to help build and be a part of, my relationship with Judaism that I would get to both expand and narrow down, experiencing the vibrant night life and thick culture that this city boasts and understanding how they all come together.
The second I got here it was clear I could spend all of my time and energy exploring any one of these and still feel like there was so much more! I decided not to let this abundance immobilize me. It’s been a constant challenge to allow myself to foster them all without feeling like I have to pick favorites. Instead of allowing the opportunities to overwhelm and freeze me, I’m trying to piece them together to see how they might compliment each other the way all of these seemingly different houses can exist in the same city. I initially felt like I had to choose which house I liked best, which one I wanted to live in and which area I wanted to define me. I can’t and I no longer want to. I’m excited to build each of these aspects of AVODAH, not choosing favorites, but using the year to see how they will all come together.
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