New Round, New Adventures and a New Blog!

I made it to my second round location in Camden, New Jersey today where I have wifi in my house! This should make for a much more exciting and active blog now that I will be able to post more often.

Before I get into what I expect from this 2nd project, I want to touch on what an amazing experience New Orleans was.

I really fell in love with the city and the community of New Orleans. I have never been to a place where people are so passionate about their home. If you're looking to regain hope for humanity, New Orleans is the place to go. It was amazing to see the organization I was volunteering for, Habitat for Humanity, get by from mostly volunteer work. The houses they build, as well as the donation center where they receive some funding, is almost entirely run by volunteers. It's truly amazing to see how many people want to help out. I have had people ask me or make jokes about "Why rebuild New Orleans?" To me this question is so offensive. Many people, including myself, have put forth so much effort into rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina. With that said, the answer to this question is simple: 1) The people are so passionate about their city, 2) anyone can go to New Orleans and fit in, it's a place that anyone can learn to call home and 3)No one's home deserves to be given up on.

Now onto Round 2! Time has really been going quickly! This round we are working with Camden Children's Garden to "green" the city and bring in fresh produce. Large supermarkets tend to avoid the city of Camden due to it's political corruption so it has come to be considered a "food desert." What we're going to be doing is planting gardens to produce some crops for the locals. We will also be doing a lot of environmental education with children in the area. I hope that this project will mean as much to me as my first. 

AND back to my blog about Rick in March, just to point out how random he is, here's a letter he wrote to my future husband for me, after he proceeded to steal my notebook:
April 2011
Dear Future Husband, I think about you a lot. Do you like to wash feet? I like clean feet. I enjoy making breakfast-in-bed for others so can I make that stuff for you? Do you like station wagons? I like them as they are mostly rare. I am gorgeous beyond words so you better put up with my manicure. -Melanie

Point Proven. 

Soon I'll post up some pictures of my time in New Orleans and the project I'm working on now!!