Day 6: Katrina Krewe - Today was the last day of our PHAST Spring Break trip. Members of all four sites packed up and drove into New Orleans early this morning to participate in the Katrina Krewe ("Keep it Klean!") trash pickup along St. Charles Avenue. Most of the trash was from Mardi Gras, with beads, plastic bags and cups making up most of the trash. I found an impressive stock of old cans, beer and wine bottles in a bush all to myself. There were so many volunteers - families, schools, groups - that it was getting hard to find trash to pick up. The Katrina Krewe group focuses on cleaning up "commonly used thoroughfares throughout the city." But depending on who we're talking about that commonly uses them, lots of areas get left out.

Thanks to sandwich lunches provided on-site, we were able to take it easy going to the airport. Some of the groups from outside Biloxi and Baton Rouge wanted to see the Lower Ninth Ward, so I gave them directions. None of the New Orleans site members could take another go-through. Giao's car went to the Quarter for one last round of beignets (hardy stomachs, these folks). She deemed me a live Mapquest after I gave her directions to the Quarter and then to the airport. I've really enjoyed being the navigator and commentator this week, talking about my experience growing up here and my fascination with nutrias. Flo says I talk about them like their the state animal. I have nothing against the brown pelican; they are very nice too and the population has made a great rebound in recent years.

Everyone Goes Home - The group went back to Ann Arbor this afternoon, after Rohan, Shawn and Flo dropped me off at home. It's a short time, but at least I have a full day to spend with my parents before going back. JoLynn scheduled a group meeting for two Thursdays from now, but I requested an earlier separate meeting for just the New Orleans group since we hadn't had a proper debriefing/reflection session yet. The members around the breakfast table seemed to agree. We've experienced so much this week and many of us still have not been able to grapple with all of the issues and controversy surrounding recovery efforts. We need to be able to understand those if we can ever have hope of doing anything with public health. Too bad that the meeting must wait a whole week. I hope everyone can keep fresh in their minds the events, experiences and emotions of the week.

King Cake Survives - But do stomachs? Speaking of breakfast, I am excited beyond belief that we could finally eat my king cake! The famous Manny Randazzo cake that Dad had gotten for the group had been sitting, sweating, in my room all week. Each morning I examined it for signs of ill health, but the purple and green spots were luckily "natural". Lee insisted that we must eat the cake, even if everyone gets sick on the flight back. Outbreak control seeking cause of stomach bug - What's the bug?...Kiiiing Caaaake. No one showed signs of sickness later in the day, so I'm glad everyone got to partake in the rich gooey goodness of Mardi Gras. Chinwe got the baby!