Memoir - Blog Three

        Last spring break I found my favorite place in the world. I traveled with the spanish department at Washburn High School to España. I went there in a relatively large group of 22 students and 2 chaperones. Out of these students I only knew a few of the kids. This worried me a lot before the trip and my loneliness during the trip led to lots of homesickness but one small Spanish town brought me an indescribable sense of peace. This town was Toledo, Spain.

        We were traveling by bus from Madrid to our family stays in Seville. Being about a five-hour road trip we planned to stop in an old city named Toledo for a few hours. Unfortunately, we got a late start to our travels that morning and could only stop there for about two hours. On our way there I was probably the most homesick I got on the whole trip. I was nervous for our family stays because of my not so great Spanish and I was nervous for the rest of the trip with the group because I wasn't sure if I would have enough fun with the kids on it to get over my homesickness. For the first hour or so of the trip I napped - it was early and I was tired of worrying. When I woke up we were driving up a mountain.

"It is ok. Mountain is very safe for drive" the bus driver announced

Then one of the teachers took the microphone for a little history lesson, "Okay.. so guys Toledo is inbetween mountain ranges which made it a relatively safe city because the mountains made it harder to get in from the outside. Spain has many--" And then I started to tune out.

        I had never seen mountains like this before. So majestic and big! It was early morning so way down below on the river there was fog that was just starting to clear. We stopped on the highest point of our travel to get out and take pictures. I'm a firm believer in the phrase 'a picture says a thousand words' so I was first off the bus. For the first time on the trip I wasn't wondering where my family was or what they were doing, I was too in awe.

"We are running really late - Meg lets go!"

        My eyes were glued to the skyline. I would have preferred to just stay there and let the bus leave.

        Once we got into the city we walked around for a few hours. I was so content in the back of the group just taking pictures. I was totally alone and totally okay with it. 

        Right before we left there was a bridge that connected the countryside of Toledo to the town part of it. The sun was just rising out of the mountains. Everyone wanted one last picture before they got on the bus. I sprinted to the other end for the perfect shot and again was almost left there. 

        Back on the bus I felt an extreme sense of accomplishment. I realized I was on a trip of a lifetime and there was no reason to worry or be nervous. I was now excited for the rest of the trip and excited to be a part of a new family for a week even with a language barrier. The beauty of Toledo, Spain made me feel at home and that was my indescribable sense of peace. 

Zeitoun Blog Two

        During hurricane Katrina there were more than 100 teenagers in the Orleans Parish Prison. The prisoners were not evacuated before the storm because there was no formal plan in place. After the storm they were there for three to five days. In these few days these teenagers endured horrifying conditions with no food or clean water, stuck in flooded cells.

        In this prison the inmates were treated unfairly both before and after the storm. Before the storm the New Orlean's juvenile justice system was recognized as one of our country's worst - where more people were locked up, per capita, than in any other state. Prisons there were known as places of routine beatings and systematic deprivation. Federal authorities concluded that conditions were unconstitutional. Even with this being said, its took until after Katrina for something to be done about their justice system. Teenage prisoners were nearly left for death in their cells one explained "We went five days without eating. Kids were passing out in their cells." The prison's lack of water and food was quite apparent, their rescue was described as 'standing in the floodwater for a whole day, some were even drinking the water in the streets.' I see this situation as unfair. These kids sentences could have been so minor and yet they had to stay locked in their cells with no food or water. I also think it is shameful that the prison didn't have a set plan in place to evacated the prisoners.

         Under no circumstances do I think it was okay for the teenage prisoners to be left in these cells during one of the worst hurricanes in US history. Hopefully going forward the New Orleans juvenile justice system can work out some of its flaws and create a plan for if another hurricane strikes New Orleans.

(in response to: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/10/us/10prison.html?_r=0)