Assignment #3 - Megan Ewing - I Don't Get Out Much

My first and only international trip I went on was a cruise to the Bahamas. My family and I visited Nassau and while we were there, we skipped the beach to instead get into the history of pirates in the Bahamas. We decided to escape the so-called tourist-ville of expensive, United-States-style shops near the cruise ship port and head towards museums. Our first stop was the Pirates of Nassau museum, where I learned about how pirates lived and how they impacted the lives of those in Nassau and around the world. Next, we took a tour of Fort Charlotte, where we learned more about how Bohemian culture was affected by pirates. During the tour, we discussed how the pirates were fought, living conditions within the fort, and the fort’s direct effects on Nassau.
My next impactful trip was my mission trip to New Orleans. While there, I learned more about how Hurricane Katrina affected people in the city, specifically in the Lower Ninth Ward. This was the area that was hit hardest by Hurricane Katrina. There are still many condemned houses in this area that stand because the owners can’t afford their demolition. While some consider New Orleans to be recovered from the destruction of the hurricane, during my trip there, I learned that there is still much more to be fixed there. I worked mainly on restoring parks during my 4-day mission.