Gustav: What kind of name for a hurricane is that?

So as you’ve now probably all heard about the gigantic hurricane heading towards New Orleans. Again. Friday was my 22nd birthday and it was also the day we all evacuated the region in preparation for this storm. It also happens to have been the 3rd anniversary of when Katrina hit. In the midst of all of this, the first thing I could not help but think is that if someone had told me last year, on my 21st birthday, that I would now be evacuating a major hurricane and leaving my home and students in New Orleans, I would have been dumbfounded. Being from the northeast, it’s difficult to imagine a situation like this happening. During most of this evacuation I’ve felt like part of a disaster movie. While packing my car and driving out of the city, I saw dozens of other people doing the same. It was a strange feeling, like everyone going on vacation at the same time. We evacuated at midnight on Friday to avoid the bulk of the traffic and have been waiting apprehensively ever since for news of what is going on in the gulf.
As I’ve been traveling away from New Orleans, I cannot help but feel a wide range of emotions. Guiltily, my first thoughts were that it would be nice to have a few days extra off from school. I now feel rather humbled and a little sheepish of my own thoughts. Watching Gustav morph into a complete monster, swirling ever closer to the place I now call home, I fear what will happen to this new place I’ve put in my heart.
I worry most about my students. Currently I sit in the back of my car while I drive with two fellow corps members home to the Northeast. We have taken the storm as an opportunity to head home and await more news with friends and family. Yet again I cannot help but worry and feel a bit guilty. It was so easy for me to leave and yet, I wonder if it will be that simple for my kids. Many had plans in place and were ready to go after school Friday. All the same, I wonder what this whole ordeal is doing to them. In my first evacuation I find it hard to imagine what it must be like to do this year after year, to fear losing your home and your possessions, your family members and friends, over and over again. One student told me on Friday that her entire house caved in last time, the ceilings falling down under the weight of water damage. This time she feared leaving for the fact that she may not be able to take her two beloved dogs with her because they cannot fit in the car. Several other students told me about living in hotels and with other family for months on end after Katrina. And while city officials continue to assure the entire community that there is nothing to worry about, I find that almost daunting to hear. Gustav is a monstrous storm, a natural wonder that cannot be stopped by any of us. Will he do the same as Katrina? Worse?
While I am afraid for my own home and possessions, and while my friends and co-workers tried to laugh it all off into the thought of having a “hurrication”, deep down we are all deeply worried for our kids. In the first few weeks of school I have gotten to meet and know so many incredible students. They test me, they push my buttons and they challenge me every day. I have learned more about myself in the last few weeks than I have in the past few years. These kids are unbelievable; they’ve come up with more creative and innovative ideas that shock and excite me than I ever could have fathomed for any group of students. The stress they are forced to endure is unfair and frustrating. I can only hope Gustav spares New Orleans of the devastation of Katrina and that I can return to continue to know these students, to help them learn what they need for their futures.
All we can do now is wait.