<p>I am so proud of my dd for her enthusiasm about getting back to the school that she had been excited about from February to August and her eagerness to help with the rebuilding of New Orleans.</p>
<p>But I admit it -- I'm concerned, too. She just sent me pictures of the Thanksgiving holidays that she spent with her roommate's family. Those girls, and all the girls on her floor, have been so lucky in the friendships they have developed this past semester. It's going to be excruciating for them when that comes to an end.</p>
<p>Such a tremendous amount of resiliency is being asked of these kids. (And no, I don't mean by Tulane. I mean by life.) My dd had already weathered some seemingly impossible life situations before Katrina showed up, so I do know that resiliency is her thing. But this really is tough -- the end of high school and the changes in those relationships, the creation of a new life with a new community in college -- and now, still within the same what, eight month period, yet another completely new beginning.</p>
<p>I guess the saving grace will be that all the freshmen will be in the same situation. They are going to have to call upon some extraordinary inner resources to see this through.</p>
<p>geena, I can tell that my son is very excitied about returning to campus in Jan. He, and two of his Tulane EMS freinds were just here for Thanksgiving. I asked them for the real lowdown on what the students will expect to find when they return to N.O. What they all said is that everthing that they took advantage of in N.O. is still there and in good shape. FYI, my son and his friends have stayed in Baton Rouge and go into N.O. regularly to volunteer, so the info is first hand.</p>
<p>The sad reality is that much of the truly destroyed areas of N.O. are in parts of town that held no attraction for the students. </p>
<p>As far as bonding goes, if my son's experience is any indication, by the time I had left him after freshmen orientation last year, he was already part of a "crew."</p>
<p>My son is VERY determined to go back and be part of something important for NOLA and at Tulane both. I'm happy for him and proud of him for thinking for himself and beyond himself at the same time.</p>
<p>Not that he's ungrateful, but having spent a semester in a lounge with three other freshmen from Tulane hasn't done much to foster strong ties to Cornell for him.</p>
<p>My son is ready to go back. Has been ready since evacuation. I, too, am very excited and think it will be a wonderful experience. I've posted on that ad nauseam, so won't repeat here.</p>
<p>I don't think we should over-emote on the friendships they will "leave behind" at their host schools. Starting "fresh" is a life experience we all have with varying degrees of frequency - new jobs, new neighborhoods, new dance class, whatever. This is one such transition for our kids and there is no reason it needs to be a major ordeal. With all due respect, geena, I think "excruciating" is an overstatement, especially in the context of what some have really suffered on the Gulf Coast. I think we can help our kids by supporting their choice, putting things in context for them and allowing ourselves to look at the opportunities this situation creates, rather than focusing on worries and fears. They are adults who may not admit it, but they take their cues from us as to what is a worrisome experience and what is an exciting opportunity.</p>
<p>dstark- there is much still and video footage of Tulane's physical state after Katrina. In a nutshell, the "forward" (academic quad) part of the campus suffered relatively little - no flooding; the "middle" (including most dorms) had some flooding - typically up to about 18" with only a small number of 1st floor rooms damaged; the "rear" of campus (athletic fields and other buildings I can't enumerate) had some flooding up to several feet in places. Remediation is nearing completion and we have been able to watch the process thru video reports by the remediation co. as it occurred.</p>
<p>My daughter and I stopped at Tulane on our drive back to LSU Thanksgving weekend. The campus looked great- so much better than we had expected. (Even the bubble was intact.)They were still working on the dorms, but there's no doubt they'll be ready for spring semester. She can't wait to go back in Jan.</p>