SWB: Mash up

A mash up is defined by wickipedia as

"A digital mashup is a digital media file containing any or all of text, graphics, audio, video and animation drawn from pre-existing sources, to create a new derivative work[1]. Digital text mashups, for example, appear by the thousands every day as users of blogs and online forums copy and paste digital text in juxtaposition to comment on topics of interest, while fan-created video/audio mashups juxtaposing commercially produced video clips with favorite pop songs constitute a major portion of YouTube content."

This last week was somewhat of a "mash up". For months I'd prepared to go to New Orleans with my youth group for six days of service, education and fun for the ELCA Youth Gathering. There was a great deal of fund raising that took place to make the trip possible, as well as reservations and what seemed to be thousands of emails. But, all that work done and over with, our group was off to the Big Easy.

Our group was composed of seven student in grade 11 or 12, my wonderful husband Ian and myself. The personalities represented in our group were so varied. We have students devoted to baseball, sailing, theater, band, music, media and literature. Some are shy, some are not. Some are serious, some are silly. All in all our group was a mash-up of introvert and extroverts, and throughout the week we learned how to live, work and learn together.

There are so many moments that were amazing in visiting the city of New Orleans. One of my favorite places was the French Quarter and the bustling French Market. I swear you could find practically anything in that market. They had hats, dresses, harmonicas, blues and jazz cds, silk scarves, hand-blown glass beads, and more!

New Orleans itself has such a distinctive personality. This city and its people exude hospitality like no other. Their sincere kindness is so dear to me, I found it hard to go back home, even though I was a little homesick in being away for so long. Every evening as we returned to our hotel by the Mississippi river from the nights events at the Super Dome, we would be greeting with a "Good evenin.", cool air conditioning, freshly baked cookies and pitchers of homemade lemon aid.



Please forgive the rambling of this SWB post, but all these memories: the smiles from people on the street, the "Thank You for coming to help!" from total strangers, the stories of how people survived Katrina and are thankful to have come away with their lives and the lives of their loved ones, the sheer determination to carry on and continue to rebuild four years after the hurricane and flooding - all these memories are the bread I bring with me into this new week and month of August.

On our first day in New Orleans, our bus driver gave us a mini tour as we headed to our hotel. He told us where the flooding had occurred, where the mighty Mississippi was, told us how to order a Po Boy sandwich like a local, and in light of all the people of New Orleans had been through; he stated over and over again, "It's all good!"

In the mash ups of life, the good and the bad, if I could get up and keep on walking with the attitude that, "It's all good!", how different would my world, my neighborhood be?

At the evening program one night, the words of a worship song rang through me, sparked something in me, and made me think more about caring for the world, for New Orleans and for the people in my own hometown.

The words went something like this:

We will never be the same.
We are sent in peace,
Holy Spirit come,
We are changed by love...
live Christ, be Christ, share Christ.
live peace, be peace, share peace.

The people I have met and their stories of loss and survival will be both what I hold on to and let go of this week coming. Although I physically had to move on and come home, I know New Orleans and its impact on me will never end. Now I know what it means to miss New Orleans and miss her each night and day...
but hold on to hope knowing each one of us can make a difference in the world around us. What a mash up that is, huh?



If you need more explanation on the basics of a music mash up, just watch the fun video below.

Here's a great example of a clever music mash up by Elvis Costello and the Rogue Traders...