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Sardi: At what point did you actually realize that a hurricane was probably going to hit Miami? Koenig: I realized that a hurricane was probably going to hit Miami the day before it actually hit, August 22. We didn't have enough time to sufficiently prepare for the hurricane. We did board up some of the sliding glass doors and some of the windows, we brought in several food items, candles, and batteries. But due to an emergency with one of the automobiles, we were unable to acquire more wood for covering remaining sliding glass doors in the back of the house. Sardi: Before the storm hit, what did you think the storm would be like? Did you expect the extent of damage that you, and your school, received? Koenig: I thought the storm would be like something like the previous experiences we have had with hurricane warnings where we only had a lot of rain and wind, but nothing that really caused any destruction to the homes. We absolutely did not expect the damage that we did receive from the hurricane. It was a total shock. And I would never again stay in the area, because our area was told to evacuate but I guess we just didn't realize the intensity of the storm and the resulting damage. We had no idea. Hurricane Andrew was the first hurricane that I have experienced that hit right in the area that we were living in. Sardi: At what point did you realize that you better take cover? Where were you at the time? Koenig: We had gone to sleep and actually had thought it would be just a bad rain storm so we were in the bedroom in the back of the house which faces the east bay area. We realized around one o'clock that the storm was really coming in, and it was severely raining and windy and the power was surging on and off. After the last surge of power, it never came back on. Looking out the back window, we could see the screening over the pool had already gone down. Realizing that we had better vacate that area, my husband and I went into the hallway. Sardi: Was there a time during the storm that you thought you might not survive? Koenig: For about 45 minutes to an hour, at the height of the storm, I absolutely thought I was not going to survive. It just continued on and on. The noise, the banging, the wind, the water surging. We were unable to stay in the hallway because the walls were actually shaking and vibrating to such an extent and the noise was deafening. So we decided we better go in the bathroom. We had pillows over our heads. The pressure changed to such an extent that our ears were popping, like in an airplane when you change pressure levels, and the noise was just something that you could never describe to anyone. And the water starting surging in under the door. We couldn't keep the door closed. It took my husband, who weighs almost 200 pounds, putting his full weight against the bathroom door to keep it from opening. Sardi: Can you describe what happened to you during the hurricane? Koenig: We realized that most of the windows in the house must have broken and the water was about six inches , and I thought we might possibly drown in it because it kept rising up. When the storm started to diminish, my husband would go out of the bathroom to check on what was going on. Then I would hear loud crashes and I would call him and he wouldn't answer so I would assume something had fallen on him. Then I actually went out walking through the water to find him. You could see flashes of lightening out through the broken doors, but it was so frightening, I would not stay out there very long. Sardi: What did you do right after the hurricane? What was the first thing you realized and what was the first thing you did? Koenig: Right after the hurricane, I realized that there was enormous damage, that the house must almost be ruined. We walked outside to see if the neighbors were okay. We were shocked when we saw the damage. Some of the neighbors started coming out of their houses also. We realized that no one was hurt and everyone was okay. Sardi: What extent of damage did you receive from Hurricane Andrew? Koenig: My house is not really livable now. The entire family room roof was open, all of the insulation was blown out, the fiberglass was hanging down, the floors were flooded, all of the rooms were flooded, most of the ceilings are ruined, some of them are falling in.... Now we are living in a recreational vehicle, a camper, in my driveway. It's certainly not very convenient, but we felt better staying on the premises because everyone in the beginning was worried about looters coming in. Some of the neighbors did stay. But some of the elders could not deal with it emotionally, and they moved away and just left their houses. Sardi: How has Hurricane Andrew directly affected your life? Has the hurricane significantly changed your plans for the future? Koenig: My plans are changed for this immediate school year because originally I planned to teach part-time and work in my own art studio, which I was in the process of building when the storm hit. Then the school acquired more students than had been expected. Your personal day-to-day living certainly drastically changed right after the storm.It is improving, but we do still have some difficulties in the area. Sardi: When did you first visit Palmer-Trinity School after the hurricane? Koenig: I had heard over the radio that the school needed help, and for all of the teachers to come on the campus to help. I knew absolutely that it had to be really bad. But when I went on to the campus, about a week later, I was totally shocked. Totally, unbelievably amazed that the campus had been a protective mangrove, and there was just such devastation. The building I taught in was completely gone. They had to completely bull doze it away. Sardi: When did the school re-open? Koenig: The school re-opened around the 22nd of September. Which was amazing. The teachers went back for meetings and to try to organize things. All of the buildings which were like mine, they were portables, were blown away. Most of the business office materials were in the portables, so most of the records were blown away. So we are all now functioning in trailers on the campus. The admission office, the business office, math classes, geography classes. Sardi: How has the hurricane affected your students? Koenig: Quite a few students lived in the devastate area.We had a psychologist come onto the campus before it opened to give us advice on how to handle these students. Through the English department, a survey was taken and noted the students who actually did live in homes which were devastated and children who had to move to other locations. We have an ongoing program on the campus with counselors who meet with these students on a weekly basis. Sardi: How has the hurricane affected the enrollment of the school? Koenig: Our concern in the beginning was that we would lose many, many students and we would be in trouble. But as it turned out, we gained students. Many of the children in our school lived in the area , which is made up of extremely beautiful homes, and most of them were destroyed and condemned. We now have students living as far away as the Keys, driving in everyday, to go to the school. And other students have come in who, for some reason or another, primarily I think because of the problems of over-crowding the public schools, parents have decided that with all that has happened they need their children in a school where the classes are much smaller than they would have in a public school. We only lost about eighteen families, that's all. We had faculty members, who did not have damages to their homes, who were in there the whole three weeks before the school opened calling each and every family, trying to find out what was going on and helping clean up the campus. The main building had to be all re-roofed,the gymnasium, which was the prize of the school, lost it's entire roof, so that is still under construction. There is still a lot of construction going on all over the campus. Sardi: How has this school year been different for you than previous school years? Koenig: Well, having had my own building to work out of, to always have a place for students to come in and do extra projects and take up as much space as they needed, that's totally changed. We are now int he half of a double trailer. The space is very limited, the classes have to be even smaller, and it is very frustrating for the students. Sardi: Have the students been able to adapt to the new "temporary" facilities provided since the storm? Koenig: They have, but they complain. They complain about the fact that they have to bump into each other and that we can't have large projects going on like we used to. So it sort of curtails individuality, you might say, as far as the creative process. Sardi: Has this affected the curriculum in your department? Koenig: Definitely. One of our strongest programs was our ceramic program and due to the fact that the ceramics building and all of the equipment is gone, and we do not have any place to set up all of the electrical outlets, etcetera, in a portable trailer, that program is discontinued, probably for the rest of this year. The ceramics students are now taking courses such as Three-Dimensional Design, and working in other mediums that do not require firing in a kiln and clay materials. Sardi: With all of the losses you have endured in your personal life, has it been difficult playing the role of "supportive teacher" with your students? Koenig: It's difficult, but actually I find that it helps for me to understand when I ask them to bring in certain kinds of extra credit materials, that we need in a art program,and many of them can't because they aren't living in their own homes.So I find that I can certainly understand the situation, because I am in a similar one. I think I can help the students more than the teachers who haven't lived through what I have. The students are calming down now emotionally. But I also see some students on the edge of anger. Every time it rains now, many of us, students, teachers, etcetera, have a flooding in our homes because the roofs aren't dried in yet, and it is very upsetting to them. And one day we were in the portable, and by rumor I had heard that there was a tornado watch in the area. The students who had a lot of damage in their homes were extremely upset. I found that I had a lot of trouble calming them down. Their voice levels changed, they really were upset and they were afraid to go home. So, they are still emotionally affected by the hurricane. I had one project, in an advanced drawing and painting class, where they had to create collages based on the hurricane. The students did a very good job on the project, but they don't want to do anything else about the storm. They don't even want to talk about it or anything. It's like they were sick of hearing about it. Until the day that all of that wind came, with the tornado watch, and then they talked. But they don't want to do anything about it as far as art is concerned, to express it in that way. Sardi: Can you describe the role your school has played in rebuilding the community it serves? Koenig: Right after the storm, when the National Guard came in, they actually camped out at our school. They used the campus as their headquarters, and they were there for quite a while. In fact they even participated in the opening day of our school, in the raising of the flag. You could have heard a pin drop. It was outside because we no longer have our gymnasium where we usually hold our assemblies, and it was unbelievable quiet. Also, we are in the middle of a food drive right now to help people in need for Thanksgiving. We are collecting food for that. Actually, we have always done that, but this year the food will be going to a different group We usually send the food to the migrant workers. But I don't think the migrant workers are still here and those that are are not working yet. I think they are living out in the FEMA trailers, so this food will go out to them. Sardi: How long do you think it will be before things are back to normal, both in your personal life and profession? Koenig: Well I know at school they plan to replace the buildings that were blown away. They figure realistically that those building won't be available for classroom participation until next Fall. We will be teaching in the temporary locations for the rest of this year. In my personal life, hopefully my home will be livable by February. That's the prediction. But building supplies are very short right now so there will be some delays. We have to just accept that. Sardi: Do you think there are any positive outcomes as a result of the hurricane? Koenig: One thing that is definitely positive in our neighborhood is that people that we never even knew before, we became very acquainted with. Everyone has been very helpful. People that left the area and weren't living in their homes came in and brought us food and water. And they keep checking on us. The construction on the house has started and the roof has been dried in. We are actually making additions and improvements onto the house now. I'm sure it's all going to be better when its finished. Sardi: Do you have any other thoughts or comments that you would like to share? Koenig: Well, this is certainly an experience that I would never want anyone else to have to live through. And as I said earlier, next time if they say to evacuate, I definitely will. Most people I talk to say they will never again stay. We were actually in an evacuation zone this time, but my husband and I chose to stay, because we felt that it wouldn't be that bad. We did survive. Amazingly there weren't more people killed. But if it happened again, I would never stay, I would definitely get out of here.
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