No place like home

As we ventured through Jackson Square today for the last time, I took as many sights in as I could. My favorite part of the square, and the entire city, is the history of it all. I took a picture of St. Louis Cathedral standing in Washington Artillery Park and looking at it just shows how historic and iconic the old buildings are. This view is famous in New Orleans and I can understand why; it is one of the best views I have ever seen. The cathedral stands tall, while the Cabildo and Presbytere stand, looking identical on either side. Each have their own story and have survived many fires, storms, and even Hurricane Katrina. Inside the Cabildo is the history of war and suffering that made New Orleans the city it is and the Presbytere stands for, what I see as, the very highest and lowest of the city: Mardi Gras celebrations and Hurricane Katrina. I will miss this city and most definitely come back to visit. Something funny has happened to us while we were down here though; almost every person that we’ve told we were from Illinois has responded with, “Chicago or cornfields?” We of course say cornfields and farms, which is where I belong and I can’t wait to get back. This experience and the opportunities I’ve gotten to learn from this city were amazing and unforgettable, but I miss home. I’m ready to be back and I’m definitely tired of living out of my suitcase (you remember how I passed the 50 pound test before we left, there is absolutely no way I will pass this time). As soon as I get home I can’t wait to tell everyone how great New Orleans was and that they should come visit too. I love traveling and seeing, smelling, tasting, and feeling what this city has to offer has made me fall in love with yet another place in our world. If someone were to ask me what my favorite part of the trip was, I would say the people of New Orleans. We did not meet one rude or disrespectful person from this city; everyone was so open and accepting of us touring his or her home. I can’t imagine having people in and out of my hometown constantly; I feel like it would get annoying, but they loved talking to us and asked us all kinds of questions as we swapped stories of our home states. One of the biggest things they were interested in was the snow and how we were so accustomed to living through the cold, harsh weather. It was funny to see the locals freak out over 50 degree weather because they were so cold, while all of us were hot and sweating. I have a list of good restaurants that came from the locals and they never let us down. My favorite, where we ate yesterday, was Port of Call, which only served steak and burgers. I got a cheeseburger that came with a loaded baked potato and dies and went to heaven while I was eating it. Food and drinks were amazing there, so if you ever find yourself traveling through N’ Awlins be sure to stop there!

 

View of St. Louis Cathedral from Washington Artillery Park 

            My favorite part of the class was the opportunities that were offered to us because of us being on a class trip; because of us being on a school travel course we got to experience and see things that regular tourist don’t normally see. For example, we were taken back to the Germaine Wells museum that is above her family’s old restaurant. It was filled with her gowns, crowns, and mementos from her twenty-two years of being Queen of New Orleans in the Mardi Gras Parade. Being with my friends, Anne and Jessica made this trip memorable for me. We did everything together; as we always do, but it was much more enjoyable to be in a foreign city with two people that I love and have a great friendship with. If I didn’t have them I know I wouldn’t have had as good of time as I did. The people of, not only the city of New Orleans, but the state of Louisiana in general were so amazing to us. Every uber driver, tour guide, restaurant server, or local people that had lived his or her entire life in this city were accepting, kind, and generous. The street performers were some of my favorite people because of their pride in the city and themselves; it was inspiring to listen to their stories and watch them perform something they love for little to no money. Some of the local performers and artists live off of the money they make on the street, which doesn’t seem like a lot. I’m not sure I learned anything knew about myself, although I did learn a lot of new knowledge about the city, but being in New Orleans just reiterated things I knew about myself. I already knew that I love city living, I’m an open-minded person who loves diversity and different cultures, and I reminded myself of how good I am at navigating myself through different places. Something really funny I noticed about New Orleans is that it is probably the squeakiest city I’ve ever been in. I’m not kidding, every single door in every shop, restaurant, and even hotel squeaked when it opened or closed. It drove me nuts like nothing I have ever heard before. After learning about the hardships of poverty and the victims of Hurricane Katrina it made me realize that I have life really good and should help out more people in need when I have the chance. Some people can’t help their disparities. The devastation I already knew Katrina created was so much more real up close and personal seeing it through the eyes of real-life victims. Their stories and experiences that they shared with us made my heart hurt for them. I will never forget this opportunity and all of the adventures New Orleans offered!

Anne, me, and Jessica after eating at Port Of Call on our last night in the city!