Outer Blog: The sounds of jazz and blues drifting from corners far off in the distance create a feeling of floating through the streets. The continuous sounds of music play as if its the soundtrack to the life you are living in the city of New Orleans. The music hitting the ears but not seeing it with the eyes creates this elusive idea. When rounding the corner and hearing the music growing closer and closer gives this exciting feeling, knowing that you are gaining ground on finding where the beauty is originating. This was the feeling when hearing the beautiful high pitched notes resonating from Ms. Doreen's clarinet. Approaching the band playing on the street creating a feeling of happiness and excitement. The four man band dressed in comfortable warm clothing, sat snugly on the corner in front of a tangerine colored building. The colors behind them accented the energy they projected in their music. Ms. Doreen sat comfortably while she pulled her
clarinet up to sprout music as easy and beautiful as an elephant using its trunk to shoot water onto its back. Her fingers moved across the keys as if she was one with the instrument, knowing when and where to hit with her eye closed. The sound being produced caressed ones ears and astounded ones eyes to the point of relaxation and amazement. If her casually playing the clarinet as if it were second nature was not enough, the last minutes of the song were astounding. The rythm of the music captivated the ears and then Ms. Doreen hit a note so true and pure it felt like walking on a cloud. The sound kissed the ears for what sounded like years and will forever be captured in the mind.
Inner Blog: On our tours and through walking the city we heard the continuation of music. If the music ended on one corner, it started again on the next, if we weren't actually seeing the musicians we could hear it echoing to where we where. I grew up dancing and listening to blues and jazz music, that is how music spoke to me on this trip. The passion that was put into playing each instrument, the passion that was put into sounding clear and beautiful could be felt in my soul. The musicians in this town take great pride in their music and creating happiness. Music has been a root of this culture from the start. In the Congo square they played music and danced to enjoy their day off, musicians pressed jazz to the point that it became "controversial", musicians took jazz and modernized it. All of those things helped to create and shape some of the best music we have to enjoy in this age. One of my best experiences was visiting
Frenchman Street and seeing the music there. One of your tour guides had specifically talked about the history of a young group of boys who made history by combining contemporary jazz with moderate music, and that is exactly what I got to see. The band was playing Rhona with a saxophonists and trumpeter. It was amazing to hear how this at one point was a break through revolution in Jazz and it is now being casually played on a street known for Jazz. Seeing this love for music that has progressed through time has really impressed me, for the sake of music people have chosen to be judged. Their love for music in this town is just as strong, if not stronger than their love for their food.
Outer Blog: Walking down the jagged, uneven rock sidewalks through a neighborhood does not scream excitement. When approaching the Golden Lantern it looks like your casual small town bar, nothing fancy or pristine. Upon entering it gives the same vibe, one dimly lit room with locals snugging the wooden bar. Live music rang from the door to the left that lead into a second smaller room. Following our group into the second room led to visualizing the singer on stage, a beautiful short haired blond, makeup done to the nines, a short black dress beautifully clinging to every curve of her body, and thigh high leather boots to make the whole outfit.
She intensely strummed her acoustic guitar laying across her lap, while belting out beautiful lyrics written by artists of the past. The strum of her guitar, the knocking of the cow bell and the jangle of the tambourine (the two latter being played by mediocre crowd participants), resonated through the room till the main show was introduced. The blond leaving the stage and the change of music brought an excitement so intense it could be cut with knife. After great anticipation the first act entered the stage, two elaborately dressed women, one long haired blond outfitted in a long purple dress that sparkled brighter than the night sky, and the other a shorter golden haired blond wearing fishnet stocking and a bright tiger print dress. Both lips singing ten times better than Mariah Carey at the 2016s New Years celebration. The night continued on like this, women dressed elaborately, lip singing and dancing with confidence and sexuality that compares to no other.
Inner Blog: The women tonight really hit me to the core. I had always wanted to see a drag show because I have friends that preform and I had seen the work that goes into it. I thought it would be fun just to admire the outfits and the make up, but it ended up being so much more. Yes these men take massive amounts of time to get figure out all the lyrics to lip sing, perfect their make up and costumes, and choreograph their routine but it is so much more than that. These women come out with such amazing confidence and sexuality that very few women ever exert. That is really what spoke to me. They take pride in their art and they are so ridiculously comfortable in their performance it is amazing. I feel weird when I try to dress up in something that is out of my comfort zone, these women are dressing as a whole different gender,
nailing it, and owning it in a way I have never seen. It was probably the most woman empowering thing I have ever experienced. If these woman can be so confident, sexy and dominate dressing as my gender then I too can find those qualities in myself. These women ranged from being very small to a little thicker but they wore their sexy tight clothing that expanded the room. If they can love their bodies that much than I can too. Attending this show was one of the best things I've ever done, not only did I get to see first hand a beautiful art form well known in New Orleans but I learned some really good things about myself. Side note, I also learned that if someone puts both their hands on our shoulders from behind shrug them off before they pull you down with them (not a metaphor for life, a girl literally pulled me down with her as she tripped over the stair behind her. Thankfully I ended up landing on top of her and not the rock hard floor).
Outer blog:
The food, so much food, such amazing food, beautifully plated, flavored to perfection, smelling like heaven and tasting just as good. This was my favorite part of this trip, along with meeting some of the locals. The combination of amazing food and amazing company of a local is the reason that Belle’s became my favorite spot in New Orleans. Belle’s diner does not look like much from the outside, a few white tables containing basic condiments, a sign containing their name and a pin up model hanging over the single white doors on either side, both propped open to create a cooling cross breeze through the space. Upon entering the diner the eyes are immediately drawn to the beautiful brick walls partially covered with stucco painted as an American flag. The stucco appearing to have broken off give the room a feeling of being older than it is. The white and black floors, the long dining counter on one side and mint green booths on the other help to elaborate this 1950’s diner feel. The atmosphere is to die for.
It is strangely quiet except for the men behind the counter laughing and joking. One of those men was Mr. Charlie, an older gentleman appearing to be in his late 50’s, slightly graying through is black hair, and wrinkled around the eyes, his voice was as soft and sweet and his laugh was full, genuine and highly contagious. He seems like the kind of man who loves life and knows how to enjoy it. The initial introduction to the restaurant was so good, that we had extremely high hopes for the chicken and waffles and patty melt about to arrive at our table; oh how they did not disappoint. The waffles were fluffy and light, filled with bacon and topped with powdered sugar. The texture of the chicken was perfect, they were crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside and amazingly seasoned. The combination of the waffles and the chicken dipped into a sweet sugarcane syrup was to die for.
When lunch was complete the stooped Mr. Charlie insisted he accompany his “beautiful angels” across the street to our next destination. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. I will miss New Orleans more than I will miss most cities I have traveled to, and I will be back, hopefully sooner than later. This is a city that everyone should experience at least once. The amount of culture and history here is astounding and the diversity of the individuals makes this town amazingly unique. The cultural influences can be seen around every corner, the African Americans, the Spanish, the French, the Americans, the Native Americans, it can be experienced through meeting the people, tasted in the food, heard in the music and seen in the art.
Inner
Blog: Sitting on this bumpy train,
in the observation deck covered in
windows, and surrounded by friends I get the chance to look back on this
class trip as a whole. I think my favorite part of the class itself was
all the tours. I know this is a very vague statement, but each tour
gave so much information about different parts of history in the city,
they were all amazing. Out of the tours I think my favorite was the one
of the Cathedral. I am not Catholic therefore not very familiar with
specifics of their religion. Touring a Cathedral is not something knew
to me, but I have never a guided tour of one. It was nice this time
having someone to explain everything I was seeing and the significance
behind it. Picking my favorite part of the whole trip is very difficult
but if I am forced to, I would say its was the food. We had
a variety of
food from Creole cooking, to Mexican, to old school diner food.The beigent from Cafe Du Monde were so fluffy and light and sweet, similar to a funnel cake but five times better. The types of food available are
not the types of foods we eat at home. I think that is really why I
enjoyed it so much. Not only was every dish flavorful and amazing, but
it was so different from what I am used to eating. Through meeting the
people I learned that they are lively, fun and friendly. They enjoy
celebrating and living life and meeting new people. Sometimes when I
have traveled it felt like the locals I had met were annoyed by the
tourist. In this culture they were so welcoming and interested in us,
and telling us their history of the city. Almost everyone we met told us
different places to explore and a new detail of the city. I also
learned through the tours what amazing and resilient people they are.
Something I learned about myself on this trip is maybe to be a little
less controlling, that I can be overbearing in that way. I also learned
to think more compassionately and try to understand others points of
views better. In the pharmacy tour it was easy to judge the chemicals
and mixtures they used, but that was all the they knew at the time and
it seemed to be working. I think maybe I can use that thought to better
myself when it comes understanding other people and their actions.
Outer Blog:
Walking into the Pharmacy museum was like walking into a strange new land. The large rectangular room was lined wall to wall with wooden shelving filled with bottle containing foreign powders and pill. In front of the shelves on either side sat long glass cases displaying strange medicine and medical equipment that looked as if it belonged in a torture chamber rather than a pharmacy. The tour of this strange unfamiliar place started with our spunky, boisterous and hilarious tour guide introducing the crowd to common aliments being treated here in the 1800's. Turing our attention to the wall behind us, he pointed out a picture of an older stern looking, white haired gentleman, explaining that he was the first licences pharmacist in the United States and ran this practice.
As the tour guide held up medications that were coated in chocolate, silver and gold, white powder substances that were poisonous, and needles made of lead it was difficult to imagine this being the most up to date medicine at one point in time. As the tour finished, the large crowd glide around each other all heading in different directions, some toward the arching doors leading to the court, some towards the shelving, some towards the small double doors leading to the streets, and others to the beautiful winding wooden stare case leading to the second floor. Wanting to see and learn more about this fascinating place, I followed some of the crowd up the stairs, the steps showing their age with a creek for every step. Rounding the corning at the top of the brings you into rooms similar to the downstairs, shelves lined with old bottles housing powered and pills. Glass cases organized by type of medicine, obstetrics, optometry, and so forth. Some objects in the obstetrics case actually resembled equipment still used today, the long metal object rounded on both ends for helping with c-sections, the metal speculums identical in design to the plastic ones currently used. Other displayed objects where far from the medicine used today. Three brown bottles, sealed with corks, and identified with fading labels were the most unique, medications for abortions that in too large of a dose would kill the mother too. This museum paints a great picture into past practices of medicine and gives a surreal idea of just how much it has evolved.y a tv,v. Zcv,bcc kyti4i546i5777
Inner Blog:
Today through the pharmacy museum I learned a lot about how medicine used to be and really gained good insight into how they thought their practices were correct. Its pretty mind blowing to think that in the 1800's anyone was allowed to call themselves a physician. Someone with no experience could claim to be physician and there was really no way to tell if they were or weren't. Learning this information and especially learning about Louis Dufilho was how the city spoke to me today. As a nursing student and a prior corpsman I deeply feel that medicine can only get better through change and trying to improve ourselves. Obviously from what I described in my outer blog makes this Dr. seem like a quack job, but with medicine we do the best we can and work with what seems to have good results. The thing that really impressed me was that Louis Dufilho was the first licensed pharmacist in the US. This was not required, there were no fines for not taking a board, so he could have easily not have become licensed. However, this man, like many other historical figures in this town, showed integrity and a need to insure he was doing the best he could for others. I have seen that type of compassion in many historical figures in New Orleans and it was amazing to also see that happening here in the way of medicine. I feel like if we all just took a look at the amazing people who have helped throughout history to build this city and shape it, we could really learn a lot from them.
Outer Blog:
One thing New Orleans is known for is its stranger mysterious side, such as voodoo, ghost and psychics. The two things that I find most intriguing are the ghost stories and the psychics. Since we already took a haunted history tour our first night, I decided to get a psychic reading on our day off. There are psychic stands located all around Jackson Square, mainly the side running in front of the beautiful cathedral. Their tables are all a little different, some have skulls, some have crystals and tarot cards, others have a crystal ball and some candles.
Most of the psychics were women but there were a few men. And all of them were different in the own way some really dressed up in elaborate clothing while others were dressed like everyone else on the streets. Going to an actual psychic shop probably would have enhanced the chance of getting an authentic reading, however our day was already packed with other activities, so a street reading it would be. With the psychic we chose she gave the options of a palm reading, crystal reading or tarot card reading, I ended up deciding to get the crystal reading. To begin I was asked to choose a crystal, there were so many kinds clear ones, purple ones, black ones, I ended up with the purple one. She laid the crystal in my hand and put hers on top of it. Her voice was soft, smooth and without hesitation of what she was saying, she never broke eye contact and her hand stayed laying softly over mine throughout the reading. The things she spoke about included my personality, how some traits have hindered me and how some have helped, she discussed the changes to come in my future, where I may struggle with different things and how I will succeed, and about the family that I will end up with, three kids and one marriage. The information was kind of vague and thing things she was correct about in my personality could have been picked up just by us talking before she started the reading. I am a little skeptical that she was a true medium, but it was still a fun adventure to have in a town known for its stranger side.
Inner blog:
Getting to explore the city alone today was a bit of fresh air. It is nice getting to go on tours, especially because they provide an abundance of information about the city and its past. However, getting to have an unstructured day where we could choose our events was very relaxing. The city really spoke to me today through their heritage and traditions. One of the things we chose to do was watch the Joan of Arc parade, the event was so much fun. It was exciting to see the kick off parade for Mardi Gras and get to experience a traditional celebration in New Orleans. Watching all the locals celebrate and seeing such amazing work that went into the creation of the parade taught me a lot about the people of this city. They showed great love for their heritage, their city and their religion, which I find very unique because not every city is like this.
When it came to navigating the city alone today, I was very proud of myself because it was coming to easy to me. I was careful to pay attention throughout the week and took tips on how to recognize where I was. This made me feel really confident. However, I did learn that I can be a bit too controlling. The two other girls in my group do not have the easiest time with directions so throughout the day I had been stepping in and taking over navigation. This led to a little bit of tension at the end of the day because even though I thought I was being helpful, it was actually coming off rude and bossy to them. So I learned that I need to be more conscious of how I am making other people feel and also be better about not needing to controlling every situation.
Outer Blog:
Standing in front of the St. Louis Cathedral two identical buildings can be seen seen on either side, The Cabildo to the left and The Presbytere. Looking at these buildings you would never imagine that they are museums and not government buildings. The reason for this is that they used to be government buildings, Cabildo translates to town hall which was its original purpose and the Presbytere was used supposed to be used as a home for the priest. The Presbytere museum holds an exhibit that tells the story of a great tragedy in New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina. Walking into the dimly lit corridor the sounds of the news broad cast can be heard. Rounding the first corner can be found signs in order describing how the tragedy unfolded. A TV broad casting the news broad casts is strategically placed over the signs describing how quickly Katrina moved through the gulf, transitioning from a tropical storm into a category five hurricane.
Rounding the next corner stand three large screens playing images of the flooding that was so deep tops of homes could barely be seen, the winds ripping through houses and the city, and water flooding up the stairs as people try to quickly move into the upper levels of their homes. The video was overlapped by audio of a woman telling her story, "we were trapped in the attic, five pieces of bread were the only food that did not get wet, and we survived for days of one bottle of water between the two of us....we knew we had to get out, it was getting so hot, we would die, he broke through the attic roof and we were finally able to climb out onto the roof...". The exhibit continues on in this manner with signs talking about peoples stories, the break down in communication, the terrible conditions people were faced with in the dome, how the emergency system failed and how the catastrophe was due to poor engineering designs that failed.
However, even through all this devastation there were countless stories about how average people helped their fellow neighbor, when emergency crews could not get there fast enough. The exhibit highlighted the tragedies these people went through, the devastation of the aftermath but also the resiliency of this culture and the amazing strength they possess.
Inner Blog: Going through the Katrina exhibit brought out a lot of raw emotions, to say that I did not cry through this whole exhibit would be a lie. Standing in front of the section that discussed how quickly the tropical storm changed into a hurricane, was heartbreaking. If only those people had any clue what devastation was about to follow, maybe the initial evacuation rates would have been higher, maybe the state would have been better prepared to help their citizens. However even if the citizens of New Orleans had know how bad the destruction was going to be could not have saved everyone. So many people couldn't evacuate due to lack of transportation, medical issues or just having no where else to go. Listening to the nurses and doctors talk about loosing power and their patients dying due to that, then listening to the patients talk about the nurses and doctors being angels who worked endlessly around the clock to keep patients alive, gave me a pit in my stomach. Hearing how the generators to the hospital failed would have sustained them, but failed because they were located too low to the ground and the flooding killed them. It makes me angry to know that a such a simple mistake that know one cared to put any thought into, caused the death of so many patients. I feel such grief and sorrow for the people who lived through this. They were terrified and scared and thought they were going to die, one many was so sure they were going to find his body that he wrote all this information on his jeans. This was so if they found him injured they could treat him properly, or be able to identify his body if he died in the flooding. The levy system failing, along with their system failing to pump water away from the city all failed due to someone overlooking small details that made a difference in this hurricane causing a small amount of destruction vs the massive amount of destruction it did. It makes me angry, frustrated and so terribly sad, knowing this might have been preventable. There were some good emotions felt through this exhibit, learning about how so many people risked their lives to save others.
The people of New Orleans showed their amazing character in the face of danger and even possibly death. They are the type of people I would want in my corner any day.
Outer Blog: Oh how my love for food is ever lasting, with no ends to the things that I will try. With trying different foods the "no harm no foul" rule comes into play; if you do not like it then you have learned something knew about your taste pallet, and if you do like it then you order it again. The highlight of this taste cuisine was entering Antoine's, the oldest restaurant in New Orleans. Walking through the beautiful wooden doors with clear glass windows gave the feeling of walking back into the nineteen twenties. The dinning room was as beautiful as I have ever seen, the white walls extended high above our heads, only to be met with a beautiful crown molding, chandeliers hanging over head eliminating the dinning area, with a large mirror across the side wall to even further exaggerate the luxury of the space. As we proceeded through what I had imagined to be the best dinning room of all thirteen, we entered the "mystery room" which ultimately became my favorite. The "mystery room" was painted red, a very harsh red to be exact. But the harsh color was beautifully contrasted by the twenty or so black and white photos covering most of the wall, a place I was happy to dine. And wow how I was not disappointed. The dish on the menu was creole seafood gumbo. The moment the tray was brought in my mouth started watering! The hope was that the flavor was just as amazing as the scent, and it did not disappoint. Admiring the dish put in front of me, I immediately noted the brownish/red color of the sauce and the white rice delicately laying on top.
Mixing the rice in and watching the steam roll off the warm dish increased the anticipation of the bites about to be taken. As I scooped up a spoon full ready to shove it into my mouth I stopped with great hesitation about what I was seeing....apparently that big thing that resembled a peal onion sitting on my spoon, was an oyster. This was something new I had never tried before and was not sure I really wanted to every try. The "no harm, no foul" rule kept from not turning down the most delicious and tender seafood I have ever tasted! The combination of flavors in the broth paired so well with the tender oysters and shrimp, there is no description I can think of that adequately represents how amazing this dish tasted. Getting to experience a dish that amazing, in a building so fascinating was my favorite part of this day.
P.S. The mystery room became my favorite because it was a place people "mysteriously" found liquor during prohibition.
Inner Blog: Through the food tasting today I learned so much about the culture. One typical saying in the world is that food is a universal language. It is a way we communicate and connect to one another even if we don't share a common verbal or written communication. That really rang true today when learning about how the Native Americans introduced different food and styles of hunting to both Creole and Cajun cultures. Because of the different terrains they lived the Creoles and Cajun had access to different resources. For example Cajun food tends to have more game like meat than that of Creoles who had more land to raise animals and not rely on hunting the swamp animals. It also tends to contain more spices because their dishes need to hind the gamy flavor of the meat in their dishes. Creoles food has more vegetables such as tomatoes because they had the land to grow them on. I found it truly fascinating that these two groups of people live in the same region and cook the same dishes, prepared very similarly but you can tell the difference in the cooking through spices and meats used. Even the way the prepare their roux is different, because the way their sauce should taste with the different types of meats they use in their dishes. I have had gumbo before now, but I had never really known the significant difference between Creole gumbo and Cajun. I also did not realize that either were organized by a pretty specific way of preparing their dishes. It was very fascinating information to learn and to taste today, which I will use in the future when trying to prepare dishes of either culture.
Frenchman Street and seeing the music there. One of your tour guides had specifically talked about the history of a young group of boys who made history by combining contemporary jazz with moderate music, and that is exactly what I got to see. The band was playing Rhona with a saxophonists and trumpeter. It was amazing to hear how this at one point was a break through revolution in Jazz and it is now being casually played on a street known for Jazz. Seeing this love for music that has progressed through time has really impressed me, for the sake of music people have chosen to be judged. Their love for music in this town is just as strong, if not stronger than their love for their food.
