Sunday, March 28
Hello from New Orleans! Multiple bloggers are hanging out in NOLA, excited to give you an update on our trip. I'm Tori, typing up the words of my lovely group members. Getting up early wasn't terrible seeing as a twelve hour van ride at 5 AM the morning before left us all exhausted and ready for bed. We all woke up around 7 o'clock to cycle through the morning showers. Surprisingly enough, 4 minute showers wasn't as tough as you would think. We met with the bunk manager here at 9 for our orientation to the bunk house. Linda let us know that we all have specific chores to make sure we do every day to keep this place charming and clean. We jumped immediately to do those chores and, like Snow White singing a happy tune, blasted classic rock and cleaned up the house. With that done, we were off!
Eliot drove us all down to the 9th Ward to see the damage and miraculous rebuilding from the aftermath of Katrina. It was an emotional trip, but it was important that we witness the effects of one of the most important events of the past several years. It was important that we, as a group, recognize that the city of New Orleans is trying to come back from the curveballs Mother Nature (and others) have thrown at it. We drove through the district, noting the tagging on the buildings indicating when the building was searched, who searched it, and how many dead were found inside. It was a mostly quiet, reflective trip, and it gave us quite a bit to process.
When we returned the van to the bunk house, we took off on foot for the French Quarter. It was about 11:15, and we decided we could handle walking the couple of miles down to Bourbon Street. It was a beautiful day, high in the low 80's and sunshine. I'd apologize for our fantastic weather, but I'm not really all that sorry. Once on Bourbon Street, we recognized that we were facing wonderfully busy and narrow streets that were going to be particularly difficult for twelve people in one group to manage together. People all had different goals today, so we split into three groups in order to accomplish everything we wanted to do.
In one group, there was Audrey, Stephanie, Jayme and myself. We plotted out our day from the beginning, so that we had structure even if the structure instructed us to be spontaneous. First, we consulted locals in order to choose a restaurant with delicious local cuisine. A very kind New Orleanean recommended Oceana, a restaurant specializing in Cajun food. Jayme sampled a little of everything with the Taste of New Orleans (etouffee, jumbalaya, and red beans and rice), Audrey had Cajun Pasta (which included alligator, which we all tasted), Stephanie had a fried shrimp po boy, and I had red beans and rice. After lunch, we shopped and had a great time exploring the Quarter. We met up with Eliot's group briefly at Café Dumont, where we waited in a very long line for beignets. Eliot and Micha informed us that we waited much longer than their group had when they were there. We split up once more and it was me, Audrey, Stephanie, and Jayme again. We shopped until we were literally ready to drop, when we returned to the bunk house.
Mariah, Becca, and Emmie were the "photography group" today. They moved through the Quarter, and followed the sound of a trumpet to a restaurant called The Green Goddess. They shared a bowl of watermelon ginger soup (which I'm assured, tastes much better than it sounds). After that delicious appetizer, they had vegetarian dishes consisting of prawns with sweet potato pancakes, a vegetarian Cuban sandwich with collard green, and a lentil pancake. Full and satisfied, they wandered to the farmer's market and browsed. Emmie enjoyed a strawberry lemonade and Mariah bravely nibbled on a "Gator on a Stick" while they all listened to jazz music. The girls followed the Mississippi River down to Canal Street and, in a bargain to take a picture of a strange man for Becca's photography class, they all helped him fix his kite. Kite situation taken care of, they wisely hopped the streetcar to head back to the bunk house.
Eliot, Kourtney, Nikki, Micha, and Mollie strolled the streets of the French Quarter, looking at the local artists and moving in and out of the shops. They stopped at Café Dumont, and were smart enough not to wait in the long take out line. They sat down and had some beignets. On a sugar high, they found themselves in several different voodoo shops. Kourtney was brave enough to buy a voodoo doll. They all took a walk down to the riverside and walked along the Mississippi. More wandering around the Quarter completed this groups' day. They also made the long trek back to the bunk house on foot.
Everyone arrived back at the bunk house at different times. We were the last group to get back at around 6:45. Micha and Kourtney had been busy at work making a fabulous meal for us all. We dined on pizza and salad, and then spent a couple of hours bonding on the front porch. Now we're continuing the bonding by working on this blog post. We're all extremely excited to get up in the morning to head to the animal rescue. Now we're about to cycle through the evening showers, pop in a DVD, and head to bed. Goodnight, everyone! Hope your days were all as amazing as our first full day in New Orleans!
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