It has been 75 days
since our program began, and getting settled in New Orleans was an interesting
experience. After being immediately greeted by New Orleans’s
entirely unpleasant summer weather, I was fortunate to meet several friendly
natives that assisted me with both screening living arrangements and an
introduction to the relaxed local ways of life. I was fortunate to
be invited to a retirement party where I was introduced to both the local
cuisine and music. Our program orientation was a wonderful
experience, particularly due to the attendance of several program alumni – particularly
Nick P., Danny, and Bailin – that were, and continue to serve as both great
friends and invaluable resources.
New Orleans – in
contrast to many other cities – seems to display its issues in a substantially
more transparent fashion rather than sequestering them in specific areas. Whether
this “honesty” is a result of conscious decision-making or a simple lack of
resources – if road maintenance can serve as a reasonable proxy – remains to be
seen. I spent the majority of my early childhood on the backside of
a racetrack so the stark economic contrast is not new, but the sense of
community integration that this can engender seems substantially more localized
than I expected. It will be interesting to see how my initial
impressions evolve as my experiences continue to build.
