September

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.