Be Here Now #NOLA

Greetings from NOLA!

So it has officially been a week since my arrival into this unbelievable, soulful, extravagant, and cultured city. The past week has consisted of morning yoga, jam packed orientation sessions, eye opening site visits, and a lot of fun New Orleans exploring. It is hard for me to explain exactly what this past week has meant to me so I have decided to share bits and pieces from my journal entries each day.

January 14
"I can NOT believe where I am right now, who I'm surrounded by and what I am about to experience. We just had a talk about experiential learning and what is to come during this program. This topic seemed to effect many of us deeply. I felt empowered, intimidated, exhilarated but it helped me put things into perspective. I hope to gain a deeper understanding of the world and the major public health issues prevalent. I hope to gain a deeper sense of myself and what I want to do with this knowledge. I hope to not hold back from trying/doing/saying anything. There is such a strong and positive energy within our group and I hope to embrace every second of it. I hope to take what I see/learn/do during IHP back home with me and share it with my friends and family. I hope to feel what the people in these countries are feeling, see what they see, eat what they eat (sometimes) and live what they live. 'Make the strange familiar and eventually have the familiar become strange'."

Live music from our country coordinator's husband and friend during our welcome dinner.

January 15
"AHHH so many policies, rules, safety precautions!!!"
"After classes a few of us went to the French Quarter and had dinner then went to Maison on Frenchman Street. I love jazz. There is so much soul and talent in this city its unbelievable. Everyone is so proud to be from NOLA. It makes me feel special to be among them."

January 16

Mahoney's

January 17
"IGNORANCE. Walking around the lower ninth ward and I feel terrible. There is so much I feel like I don't know about Katrina that NO ONE told me. I wasn't expecting to have these feelings of guilt and sadness until I left America. So much has happened in this city that I will never be able to fully understand. I just can't believe that after all these years so many areas have been neglected."

One of many (still) destroyed homes in the Lower Ninth Ward

January 18
"'The trip you are about to embark on is unfathomable and totally inaccessible to the majority of the people in the world,' This was a quote in a presentation about the privilege we have as American students studying abroad. To be honest I am not sure how to feel about all of this. I feel guilty, sad, confused. We all have such good intentions on this trip, but I feel like we can never enter these countries without being looked at differently because of our background. It's frustrating."
"I started today off in a strange place, but ended it in an amazing one. Tonight we had a great group dinner then walked down Bourbon Street and ended up on Frenchman Street. I want to share my experience and New Orleans with everyone. I feel connected with this city and with my group."

Class session

Bourbon Street

Jazz

January 19
"Today we watched the documentary 'When the Levees Broke'. My initial feelings were anger. I can't even believe this is 'my' country. I just can't even begin to imagine the loss of hope, faith, trust, love that has occurred in this city. HOW do the leaders of our government sleep at night knowing that they allowed all those people go for days without food, water, medications, warmth?"

January 20
"Finally a completely unscheduled day. Today myself and a few others explored the city without time constraints. We went on the ferry and crossed the Mississippi River and then strolled around the French Quarter in the daytime."

I hope this gives you all a good idea about my experience in New Orleans so far. It already feels like the time is flying. 8 days till India, unreal.

All the best from down south,
E