The Streetcar

I come from a city with a famous transportation system that is both loved and despised, at the same time. The thing I notice most immediately whenever I leave New York is the fact that public transportation is not nearly as efficient anywhere else in the world. Riding the streetcar is quite pleasant, once you're actually on it, but New Orleans public transportation is about as spotty as a Dalmatian (Points for a corny simile, anyone?). The St. Charles streetcar has been out of order between Napoleon and S. Carrolton since I started coming to Loyola, and it makes things quite difficult. Often times I wait on the St. Charles bus, but there have been times where I have waited over an hour to no avail. So my usual course of action is to walk down St. Charles to Napoleon, watching the cars that drive by and flagging down the bus if it comes.

When you finally reach the streetcar, it is like being transported back in time to the early 1900's. The seats are wooden with a glossy finish, and the open windows are the only form of air conditioning. The streetcar does not move particularly fast, but it is quite pleasant, and given the relatively small size of New Orleans can get you downtown rather quickly from Napoleon. Just as the dirty, fast, and packed subway embodies New York, the aesthetically pleasing and calm streetcar embodies New Orleans. It has been truly an eye-opening experience to use public transportation in a new city as my primary form of transportation.

Po' Boy Fest!

Just three weeks ago on Oak st. west of S. Carrolton, New Orleans conducted their seventh annual Po' Boy fest. With Po' Boy stands everywhere and music playing, this festival was truly enjoyable. They even had a good ole' N'awlins brass band playing at the western most end of Oak st. I indulged in both an alligator sausage Po' Boy and a fried catfish Po' Boy, both of which were absolutely delicious (although they didn't quite hold a candle to Guy's on Magazine). Walking up and down Oak st. surrounded by good food and music made me so grateful to be in a city that understands how to live. It reassured my thought that New Orleanians appreciate the better things in life: food, music and celebration. I'll be sure to show my face at Po' Boy fest next year, and the year after that.

Voodoo!

No, I'm not talking about the music festival, although that surely was a lot of fun. I am talking about Louisiana Voodoo, the set of spiritual folkways that developed through the slave trade and has remained a part of New Orleans ever since. In mid-November we visited the Voodoo Museum in Downtown New Orleans, as well as Voodoo Authentica, a small voodoo shop on Dumaine st.

The traditional view of Voodoo, especially by most Americans I have met, is that it is an evil sort of magic used to harm people. The image of poking a voodoo doll and someone randomly getting hurt somewhere may come to mind. However, New Orleans Voodoo is actually influenced by both Catholicism and French culture (as well as Afro-American religions of course) and can hold many positives.

I came into this experience feeling as if my life was falling apart. I was losing things left and right, missing classes, and I just had an all around inability to focus. I was looking at the Voodoo dolls, and I grabbed an orange one curious about what it did. I asked the man working at the Museum what it did, and he said it was for tranquility and organization. These were two things I needed in my life, so I figured I might as well buy it. I followed his instructions, and I'm not sure if it has worked, but it certainly has been fun.

At Voodoo Authentica, I met a young woman who helped me through all of my problems, and even offered me chips and dip. Sarah, who seemed to be in her 30's or late 20's, wore a blue bandana and sported a truly bad ass leather jacket. She spoke to be about the origins of my problems, why I seemed to be unorganized, and told me that sometimes we let things overwhelm us and I need to relax and just live life on one path rather than attempting to do five things at once and messing them all up. Then she sent me to three altars to say prayers and make sacrifices, thanked me for my time, gave me her phone number to call her if I needed anything else and sent me on my way. Whether it was the Voodoo or her advice that helped, or even a placebo effect that occurred, my life became far more organized after this experience. I used the voodoo doll as I was instructed, and it seems to have worked. Oh and if you were wondering, the instructions were to attach a personal item to it, meditate on why I want tranquility and organization in my life, put the green pin through its heart area and put it in a quiet place.

The pictures below are all from the Voodoo Museum. 

Good Shepherd School.

The Good Shepherd School, where I volunteer my time every thursday, seeks to provide an opportunity to underprivileged children that they would otherwise be unable to afford. It is a free catholic school, with all the true workings of a catholic school, for underprivileged children in New Orleans. The Good Shepherd school provides a quality education for those who would otherwise be unable to get one. The students at GSS must wear a uniform and are forced to act with great discipline and integrity. The educators are handpicked by the principal of the school and are all well qualified to educate young children. The third grade students from GSS performed the highest among all third graders in the Student Scholarship for Educational Excellence program, which is a Louisiana wide program. Good Shepherd students also scored 10 points higher than the state average on the Louisiana Educational Assessment Program test. In other words, the program at The Good Shepherd School works.These children, coming from all different parts of the city, have been a delight to work with in my first semester. There is truly a lot to be learned from those who we teach, and helping to instruct these children may have taught me as much as it taught them. In a post-Katrina school system that's confusing to say the least, to see young underprivileged children achieving at a high level is truly inspiring and uplifting. 

Rodents, Roaches, and the Riverwalk.

While most things about New Orleans are very different from New York, one thing is consistent, pests. Just like at home, large roaches and rats seem to roam the streets as if they are casual citizens of the city. Often times, especially in the summer, there are so many roaches running across the sidewalk that it is a game just to dodge them. These are serious roaches too, for the most part they seem to be larger than a quarter, and a good number of them can fly. In New York, we called roaches like these waterbugs, and I have come to the conclusion that these bugs will follow me everywhere I go.

The roaches are noticeable during your first walk through the city, but the rats of New Orleans are a little bit more hidden. While walking down the Riverwalk for the first time at night, I noted to myself that the rocks leading down into the Mississippi would be a dream home for rats. Then, without warning, a rat that must have been a foot long (not including the tail), scurried in front of me quite boldly. I was shocked, as even the large rats of Brooklyn did not compare to this monstrosity. I suppose pests are just an inescapable part if the world.

Haley Reinhart!!! (pt. 2)

So in my previous post, I talked about my idol Haley Reinhart is in town and how I just really, really wanted to meet her. Well, guess what: I DID!!!

My friend tweeted me that she was at a performance at UNO and so I talked to some of my friends and they all encouraged me to go seek her out. I was very nervous because I didn't want to seem like a stalker or just ambush her or something, but eventually I decided that it was my chance and I got a ride to UNO.

We arrived just as the performance was ending, and I ran into my friend who tweeted me. My friend told me Haley was still in the audience, but she (my friend) had to go find her brother and leave and wished me luck. Anyway, my other friend and I scanned the audience as they exited the auditorium, but couldn't find her. We started walking around to all the other exits, and then I ran into my friend who tweeted me.

She was like, "Bryan! Bryan! Come see! I found her, and I told her you wanted to meet her!" So I followed her and I can still vividly picture that moment laying eyes upon the gorgeous Haley for the first time. I started shaking and breathing so quickly, I was so excited. I ran up to her and gave her a hug and we talked for a couple minutes. She said she loves New Orleans and it's such a fabulous city, to which I agreed of course. She also said "I'll see you back down here for my tour, right?" with a little hint in her voice, which is amazing because it's kind of a running joke between Haley Reinhart/her fans that she still has never gone on a solo tour and it's always getting pushed back. She told me she recognized me from Twitter (FAINTING!!!) and I told her this was the best day of my life (true) and she was so sweet and gracious and kind. She took a picture with me, then I wanted to take a selfie with her and she took the phone from me and instructed me on how to take the proper selfie. Overall she was just so sweet and kind and perfect and her voice and appearance are everything I imagined it to be. I can't even believe I met her! Like, she's a real person! It really was one of the craziest moments of my life. My emotions were so high. I'm soooo happy, and I just felt the need to share my elation with this blog. Here's our pictures we took

Haley Reinhart!!!

If you know me, you probably know my absolute favorite all-time singer EVER is Haley Reinhart from American Idol season 10. She just captivated me on the show and I've been a HUGE fan of her ever since and keep up with her almost every single day and know when she's playing shows and where and when she's writing new music, etc.

Well anyway, yesterday she announced she was heading to New Orleans for her parents' 25th anniversary! As it's a personal trip, I don't expect her to play any shows, but I asked on Twitter (there's a large amount of "Haliens" who are more in the know than I am) and someone told me there's nothing planned yet but a show could always pop up!

Furthermore, my friend tweeted me about an hour ago saying she just saw Haley right in front of her!!!

Overall, I'm SOOOO excited that my idol has finally come to New Orleans. I hope I get to meet her so badly, and I will probably cry if I don't (I'm not even exaggerating, and I have no shame about it). Hopefully I'll run into her somewhere or she decides to play a show somewhere! I'm just ecstatic about her being in the same city as I am!

A Weekend in Chalmette

After months away from home in college, every young man will crave a home cooked meal. Luckily I have a good friend with an incredible mother just one parish over. Around 1:00 am, after dealing with the NOPD (see last post), my friends Josh, Dewey, Michael and I pulled up to Josh's house on Desire street in Chalmette.

Upon entering, I was greeted by a poised and welcoming middle aged woman. This woman is Josh's mother, and she immediately made me feel at home while in her house. Over the weekend, she cooked delicious fried chicken, rice and beans, omelets, cheeseburgers, macaroni and cheese and the list goes on. She showed me the unconditional motherly sort of care that I missed so much. I came back to Loyola for the second half of the semester refueled and reenergized, as if I had gone back to my own home. This was my first true experience of "southern hospitality" and it only reflected what I had already learned about those from this part of Louisiana.

I spent some time around Chalmette, including a tour driven by Josh, which was quite interesting. Josh still considers himself from New Orleans, but Chalmette is by no means the city. He always insisted this and I never believed him, that is until I was driving to Canes and saw cows. Just down river of Arabi, Chalmette's juxtaposition to New Orleans causes Chalmations to consider themselves from the city.

First run in with the NOPD

In early November one of my good friends, Josh, invited me to stay the weekend at his house in Chalmette. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the parish seat of St. Bernard parish, it is an area just east of Arabi in Orleans Parish. Josh grew up here pre-Katrina, then moved to Texas, and has since moved back.

It was a Friday night that Josh, myself, his cousin Dewey, and our friend Mike set out from Loyola to Josh's house. Mike and I were in the back seat of the grey 2001 Honda Civic, with Dewey behind the wheel and Josh in the passenger seat. We cruised down into the 9th ward to get gas, and while we were sitting at a shell station Josh spotted some old friends of his. They stopped in front of two gas pumps and got out to go into the gas station store. Josh, being the good samaritan he is, got out to move the car up so the car behind it could get gas. Then, gas in the car, Dewey pulled out and immediately blue lights were everywhere. Two squad cars drove up and parked behind us and New Orleans police officers, guns drawn, ordered us to put our hands on the roof of the car. They took us out of the car and searched it, claiming that Josh dealt drugs to his friends when he moved their car. After getting harassed both physically and verbally by the NOPD for about 20 minutes, they checked our ID's to see that we were simply Loyola students on our way to a friends house. They immediately told us to have a good night, and returned to their cars. Quite the unpleasant experience.

Marisa Nieto (Jazz)

During my first week in New Orleans my parents took me to the Preservation Hall. One of the essential parts of the city is Jazz. It’s basically the music that represents people from New Orleans. We went to the Hall and sat in the first row. It was great! My parents and I listened to the amazing musicians play different songs from different time periods. The acoustics in this little place were surprisingly amazing. The music resonated so well, it filled the room and created and amazing environment. 

Marisa Nieto (Dance Team)

Another really new thing that I experience here at Loyola was being part of the Dance Team. Dance Teams are not really that common in Puerto Rico. It has been really fun to be part of a team and also have something that creates and exercising routine for me. We perform at games and train almost everyday to improve our technique and our performance skills. It’s a weird thing to say but being part of the dance team has made me feel very American, which I totally enjoy. It has been fun to kind of pick up something that is so common in the states. Also, I’ve made really good friends in the team and have gotten to dance the whole year, which is great because I use to dance everyday.

Marisa Nieto (Lafayette)

Other than being able to see New Orleans, I also drove to Lafayette Louisiana. The two-hour drive was very nice because I got to see a part of Louisiana that is quieter and not that rowdy. Even though Lafayette is known for being a town that is very much lively, we all know it’s not New Orleans. It was interesting to see how a state can have different moods to particular towns and cities. The scenery on the way there was beautiful especially driving through the huge bridge. It was a very southing drive. Even though I didn’t really spent much time in Lafayette, it was good to get out of New Orleans for a bit and be surrounded by a different environment. 

Marisa Nieto (Southern Decadence)

One of the first things I got to experience here in New Orleans was Southern Decadence. This gay festival emphasized the importance of equality and the fact that gays should be able to live freely among our communities as equal. That’s what they are; they are human beings just like us. We headed to Bourbon Street and had an incredible time. The festival was full of colors and life. The people were so into it. Everybody was all about expressing their fun, girly side through costumes and obviously beads. It gave me a sense of freedom in the city because everyone has a festival to celebrate what he or she stands for. New Orleans holds a place for everyone that’s what makes the city so inviting. 

Marisa Nieto (Street Preforming)

I have the amazing opportunity to go perform at Jackson Square. I was really interested in experimenting with street performing so one day I grabbed my tap shoes and headed over there. Along with a box and a bottle of water I dance for about an hour and made some money. I was so interesting to see how street performing is different to regular performance in the sense that I had to make myself noticed and have a constant energy that attracts attention. I got to express my feeling through dancing in the streets and realized that this amazing city is not only my home but also my stage.