These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things!

After documenting bits and pieces of this trip, I thought it would be fun to ask people (who were willing to answer) about their favorite part of the trip to New Orleans! Please enjoy responsibly! 

Anne Winston, the creator of this blog!

Colleen Karn

Autumn Thomte 

Katie Howard

Sarah Daly

Morgan Skinner

Kristen Burton

Steve Hausler

Jessica McWhorter

Mackenzie Kitterman

Andrew Judd

Gather 'Round Ladies and Gents, You've Gotta Hear This!

 Ever since I bought my first MP3 player back in 2007, I have been in love with music. My mom never played “wheels on the bus’ or any other children’s music when I was growing up. My sister and I listened to George Michael, Madonna, Sting, and other 70’s and 80’s pop hits whenever we were in the car. Once genre she never exposed us to was jazz music. It wasn’t until junior high music class that I first heard the sound of brass musical instruments. I went to an extremely small high school with a graduating class of only 115. However, we did have a jazz band! In reference to other high schools, it was basically “Pep Band”. They would occasionally play at basketball games and learn common sports related music such as “Eye Of The Tiger”. That being the only exposure I have had with jazz music, New Orleans musical atmosphere came as such as culture shock to me! When we first entered Jackson Square the first night in New Orleans, there were jazz performers on the corner of the street with their boxes to collect money resting on the street sign pole. It was in that moment that I realized I was not in Illinois anymore. Liver performances of music are much more powerful, but holy moly I was right next to a man playing a trumpet as though he had been playing his whole life. Watching him perform, you could tell that he honestly loved to play the trumpet. His facial expressions indicated that he was totally entranced by his own music and committed to the success of his music career. The sounds that he was producing legitimately made me want to dance down the street. My love for music has taught me to express myself through dance but this type of music was something my ears were not used to, but my body reacted in a positive way. The music he was producing was so HAPPY. He wanted to make people smile and feel better with the sounds that he was producing and he definitely accomplished that goal.  The high-pitched sounds of the trumpet radiated down three blocks and I could still hear it as I turned the corner onto St. Ann Street. Just as I turned the corner, I discovered at least three other artists playing different types/sounds of music. I was shocked! This city is so open to different instruments and genres of music and it is just SO COOL! Later in the week, we were on a tour of the city and the cemetery with our tour guide named Milton. While we were walking about music he said something that really stood out to me. “The people of New Orleans only have two types of music: what we like and what we don’t like.” I really agreed with him on this because of the difference in musicians all around the city. There is always bound to be someone who likes the sound you are producing and those who don’t like don’t make comments, they just choose to walk a little further down the block and listen to something else. These people are beyond accepting of everyone and everything they want to do, encouraging everyone to chase their dreams. The music of this city showed me a group of people who do what they love to do every single day even if they don’t make any money doing it, which is something I had never experienced before. I think the rest of the world could learn a thing or two about the values of the city of New Orleans about their morals, but they also could relax a little more and listen to their music. No matter how you’re feeling, you are guaranteed to find the sound you’re after in the city of New Orleans.

Forget race, gender, or religion, I think music is the most diverse aspect on the culture within New Orleans. There are musicians playing live on the streets all over the city and none of them are ever the same. Seriously! I was there for six days and I never saw the same musicians twice. There are solo performers, group performers, and performers that follow weddings throughout the streets! Two of the most interesting to me were the groups and the bands following the weddings. The coolest band I saw was on Saturday during our free day. They had blocked off an area of the street for all six of their members to spread out to perform. They were not playing traditional instruments, but what looked like household items that they turned into instruments! One of the men was sitting on a bucket playing an old washboard with a wooden spoon (no I am not joking). He was sitting on a small bucket while stroking the board and tapping his foot to the rhythm of the music. The next musician was playing a five-gallon bucket. He flipped it over and was created a deep drumming noise by striking the top of the bucket with his hands. Two women were singing and dancing in the middle of the noise being created around them. The other men were playing the banjo, harmonica, and trumpet. Despite the fact that none of these instruments come from the same musical family (or are even real instruments at all), the sounds worked so well together! You could tell that these performers were so passionate about the music they were creating; they were all in sync with their movements, transitions, and shared facial expressions of happiness while performing. Their excitement was contagious! I felt happy and filled with energy listening to high-pitched and fast-paced music. The mood of their music was contagious and seemed to affect everyone watching their performance. Personally, I was dancing a jig along with them and was joined by others watching in the crowd (but not by my friends!) Later on that day we came across what we thought was a rescheduled parade from the night before…little did we know that it was actually a wedding parade! If you are married in the city of New Orleans they will provide you with a band to parade you through the streets of the French Quarter to celebrate your marriage. I practically chased them down the street because I wanted to see the whole bridal party because I may or may not have a slight obsession with weddings, but whatever who cares. ANYWAY the wedding party and the wedding band walking down the city streets of New Orleans dancing and celebrating to the loud music, following the bride and groom! The brass instruments of the band were producing music that matched the mood of the wedding environment with a loud, happy, upbeat, spunky, and fun sound. Everyone in the wedding party and on the street seemed to be positively infected with the music and were dancing in the street! Being exposed to such a unique New Orleans experience is something that I cherish and will think about the next time I hear brass instruments being played. The strong sounds produced by theses instruments will be carried with me and will be easily remembered and recalled on when I am wanting to reminisce on the great memories I gained in New Orleans.

This is an example of the band/wedding parade I witnessed while in New Orleans! 

Nananana Nananana Hey Hey Hey, Goodbye!

The last morning here on our trip was equal parts busy and bittersweet. I was way too lazy last night and did not pack my suitcase (like I should have). So this morning Jessica was practically yelling at me to physically get out of bed and get my shit together. After a solid five minutes of arguing with her and throwing a fit, I finally got out of bed, rushed around the room while throwing my stuff in my bags and getting down to have breakfast! I was so sad to be having my last waffle in the hotel because the waffle maker is seriously my favorite part. I know that cereal is all fine and dandy, but the waffle maker is rare in the hotel world and I was so happy to have one here on this trip. When we got down to Jackson Square I could not help but feel sad that it would be a long time before I could view the square again. It was so different than what I remember from my visit back in 2010. I was only fifteen at the time and was not aware of all the different culture around me, but being seven years wiser I was able to take in so many cool details about this amazing city. When I think back and remember the city of New Orleans, I will remember by favorite place in Jackson Square on the corner of St. Ann and Chartres Street. I will miss this part of the city! I have met so many different people differing in culture and talents throughout this week at Jackson Square. From this location, I was able to see street performers, musicians, artists, and women reading tarot cards and predicting the future. Architecturally, this corner provides the view of the most famous buildings in New Orleans including; the St. Louis Cathedral, Cabildo, Presbytere, and the buildings designed and built the first apartment buildings, Micaela Pontalba. Not only was this woman ground breaking in the city of New Orleans with all she created, she was also a totally badass! Her father in law tried to kill her because he did not approve of how she was handling her inheritance from father; he shot her four times and she survived! That is when she moved back to New Orleans and started showing men and everyone else in the city that she is powerful and successful no matter who standing in here way (or trying to kill her). All of these locations, people, and places are filled with so much history that is it kind of overwhelming! Not only will I be recommending people to come and visit New Orleans and stand on the corner of St. Ann and Chartres, but also I will practically be begging them to take me with them. Sitting down, closing my eyes, and thinking about the city of New Orleans my mind will travel to this corner of Jackson Square. I can hear the sound of trumpets sounding in multiple locations, I can see small tables with women reading palms and tarot cards, I can see local artists describing their art to people walking by, I can feel the cold breeze on my face and I can taste the best cup of coffee I have ever had, coming from Café de Monde. If someone is every trying to come up with a location for a vacation, I won’t have a hard time convincing anyone to travel to New Orleans.

The anticipation and excitement over the past 255 days about our travel course to New Orleans have come and gone and I am sad about it! I always look so forward to going on trips and then in the blink of an eye it’s over! It is so disappointing to me that I have looked forward to a trip for over half of a year and then in a matter of six days, it is all over! I had an absolute great time during this trip to New Orleans. When I was telling my family members about this trip during holiday time, none of them thought that I would enjoy myself because the trip was for school…boy they were wrong! I have always been the child who loves going to school and learning new things. I always thought summer was too long and I was already ready to go back to school. The most interesting parts of this trip had to do with educational journeys. My favorite part of the class was learning about all of the powerful women in the history of New Orleans. I was sad to think that at the age of twenty-two I had never learned about these powerfully influential women in high school or history class, but now I feel fortunate to know so much more about them and the success they had in their lifetime! I know that there were a lot of important men in the history of New Orleans, but to be honest, I don’t care about them. Men always have monuments erected in their honor and the world is the first to know about the successful men, but we do not normally hear about the success of women. The people of New Orleans are PROUD of the women of their past and how they have changed the city; it was a refreshing and something I had never experienced before. My favorite part of this trip of this trip is all the memories I gained with my roommates Mackenzie and Jessica. I live with Mackenzie everyday in our apartment so I basically know everything about her. Jessica on the other hand was the friend that we only talked to at school but could never find a time to hangout. We all became so close over this past week and I couldn’t be happier! Being on a trip with people who you do not enjoy can really put a damper on the experience! I am feeling thankful and blessed that I was surrounded my positive people which developed into positive experiences the entire week. Three girls were living in the same hotel room for a week and did not have a single fight or develop any drama between them; that my friend is what I call a miracle.

            As I have talked about in previous posts, this trip to New Orleans has taught me a lot about myself. This trip turned out to be a “test” within myself about how ready I am to be on my own. Graduation may only be eighteen months away, but I feel like I have to start developing the skills now to be successful when I really have to enter the real world on my own. During this trip, I found myself with the confidence to navigate through a foreign city and make financial choices for myself. Leaving New Orleans, I am leaving with a newfound confidence in myself and my ability to be confident and happy with whom I am as a person. The culture of New Orleans has showed me a world where everyone is accepting no matter what color, gender, or occupation you hold. I felt right at home in this type of environment and appreciate the way this city has changed my views and opinions of myself as a young woman. Overall, I appreciated every single experience I have encountered during my time in New Orleans. I know that if I am every going through a changing time in my life, New Orleans is a safe and confortable place to do some soul searching.

This is a panoramic view of my favorite location in New Orleans!

Anne and Art typically do not get along

I usually have an eye for the strangest art on the street. If you were to line up ten pieces of art, I will always pick the one I think is the most obscure because that is the most appealing to me. When I locked eyes with the first piece of the artist, it was like I was hypnotized in a trance and floated into the art gallery. I wanted to know more information about the artist almost immediately. His name is Cameron White but goes by the name of Shakor. He was born and raised in New York; he gained his education and moved to New Orleans in 1990 and began his career as an artists. He has been extremely successful and has landed himself a spot in a national gallery exhibit of art. His motto was painted on the inside of his gallery above the door and it read, “There is a time and a place for everything done under the sun”. This motto was so appropriate for his art based on the subjects of his pieces. There were images of bands like ONE DIRECTION (and I was totally fan-girling), The Police, and The Beatles. There were also images of different landscapes, besides New Orleans locations. One in particular was an image of a cornfield; it reminded me so much of my own culture. I wanted to know his where his inspiration came from for this piece, but he was not in the gallery that day (sad face). All of the pieces of art in the gallery caught my eye! They were all painted with what can be described as, “really thick paint”. It looked as though the artist added flour to a gallon of paint, poured it on a canvas, and pushed it around the canvas with a broom. It was amazing to me that the artist was able to manipulate the paint in a way to create such mesmerizing way.  Beyond the texture of the paint were the intensely bright colors he chose for his paintings. I could not believe that what I was looking at was painted onto a canvas! I got caught touching the painting and was almost asked to leave the gallery (oops!). I tried to explain to the lady working within the gallery that I have never seen colors as vibrant as the ones displayed in the painting and I just wanted to know how in the heck it was happening! I’m serious! The painting about the corn was amazing! I am born and raised from Illinois so you can bet that I know exactly what corn is supposed to look like. But Shakor displayed corn in a way that made it almost unfamiliar for me to recognize because it was so beautiful! Each kernel of corn looked like it was hand shaped by an extremely thin brush. The detail of this artists work was just amazing to me; I had never seen anything like it. I would have loved to have taken some of his artwork home with me, but I would have needed to sell four pints of plasma and gotten another part time job in order to pay for the work. The worker was also watching me very closely after I was caught red handed touching the painting so I was unable to snap any pictures of my own of his amazing work. I did take a business card with information about the artist and his website! Maybe if I have a couple extra dollars laying around every now and then I will be able to save enough money in thirty years to buy one of his pieces of art!

I have zero artistic ability. None what so ever. I never have been able to draw a straight line and can barley write my own name. That being said, it was strange and difficult for me to be able to pick an artist of New Orleans who I appreciate and admire. I was desperately hunting all week for art that would stick out to me and searching for an artist that I could relate to in some way. FINALLY I FOUND HIM! His art caught my eye in the small corner of the Washington Artillery Park next to the staircase. One particular painting that caught my eye was an image of a painting of an African American man entwined in an intimate pose with a woman who appears to be mixed with different cultures. This image is absolutely stunning. This artist was able to capture the intimate connection between these two people. Whether or not this was a sketch taken by drawing models or the image appears to the artist in his own head, the image is breathtaking. He was able to capture the love and passion of these two souls and pour it into the canvas. I took one look at the canvas and knew that the two models in the painting shared a deep connection. The image made me think of my own love life. I recently separated myself from my fiancé and have started my life on my own. This image immediately reminded me of memories of when I was in love and completely open and exposed with someone. To have another human being who accepts you and encompasses your world within theirs, that feeling is irreplaceable. This artist had the ability to take me back in time with just one look of a powerful image he created. Not only did the connection between the models in the painting inspire a deep emotion rapidly within me, but the color in the painting was inspiring as well. The woman was wearing a brightly colored headdress and necklace around her naked body. To me, the bright colors represent her personality through the image as they drape her naked body. The colors completely contrasted the colors of the skin on the models. I interpreted this as meaning that despite the giant contrast that could be occurring in certain characteristics within the personalities of the models, they still share a strong and deep connection despite the qualities within them that may differ. I may be taking the meaning of this painting too far, but this painting made me feel good. It was such an intimate image of two people that made me feel as though they had a strong connection. This image instantly brought me back to old memories that I have created in my own life and developed goals and hopes for future relationships. I was unable to talk to the artist about his art or learn anything about this specific piece, but I fell in love with the painting based on the descriptions and imagery I had created in my own mind with just one glance at this painting.

Because the image is has a copyright, I was unable to obtain a clear image of the painting but borrowed this one from the website! 

Sunday Funday was actually super sad

When I woke up and checked the weather forecast about the temperature today, I had some choice words with all the “weather gods”. If I wanted to participate in the freakin’ cold weather that requires winter coats, gloves, and scarves I would have stayed home in the miserably cold state of Illinois! After we bundled up with at least three different layers and headed out into the cold to participate in our three-hour tour that included the St. Louis Graveyard number one. I LOVED OUR TOUR GUIDE MILTON. He has lived in New Orleans all of his life and you could tell that he really didn’t want to live anywhere else. He was so proud and knowledgeable about the history of New Orleans and the different cultures that developed and were brought to America in the 1700’s. He told us about different locations within the French Quarter that were historical and different than the other seventy-four tours we have been on this week which I thought was super interesting! No matter who you talk to in the city of New Orleans, you will always get a different opinion about the history, local cuisine, or even the “must see” locations in the city. Once we move through the French Quarter, we arrived at the graveyard. This location was totally badass in my opinion. Despite the fact that we were walking around in the burial place of thousands of different spirits, it was beyond interesting to know how families take care of different gravesites and how they mourn those who have past one. I identify with this type of burial on different levels. Most importantly, I do not believe that death is something that has to be associated with sadness. I believe that whatever happens after we die has to be a positive experience. I do not believe in hell but I do believe that spirits carry on forever, just as they believe in New Orleans. The most interesting thing about this graveyard was that Nicholas Cage has already purchased a lot and built a tomb for himself in the shape of a giant pyramid. In case anyone has forgotten, Nicholas Cage is not dead yet. Milton told us that the tomb cost $40,000 to build (and then shortly after he went bankrupt because of the bad karma). I love how the culture and religion of New Orleans believes that if you build a tomb before you are dead that is bad karma, because if you think about it, it totally is. You are preparing your place of burial before you are already dead, that is just messed up! Then after we finished the tour, we headed to lunch with a group of students that I was not that familiar with and I am so glad that I did. This trip has developed friendships that I honestly did not expect to happen. I feel so lucky to have developed deeper connections with people I will be spending the next thirty-six months with. It is one thing to walk through the hallways of the same school building and awkwardly smile in the hallway; but this trip has allowed me to connect with other people about the memories we have shared together and the information we learned together and that is something I really cherish about this travel course.

 This is a tomb established in the 1800's.  

This is the tomb that Nicholas Cage has built for himself in preparation of his death. 

The city of New Orleans were speaking loud and clear to me today about their culture and their burial traditions. I believe that death is not something that should be associated with the emotion of sadness. Death is a celebration of life in New Orleans! Yes, I am sad when I lose a loved one (I do indeed have a heart) but I think that the after life is something positive and even has the potential to be better than the real life. On the other hand, I do not like how the graveyards are set up in the city of New Orleans. I cannot imagine having to prove my relation to my family to be able to visit the gravesites of my family members.  I felt slightly uneasy being inside the graveyard and walking around somewhere someone’s family is in their final resting place. I felt as though it should be a sacred ground for family to go and visit their families. I for one would not want someone walking around touring the cemetery where my grandmother is buried and walking all over or leaning on her grave. I think it is great that the city of New Orleans celebrates life with the traditions that they posses, but I do not think graveyards should be a tourist attraction. After the graveyard visit, we finally visited the location that I have been looking forward to all week; the Hurricane Katrina museum. Mackenzie, Jessica and I all did our E-Travel guide on Hurricane Katrina so we have been looking forward to this historical stop on the trip ever since we arrived in New Orleans. The whole time that I was walking through the exhibit, I was trying to put myself in the shoes of those who were drastically affected and I could not come up with anything close to the harsh reality that they were forced to face eleven years ago. I have lived in one of the flattest states in America all of my life and always receive more snow than rain water. In my previous blog posts, I have talked about how much of a spoiled brat I am and I really felt it again today. Even earlier in the day I was complaining about the weather and how cold it was. That is absolutely nothing compared to the hardships dealing with weather the people of New Orleans were dealing with after hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The exhibit provided those who were visiting with stories about victims of Katrina who were living in the lower ninth ward. I listened to stories about people who were trapped on the roofs of their homes for four days without anything to eat or drink while other survivors were cramped into the Superdome with 35,000 other people who lost their homes. I cannot begin to imagine how those people were feeling, what they were seeing, hearing or even feeling both internally and externally. After reading even more stories of tragedy dealing with Hurricane Katrina, my heart hurts and extends out to the victims of the hurricane and I was happy to read and learn about some of the successes that those affected have had over the past eleven years with rebuilding their lives.

This map shows the effected areas of Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. The reddened areas indicated flooding; 80% of the city of New Orleans was under water and some parts of the city were submerged  below twenty-four feet of water.