Day 4 - Halfway point - city bus tour, paddle wheeler cruise

We are halfway through our trip! It has been really interesting to listen to the cohort talk about the people they interacted with, or the things they learned during the day. Today we went on the Adventures in New Orleans City bus tour, the Paddle Wheeler cruise on the Mississippi River and got to enjoy some live music at the Wednesdays at the Park music festival.

The bus driver, who doubled as our tour guide, talked about the architecture of the buildings in the French Quarter and pointed out the differences in styles - French, Spanish, German and American; he mentioned that the French Quarter is the only part in New Orleans that is above sea level (and showed us a marking of where the water line was during the flood), he showed us St. Louis Cemetery #3 and explained the burial plot system that they have; showed us Sandra Bullock and Archie Manning's homes; and stopped at a park to give us an opportunity to try some beignets! That's not all he showed us, but these are just the hi-lights.

The Paddle Wheeler cruise was more about the city of New Orleans and its history during the War of 1812 and the Battle of New Orleans. It was fascinating to learn that Andrew Jackson defeated the British during the Battle of New Orleans because so many of the local citizens stepped up to help defend their city, thus giving Jackson the manpower that he needed to win. Well, that and other things like skill and maybe a little luck!

Today, the cohort was asked to journal on any of the events that happened today and why it made such an impact on them. Here is what they said:

Samantha:

Today I learned the backstory behind some buildings in New Orleans. Attached to the back of some of the townhouses are what used to be the slaves quarters. To most travelers, and most likely to many natives of the area, these buildings just look like small apartments. Though these buildings have actually been turned into small apartments, they also have a deep, sorrowful history. It was haunting to see all of the slaves quarters in the city. Typically, I have thought of slaves quarters as being located on plantations, but the tour of the city truly opened my eyes to the richer history laying right in front of us and everyone who walks those streets. It is awe inspiring how much history goes unseen by the general population. This further affirms how much more there is to places and cultures than meets the eye. My experience so far has made me extremely grateful for the opportunity to get to know the real New Orleans and not just the one portrayed by popular media.

Nate:

What I enjoyed about today was the bus tour that took us all around the city of New Orleans. It was interesting to see the french influence o. How the buildings were created and how they've stood strong throughout all these years. One of the most impactful moments was when the driver pointed out a slab of wood stuck to a telephone pool that indicated the height of the flood waters. Just looking at it, it was clearly around 7 to 8 feet. That emphasized to me just how much of a bowl shape this city is for water to raise that high at any point in the storm. And comparing what the bus driver had to say today to what we've learned about different places earlier this week, it was interesting to see yet another perspective on this city from one of its community leaders.

Leni:

One thing that stood out to me today was the concept of Unity. NOLA is such a unique place in the fact that when the people here face such a huge enemy, they stand together and fight that enemy head on. For example, we learned today at the Chalmette Battlefield, where the war of 1812 was fought, that when the British Empire threatened the way of life for the people of New Orleans, the Native Americans, African Americans, French, Spanish, and the settling Americans all came together and fought the British. When all of these people faced the same enemy which was huge, they banded together to fight. They would rather have liberty or death over a life of enslavement.

The same Unity can be seen in the people of New Orleans today. When Hurricane Katrina hit the city, everyone was hurting. Everyone needed resources, the government wasn’t helping, so it was up to the people. The people of New Orleans banded together and rebuilt the city. They rebuilt the city because they were the only ones who could. They faced Katrina together, and they grew stronger from it.

Brandon:

Hey everyone! Today was an incredible day. We spent the morning participating in a New Orleans City Bus Tour, and then we moved to a Creole Cruise where we rode on a nineteenth century paddleboat to the battleground where the US fought off the British from attacking and seizing the Mississippi River. Our agenda was filled with information about this beautiful city dating from times before Louisiana was even colonized to what is happening today.

If you watched the vlog, I didn't talk too much about what I took away from the bus tour. That is because what everyone else had to say was spot-on, but also because what is going to truly stick with me, or what I'm going to take away, from today will be all the conversations I had with my fellow CCLP cohort members while we were on the bus tour and the cruise. During the bus tour I talked with Ramsey and Leni about our thoughts of what we saw and about our tour guide's imput about the landmarks we drove by. We ended up getting into interesting conversations about bias and people being unaware of what is truly happening in NOLA. For example, the guide commented how Tulane University was superior to Loyola University. We talked and were surprised that the guide had no idea about all the amazing things and impacts that Loyola is having on the New Orleans community right now...in the city that this person gives tours around everyday. I then continued to have even more substantial and powerful conversations with more of my peers on the cruise. One talk that stuck out to me, and I'll remember forever, is when I talked with Tre about the hate we see everyday. We ended bonding over having a conversation about a very, very tough topic. The topic was how does someone that looks like me help others that look like Tre because I truly care about the injustices they face everyday, and I refuse to turn a blind eye to it. Tre and I then worked to the outcome that all they want, and myself too, is love. We just want love. That's all it is. We also realized that it starts with us. There's been hate passed on from generation to generation, but if we can stop that and just start teaching our children and our colleagues about how to properly treat each other -- regardless of background and race -- and cement that into how we behave, then we can progress and truly change what is broken in our society. We then ended the conversation closer as friends. That was one of the most powerful things I was apart off in a long time, and that is why I didn't talk about if something from the Bus Tour was a big takeaway from the day for me. 

I challenge you all to have tough conversations, because I can say from experience that they will change you for the better. I can't wait for what's in store for tomorrow!

RJ:

We were able to see how high the waterline reached today from hurricane Katrina. It was still on a street sign, and the water line was over 6 feet. The idea of the water being so high, as well as the strong winds over 100 mph, is crazy trying to wrap around my head. I cannot imagine going through what the locals went through when Katrina hit. Majority of the roads that we’ve been driving on this week would’ve been underwater and we wouldn’t have access to them. We would literally have to swim to get to the places we’ve been going. The fact that the water was stagnant for months made the situation worse too. Help didn’t arrive until later, resources were scarce, it was literally an apocalypse made into a reality. However, the attitude of the city remains positive. Although the damages that Katrina left are still present within the city and it’s still trying to rebuild, Katrina does not define who they are. They are much more than that. They are loving, passionate, and resilient. Loving because they help one another out and allow others to feel welcome. Passionate because they do not give up on their city and everything that makes their city. They're passionate about music, sports, art, etc. They are not letting that die down, instead, they rebuild the city so they can continue to do the things that make New Orleans. Resilient because they don’t give up regardless of what happens. They’re not letting Katrina take away the city that they love. Their helping their neighbors, rebuilding their city, rebuilding each other up so that they can overcome their hurdles together.

Ramsey:

I feel like that i definitely have a greater understanding of the greater New Orleans because of the sense of community is so genuinely great. On the tour we got to see the history and how the community banded together as one from the war to hurricane Katrina and their resiliency to be able to come together during a hard time really inspired me today. To be a better leader and have the better sense of community and the amazing thing about today is that there was so much information that impacted me as well as the others that learning to appreciate others cultural beliefs and ideals about culture.

Maurice:

What I enjoyed most about our day today was the conversation that I had with a stranger at Cafe Du Monde. I really admired the positivity and sense of transparency this individual had while interacting with me. In the midst of 10 minutes I got to briefly hear about her life and what drives her passion. I found beauty in the simple fact that she did not hesitate to share her experiences in a way that only further motivated me to immerse myself within the New Orleanians culture! 

Aubrey:

Today we had a rather relaxing day. I liked how we were able to actually bond with one another  and get to know each other more personally during the cruise. I only probably know two people out of the 7 pretty well and I feel as if I got to know the others better and they got to know me. Even though we are halfway through this trip— but it’s better late than never. As for the bus tour,  I thought it was extremely valuable to be able to see the houses that were impacted by Katrina to this day, and the water level on the sign. It made me think about the wrong I wrote yesterday about not being able to imagine going through such a catastrophe. But other than that, it was also cool we were able to get beignets, being able to pass by the cemetery where The Originals has filmed, and Sandra Bullock’s second house was pretty cool. The first two were things on my list to do, and Sandra’s place was just a plus. 

Tre:

The event that was most important to me has to be the bus tour of New Orleans. On this tour I got a chance to talk to a low income public school teacher who was taking her school kids to a field trip day at the state park. It was perfect because my tour happened to stop there for us to experience the food shop close by. By taking steps to get out of my comfort zone I allowed the opportunity to submerge into the culture with a conversation. As I got to know this women she explained to me how she works eleven hours a day six days to helps her elementary school students with after school programs and tutoring because of the defunding for their areas school districts. At this point she had already made having my heart heavy but as we discussed further she told me that last year she was diagnosed With stage three breast cancer and along with that her mother passed away a three months before finding out. At the moment I tried my hardest to not let myself process all the way because I would have completely broke down like I almost did while writing this. I’m thankful for this encounter because one; I got to hear a heartbreak and inspiring story but also two;  “if you focus, nothing will dare stop you from doing anything you want to in life.” Another event that stood out to me the as well was when we got to catch the last 25 minutes of the jazz festival. As people begin to leave at the end of the festival I decided to fall back from the group which gave me the opportunity to talk to two New Orleans native who was born and raised here. I was able to ask the question “what are people from here most passionate about?”. The reply I got brought me to a conclusion that was lingering in my head since the first day I talked to my first state native here in New Orleans. Katrina literally stole the heart out of New Orleans when it came to take the homes and peoples families. With all that being said, through the Empathy of each and every person who went through that and with a collective mind filled with integrity, love, passion, pride, resilience and the will to fight, strength is the only word that comes to mind when I hear the name New Orleans.