Urban Expectations

Outer Journey: Describe Urban Settings
        Growing up in a small cornfield of about 3,000 people, I have not experienced much outside of the small box of Illinois. It was a small farm town that lacked culture or individulatiy. Therefore, many of my assumptions and ideology of an urban community are based upon stories, other's experiences, and visual media. I have traveled to several places within the United States, however I would not compare them to my assumptions of New Orleans. I have been to Chicago, which I see as upscale, clean, and lacking in culture. I have also been to Washington DC, which I also feel does not constitute as a community flourishing with diversity and excitement, given that it reminds me of upscale Chicago. Therefore, how else would I create an image of an urban community, without assumptions?
     I picture the urban community to be flourishing with different cultural experiences. My visual assumption is that urban settings are bright, exciting, and full of life, similar to what we have seen on television during Mardi Gras, for example. To me, urban means the specific characteristic of a town, therefore all cities considered "urban" cannot be the same. Urban is a generalized term used to categorize a city or town, even though each town has individualized experiences, cultures, and backgrounds. Technically, my hometown could be considered urban, given that it is a town with specific characteristics. So how do I describe all urban settings as one? I think it is difficult to group together and describe all urban settings, therefor my assumptions revolving around New Orleans are all external, not internal.
      In my opinion, I believe that New Orleans will be an exciting town, full of life, culture, and diversity. I imagine that the streets will be bustling, with street performers, bright colors, and beautiful scenery. New Orleans is known for its culture, Mardi Gras, and my favorite, its varying religious practices (ghost tours, voodoo, etc). I expect New Orleans to be like a melting pot, with people from all over the world congregated together. For some reason, I imagine New Orleans to be similar to South American communities, full of color, street vendors, dancing, music, and people everywhere. New Orleans is a very historical town, therefore I also expect to see many monuments, old architecture, and various other tours. When thinking of Louisiana, I always think of the country, however New Orleans has been the exception. The media portrayed it a lot during Katrina, and spoke of its diversity and importance to the community. Therefore, I look forward to actually experiencing this myself. I've never experienced New Orleans, therefore my assumptions are all assumptions, with no experience to back them up.
     
     


Inner Journey: Why do you have those assumptions?
       As I stated previously, my assumptions are all assumptions made with a lack of experience. I have never been to New Orleans, therefore I feel that I am simply judging the city based on what I have heard and seen. As for myself, I feel that I am a very culturally diverse woman. I am very accepting of other cultures, and thoroughly enjoy learning about the differing practices. I love to learn about people, questioning why they do what they do, in a nonjudgmental way. This is what I look forward to most, experiencing the city and its people. Unfortunately, I have not had the opportunity to explore the world as much as I would like, which is why I look forward to this trip. Growing up, I was not exposed to many cultures, or people that were different than my family and I. We lived in a small town, where it seemed that everyone fit this perfect mold. We were all the same; same religion, same school, same lifestyle. This made my life seem stagnant. I think this is the main reason I moved away so young in life. I wanted to experience the world, experience new people, and learn what it was like to be different. Once I moved out of Knoxville, I finally discovered myself and my true passions in life. I was able to be an individual, not fitting the mold that my small town created. I feel that New Orleans will be the perfect town to express myself, because for some reason I  have just always pictured it as an accepting town, full of life and excitement.
       Though I lack personal experience, I do feel that my nursing career has opened my eyes to culture. It has given me the opportunity to work with people of other nationalities, making me well rounded and appreciative of the individuality of others. In retrospect, I feel like this is one of the reasons I am so excited to go to New Orleans. I can finally further my experiences with other cultures, lifestyles, and practices, and bring what I have learned into my nursing practice.
      I mentioned that given my lack of experience, I base all of my assumptions on other's experiences, as well as televisions shows, movies, and even books. I have family that lives in New Orleans, therefore I have spoken with them about the city. The way they described it is different than how I pictured it, but surprisingly similar. They live in the French Quarters, which is a more upscale portion of the city. Yet, they loved the city and what it offers, so much, that they stayed, saying its full of opportunities, life, and culture. I have watched several videos and shows about Mardi Gras in the past, prior to knowing I would be going to the city. The parades are insane, full of color, chaos, and excitement. Because of these videos, I somehow picture the city to be like this frequently. I imagine the city to be bustling, with music and liveliness everywhere. Given my instructors love for the city and the discussions we have had, I also have high hopes for this city. She speaks of the excitement, the culture, the experiences we will have, and therefore I assume that the city will be incredible. I hope these assumptions of the city are accurate, because it would make for an interesting trip. However, I look forward to traveling to New Orleans regardless.