It's a bird? It's a plane? NO. It's a beignet. - January 6th

For a nerd like me, today was an exciting day. We explored various museums and took a look back into the history of NOLA. First, we ran to the Cabildo in the pouring rain. I did not have high hopes for this museum when I walked in, but as I began to explore I was fascinated. This museum elaborated on slavery, segregation, the emancipation, as well as how freed slaves functioned in society. We stayed here for about an hour, exploring the various artifacts and collecting information for our E-Travel Guide, then moved on to the next museum at the Pharmacy Museum.

The Pharmacy museum was by far my favorite museum we attended. Considering I want to be a CRNA, I have a large interest in medication and the history of medication. This museum delved into the evolution of pharmaceutical practices, including the evolution of syringes, and the various materials that practitioners used in their needles and medication including lead, arsenic, and heroin. Our tour guide was wonderful, and very insightful. He had a great sense of humor and was very informative. After the 30 minute tour, we were able to explore the museum more. There was a large section on voodoo medicine and poison, which was great to collect information on for my travel guide. My partners and I explored this section, and then discovered a very interesting artifact. In the upstairs portion of the museum, there was an old postmortem dissection kit. It included various viles, devices, and medications used for embalming and autopsies. It was so old fashioned looking, almost barbaric. Seeing the evolution of these various pieces of equipment is fascinating, and in my opinion the museum was very well put together.

After the museums, it was on. The moment we have all been waiting for, the one thing that everyone tells you you cant leave NOLA without experiencing. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? NO. It's a beignet. Autumn, Steven, Kristen, Katie and I traveled in the freezing cold rain to Cafe Du Monde. There was not an open table in site, so we had to wait for a little while to take a seat. When we finally were seating, we all ordered various coffees and beignets. As the lushes we are, none of us share. We all ordered and ate our own. Bucket list item, checked off. Cafe Au Laits and beignets at New Orleans own Cafe Du Monde.

After our food coma subsided, we traveled back to our hotel after a little bit of shopping in the French Quarter. We went to some cute clothing boutiques that were way out of our budget, considering we are broke college students. Even the sales rack was $50.00 and up. However, Kristen, Katie, and I splurged and each treated ourselves to a cute item. We had the rest of the day free, so Kristen and I decided to rest up before our big night on the town. That's right, it's time for the famous walk down Bourbon St. Of all the places to explore, us corn fed folks ended up in a country establishment, riding a mechanical bull. There's no place like home.

Other than the pharmacy museum, which I will elaborate more on shortly, the best part of my day was the Uber driver that took us to Bourbon St. His name was Major, and come to find out he had been a Master SGT in the Marine Corps for 29 years. He currently drives Uber for fun, because he enjoys meeting new people. For some reason, it felt so humbling to be in his presence. He was one of the kindest people I have ever met, encouraging us students to continue on in our career. He was very genuine, and wanted to converse with us, knowing what we were doing here and in our education. His sweet demenour was very refreshing, and he had an abundance of advice for us as we traveled down to Bourbon St. As I have said before, the people in NOLA amaze me. It will never get old meeting new people here. It's teaching me how to be a better, nicer, more well rounded person.

My favorite part of the day was the pharmacy museum, because I am a pathopharm nerd. Ever since I was a child, I always wanted to know how to do things, but also why I was doing them. Pharmacology allows me to explore my interests in medication, relating it all to the human body. It gives me an outlet to learn how things work, and why certain medications react how they do. I wish I could understand where this interest came from, but for as long as I can remember, I have been this way. The pharmacy museum has so much information on the old practices of doctors and pharmacists, many of which were very ignorant such as using lead needles that were used for multiple patients or using arsenic in medications. I was intrigued by the evolution of our medical field, mostly with pharmacy. We have evolved immensely, from thick lead reusable needles to small 22g disposable and safe needles. As previously stated, I want to be a CRNA. My love for medication, chemistry, and its interactions with the human body have led me down this path. Therefore, I was very attentive in this museum. I am always eager to learn new things, but mostly I enjoy learning how to heal ailments homopathically. Complementary alternative methods are a favorite of mine, including guided imagery and essential oils. Even with all of the modern day medicine, I still choose to treat many ailments with essential oils. Therefore, it was very interesting to see the various CAMS that were used back in the 1800s. They used various herbs and natural products to make their medication, so its refreshing to see some similar practices still in use.

Medicine has evolved so incredibly. In the 1800s, they were so ignorant to diseases and unhealthy practices, so this museum was great at exploring the evolution of different medications or products. One practice called blood letting, was common when someone was very sick. They would make incisions and drain the patient's blood, hoping to rid them of disease. Did they have NO idea that this would kill a patient, and the dangers of blood loss? It makes me wonder what research they completed prior to utilizing these practices. Back then, Heroin was also used as a drug, encouraged to be taken daily, whereas today it is a Schedule I drug, that is illegal and highly addictive. This makes me wonder, do these drugs (if manufactured properly in a medical setting) have healing properties that would be useful in today's society? With all of the research going on regarding medical marijuana and its healing properties, it makes me ponder the idea of other Schedule I and II drugs having medical benefits.