Arrival

We've made it. We finally arrived in New Orleans at the train station. At this point, we lugged out bags away from the train, and began to arrange transportation to our hotel. Kristen and I decided to take an Uber and were given a nice driver named Sam. Since I personally have experience with people of Haitian decent, I could tell he was more than likely Haitian. He spoke with a creole accent, and was very kind. In the car, we talked with him, discussing the city, local attractions, and where we were from. He told us that he had barely left the city, never been over the bridge, and never been on a train. Once we arrived to our hotel, even though he went down a wrong way and almost killed us on the way, we were able to relax a little more. Sam was very friendly, and helped us unload our bags, even though he did not need to. We had little, to no time to get ready, so Kristen and I slapped on some makeup and semi-cute outfits. After this, we all walked towards the French Quarter and were acclimated to the area. We saw St. Louis Cathedral, the various architectural differences, as well as took the street car system. 

After this, we all went to dinner as a group. Kristen, Andrew, and I went in and decided to have a drink with our dinner. The bartender was so friendly, and given that I am also a bartender, it was interesting to talk with him. I asked him what drinks NOLA was famous for, and educated him on the different drinks I make all the time in Illinois. While some were similar, he said they were known for their hurricanes, which I never make back home. I told him that we were known for our mules and vegas bombs. He said he had heard of them but would have no idea how to make one. So I sat there and coached him through it. It was a nice learning experience for the both of us. After this, we all sat down as a group to dinner. My table, all friends, decided to try a bunch of different NOLA cuisine to get a better experience. We tried fried alligator, crab cakes, jambalaya, and craw fish, all things I have never tried before. Kristen, Steven, and I finished our dinner early, so we decided to go for a walk in Jackson Square and look for a psychic. It was something we all wanted to do so we found one that we all agreed on. We sat down, each for about 15 minutes and had a reading performed. Kristen and I had palm readings done, while Steven did a tarot card reading. After this, we went back to the space where we would meet as a group for our ghost tour. We were early, so we decided to go into the bar in Pirate Alley, where we were able to see the process of brewing absinthe. Though I had no desire to taste it, I took a sip and watched as she brewed the drink. We all just tried it, and went on to our ghost tour. For the ghost tour, our tour guide Brittany walked us all around NOLA and shared different stories about people, the culture, and the buildings. We had a great time with this, but were ready to get home after a long, exhausting day. A few of us stayed up late to blog, and visited about our experiences.

In all honesty, I could go on and on about my experiences today. I am still mind boggled by the experience Steve, Kristen, and I had with the palm reader. A little background, I am a born again Christian, therefore I believe in God, as well as ghosts and spirits. I do not take the other dimension lightly, which is why I find it so fascinating. After dinner, the three of us walked down to Jackson Square in the dark. It was somewhat creeping, but alluring in a way. The streets were barely lit, but you could see candles at all these various tables in the distance. We walked around for a bit, just waiting to all have a feeling that we found the right palm reader/psychic. After a little while, we encountered this woman, who was very sweet but seemed like an ideal medium. She was closed off, made little eye contact, but in the same sense was friendly. A sat down and told her I wanted a palm reader, nothing more. She did not know my name, know that I was here on a trip, or anything about me. She began by just holding my dominant hand for a moment, looking at the lines upon the surface. After this, she began to spew information that had me so shocked, that I continued to look back at Kristen and Steve, viewing their expression. They knew a lot of the information she was saying was correct about me, so they couldn't hold back their shocked expression either. I tried to hold back my expressions however, given that I wanted this to be as authentic as possible. I didn't want the medium to have any source of knowledge coming from my expression, simply my palm.

She began by describing my personality to a t. This I was skeptical about, until she was getting very personal. She described me as stubborn, detail oriented, and the leader of the pack, to which Steve obnoxiously chimed in that she couldn't be more accurate. She chuckled and warned him that it would only get worse as I got older. She discussed my career, stating that she can tell I work an active career helping others, and though this is not my permanent career, I will work in a very intellectually challenging field where decision making is a must. I am currently a personal trainer at a gym, going to school to become a nurse. As if I couldn't have been more shocked, she began discussing my relationships. She said though I have no children now (I did not tell her this) that I have the potential to have three. Asking if this number has significance in my life, I told her that it was my lucky number and always had been. She then told me that it made sense. She also stated that my relationships would come in threes. I would have three serious relationships in my lifetime, the first being a long term relationship that teaches me a lot of lessons about myself. My first fiance and I were together almost 4 years. This was the first time I had lived alone, began nursing school, and found a full time job. I learned a lot from this relationship about myself as well as my goals in life. She said that the second would be shorter, yet more emotionally involved. I would love and be hurt. My second fiance and I were together only for 1.5 years, but we fell in love quickly. We didnt last, given his infidelity, so she completely hit the nail on the head. She said that my third relationship was going to be very long term, and would be the one I needed to devout my time and heart to. Though I am still young, she said I have an immense capability to love, as she can see by my soul. She said various other things, but I was still in shock. Finally Steven and Kristen went. Everything she said about them was completely different than my reading, which is was ruined my skepticism. Kristen was in tears, as she described her life and where she would be. It was so accurate, that my shock continued. She described things about Steve, including health issues and his love life, that only I thought I knew. Throughout this entire process, we had no idea what we were experience. We entered this, with the mere belief that is was fake, a way to make money. However, this kind woman only accepted donations, and would only accept up to a certain amount. We left in shock, and silence for what seemed to be hours. This was an experience of a lifetime.

Departure

The Departure

As I prepare to leave Peoria for the departure from Champaign, I am rechecking my list. I packed my bags after class and prepared to head towards Eureka, where Kristen, Steve, and I carpooled to Champaign. As I got into my car, I had an epiphany regarding several things I forgot. Therefore, I ran back inside, grabbed the remainder of my things and hurried out the door. Once I got to Eureka, Kristen and I ran to the store, grabbed a few items we needed for the train, and went back to her place to meet with Steve. At this point, we began our hour and a half journey to Champaign. In the car, we sang the entire way, and talked about our upcoming semester. The ride went by very quickly, and when we arrived to the train station, we had trouble finding the parking lot. We circled around for what seemed like twenty minutes looking for the right parking spot. When we finally found it, we walked with our abundance of bags in the freezing cold, inside the train station. Once we were in the train station, we waited, and waited. We blogged a little, took photos, and just talked about the 17 hour train ride that awaited us. At one point, we were so bored, Andrew left to go find cards. We were lucky that the train was late, because we weren't sure if he would make it back on time. As we were getting ready to leave, Andrew could not find his wallet anywhere. We looked everywhere, and even retraced his steps. After about five minutes, he realized it was in his pocket, which was a sign of relief. Given that I was nervous about the train ride, I continued to try to distract myself, watching the sights and sounds around me. In the corner, there was an Amish couple reading their bibles, keeping to themselves. There were also a group of African American females in the other corner. Everyone was seemingly segregated, prior to getting on the train.

Finally, our train arrived and we were able to board. There was some complications with the seating arrangements and everyone being able to sit together, but we finally got settled. I packed all of my carry ons away, and get comfortable in my chair. I can sleep, anywhere, anytime, regardless of the situation. Therefore I went right to sleep on the train. The day was exhausting, so I slept the majority of the night. When I woke up early in the morning, I realized that I was the only one awake so I laid back down and eventually fell back asleep, listening to music. This was my first time on a train, so I continued to watch my surroundings. When it came time to eat, Steve and I went to the food cart, which honestly was not that great. It was overpriced and did not taste great. I wasn't expecting much, so it's not like I was let down. The ride went by seemingly fast, considering I slept the majority of the ride. We finally arrived to New Orleans, and made our way to our hotels.

"This sounds like a bad time to cut an avocado."

Let's be real. At this time, I was freaking out. I actually began to cry as I left my apartment, only because I was sad about leaving my cats behind. This is why I could never be a parent. I left four hours early, just because I was so anxious and needed to get out of the house. I went to Kristen's house early, and we went to go pick up few things up that we needed for the train ride. I was grateful that we were able to sing, chat, and have a good time on the way up because this enabled me to relax a little bit, easing my anxiety for the train ride to come. Once we arrived at the train station, all I could think about was getting onto the train and getting settled, but it seemed that ten thousand things got in the way. First, we couldn't find the proper parking lot. Then we found out our train was slightly delayed. Then Andrew lost his wallet, which just stressed me out even though it wasn't my problem. I was high strung from the beginning and just wanted to curl up and fall asleep. To distract myself, I started people watching at the train station. I noticed the Amish couple in the corner, reading their bibles. This calmed me a little bit, given that I related with them. I also had my bible in my bag, and this brought me comfort. At one point, I look over and see Andrew attempting to slice an avocado with a plastic knife, which was quite entertaining. I was looking for anything to distract myself. Finally, our train arrived and I was able to get on and get settled. At this moment, I was relaxed and fell asleep quickly. I did not stay up to socialize with the others, I passed out within an hour of getting on the train.

The next day, I woke up to everyone walking around the train, going to get breakfast, and socializing. Given that I have severe motion sickness, I remained in my seat for almost the entire trip. I tried to make the most of it, and surprisingly it wasn't that bad of a ride. Driving through Mississippi and Louisiana was quite eye opening. I looked out the train window and see so much poverty and destruction. Maybe it was the area that we were in, but it appeared that everything was very beaten down. This is surprisingly what I expected it to look like, given the medias representation of the South. We saw people sleeping under bridges, covered with nothing but trash bags. There was trash and broken down houses, boarded up all over. Other than some birds, I saw no signs of life. This wasn't surprising, but it seemed as if this area was uninhabitable. Throughout this area, there was a ridiculous amount of water surrounding us. Not only the Mississippi, but other small bodies of water. I am terrified of water, so at this time I covered my eyes and distracted myself. I have always had a fear of water, and wasn't aware the train would go over the water that closely. This was towards the end of the trip, therefore I knew it was almost over. Finally we arrived, and I could breathe again.

Advice for Places to Travel

My history teacher from high school sent me some awesome ideas for places to eat and explore in New Orleans! 

"Deanie's seafood restaurant is amazing and reasonably priced, it is located in the French Quarter. Sunday brunch at Arnaud's is good, a bit expensive but with live jazz music. Hotel Monteleone's bar is an old carousel that actually rotates....have a sidecar, they are great. Cafe du Monde for beignets is must and is open 24 hours. The WWII Museum is amazing and I am not just saying it because I am a teacher ambassador for it"

Preparation and Expectations

Describe your preparations for the trip.
    Travel terrifies me. Being away from home is unnerving, leaving my home, material items, my animals, and everything that is familiar around me. Before I even began packing, I made a list that was checked at least 25 times. What do I absolutely need? What do I want to bring? What will be detrimental if I forget it? I keep questioning myself, reviewing the list that I will use the day of to ensure I have all of my things. Prior to this trip, I did not even have luggage, so this was the first step. I went out and purchased the most obnoxious looking luggage I could find, so that it would be easily identifiable. Once I got it home, I brought it into my room and began packing, almost a week early. There are vital items I cannot pack until the day of such as toiletries and medications, so these items remain on the list of things that I have yet to pack. Anything and everything that can be packed at this time, is packed. I purchased 4 bags, considering we can have 4 bags, which I intend to take advantage of. All of my clothing is packed, with an ample amount of outfits for any occasion that may arise. I packed double the amount of clothing I would need, but as a person that likes to express herself through style and appearance, I will not know what fits in until I arrive in New Orleans.
    Aside from my clothing, I have packed all of my school materials including my laptop, writing utensils, notebooks, and various other small items. I have everything I will need to take notes, continue enhancing my blog, and be successful for this trip. Regarding personal items, I have not packed anything such as books, movies, or items to use on the train. As someone with motion sickness, I cannot distract myself by looking down at a book or watching a movie, therefore I have not packed these items because it would lead to temptation on the train. As the old lady that I am however, I have packed my crocheting materials, considering I do not need to look down to crochet. The entire train ride will be spent sleeping or crocheting, so I do not need much more in my carry on bags.
    I am a planner, a type A personality. I want to know every detail of every aspect of everything. It is draining, yet this trip is no exception. However, I have decided to keep my research to a minimum and enjoy the trip, with its surprises along the way. The only thing I researched to prepare my packing was weather, to which I was surprised by how nice the weather is suppose to be. I have been preparing my blog, continuing to work on my E-Travel guide, as well as review my packing list consistently, but I have also had to make arrangements for my home. I live alone and have two cats that need to be taken care of while I am gone. My closest family members live an hour away, so it was difficult to find someone I trust, that would be willing to stay at my apartment and care for my animals. Luckily I live close to my job and was able to find someone I trust to look over my home and kitties while I am away.

    Overall, I am very well prepared for the class. I continue to research my topic for the E-Travel guide, given that I am very interested in the topic. My partner and I have worked together to find enough research to provide to the class, but also plan to expand while we are in New Orleans. Much of our preparation has been spent together, including preparation for the train. We made lists with each other, check it twice, and bought items together that we both can use such as books, school materials, drinks, snacks, and travel items.




What are your expectations for the trip and the course?
    As I previously stated before, I am not very comfortable traveling. I do not like leaving home, where I have everything I need and am close to the people I love. However, this trip is an amazing opportunity to explore parts of the world I may never get to see again. My family is very important to me, and they know how I am with traveling, which is why they encouraged me to go and enjoy New Orleans. I can honestly say I am looking forward to this trip, with no anxiety or nervousness about leaving. I am well prepared and have done my research.
    I am a very expressive, extroverted person. I stand out in the crowd given my tattoos, bold clothing, and bold personality. This is one of the reasons I am excited to go on this trip. New Orleans has always been displayed as bright, vibrant, a city full of life and diversity, so I hope that I will finally feel that I fit in, by standing out. I feel that this will be a personal journey, teaching me not only a lot about the city, its culture, and its practices, but a lot about myself. I love going to new places, learning their culture, and experiencing what it has to offer. Traveling teachings me a lot about myself, showing me new things I love or dislike. Growing up in a small town, I was not exposed to much other than corn and cattle. Therefore, traveling gives me the opportunity to explore the world little by little, finding new enjoyment in the diversity others have to offer. I look forward to blogging everyday, because I always complain that I never took enough pictures or did not keep track of what I did for the next time I go back to a city. Travel blogging will allow me to keep a detailed description of my endeavors, including what I liked, disliked, as well as what I learned from the experience.
    Why did I take this course if I am uncomfortable traveling away from home alone? I ask myself the same question, but how will you get anywhere in life if you remain stagnant and do not break out of your comfort zone. I decided to take this course to explore, and learn about a city that has always interested me. I have family in New Orleans and never understood why they would remain in a city that consistently has devastation. I hope this course will teach me what New Orleans has to offer, and give me an insight on its culture, religion, music, architecture, and much more. I look forward to the cultural aspect most. I have always been fascinated with religion and other cultures, which is why I chose the topic of religion for my travel guide. I grew up in a Christian household, which was very structured. I somehow developed an interested in investigating other religions and practices, and have always been fascinated with the practice of Voodoo. To this day, I am not certain if I believe its effectiveness or practice, but I am still very intrigued and cannot wait to learn more. The ghost tour is honestly what I am looking forward to most, because I feel that it fits into my travel guide interests. The unknown scares me, yet I am enamored by it as well. Can we believe what we cannot see? Can we truly understand what is unknown? This is why I am so fascinated with ancient practices such as voodoo, ghosts, as well as various other religions. Some things we may never have answers to, but I hope this trip will allow me to explore my interests and continue learning more about myself along the way.

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.