Monday, January 8, 2018

Leaving NOLA

Outer Journey



Waking up this morning, it was hard to believe that we had already been here almost a week.  The time here flew by!  I am going to miss this place and the people here, but I am ready to go home and see my husband and kids.  I have had a great time and I have seen so many amazing things here.  I woke up to rain, so my roommates and I had our last breakfast at the hotel and packed up all of our belongings.  Knowing it was going to rain, we took our picture last night at our favorite place.  It was really hard to choose one place that I enjoyed the most, but I decided that the St. Louis Cathedral was my favorite.  The history that the cathedral has is unreal.  It was the most beautiful Cathedral I have ever seen.  I was raised Catholic, so I understood some of the significance of what the guide was telling our group.  I showed my mom a lot of the pictures from the Cathedral and she is already planning a trip to New Orleans!  This trip was the most eye opening and educational trip I have ever taken.  Learning about the history that New Orleans has and the significance this state has on the rest of the country was something I knew nothing about.  Seeing people from so many different backgrounds and cultures was something I don’t often see in Illinois.  The amount of homeless people here is astonishing.  People walking around with alcohol was just crazy to see.  Even though the city is small, there are so many different areas that are so unique.  The Garden District felt like a different city.  It was like an upscale part of the city.  There were less tourists and less chaos.  It was cleaner and quieter.  I would definitely recommend other people to visit New Orleans.  There is no other place like it.  Learning about the history here has changed my view on a lot of things, and made a huge impact on my heart.  I do not enjoy history, so it was important to me to learn in a way that was interesting and fun.  Milton was the best tour guide and he taught me a lot about the city.  He taught us about music and how jazz originated and how much the people of New Orleans brought to the music industry.  I never cared for jazz, but now when I hear it I think of the history and I love it!  Walking around the cemetery was incredible.  Seeing tombstones above ground and learning that families are buried together blew my mind.  I never thought about how the dead would be buried because of the flooding.  The tombstones were beautiful.  It was like walking through a small town, but it was a cemetery.  The food here is a whole other story.  I tried as many things as I could and enjoyed just about everything.  Beignets.  Gumbo.  Jambalaya.   All good.  The kindness was also another reason I loved it here.  Everyone says hi.  It was a great trip.
















 St. Louis Cathedral


Inner Journey


This class is something I never would have done without my best friends.  I never imagined myself leaving my home and family for a week to go on a class trip to New Orleans.  I learned a lot about myself and about New Orleans while here and I am so grateful that I was able to take this class.  My favorite part was learning so much about the city and its history.  I feel like learning about the impact this city has on the world, has made me appreciate it so much more.  Seeing the Cathedral, museums, and walking around the city was the best way for me to learn.  Seeing things and hearing the stories is a great way to learn and remember what you are being taught.  The people of New Orleans are a different kind of people.  They love where they are and love the city.  People smile and talk to each other.  I never felt unwelcome as a tourist and that is incredible.  My favorite part of the class was having the opportunity to see the museums and get all the tours that I feel like would not be as easy to do if I was coming here without a group.  Even though we heard some repetitive information, it was interesting to hear the history of the city.  My favorite part of the trip was spending time with my best friends and exploring a city that none of us had ever been visited.  I am proud of myself for coming here and being away from my husband and kids and leaving my comfort zone.  I learned that I don’t like to travel for very long.  After a few days of not being in my own home, I am ready to go home.  I like to go out and do things and go on adventures, but I like to end the day with being at home in my own bed.  Not having my husband around is hard for me.  Getting on the train to go home, was interesting to say the least.  We had some issues with seats and moved around a bit.  I ended up getting separated from my best friend and had to sit with someone that I don’t know very well.  To top it off, one of my classmates was rude to me.  I do not understand people that are not kind.  I am the type of person that goes out of my way to make sure people are happy.  It is very frustrating to be around people that are not the same way and go out of their way to be rude and unkind.  There were a few instances where I heard people talking and being unkind, and I wanted to say something, but I have learned it is usually not worth it to get into an argument.  I try to let things go and keep being nice.  Patience is a virtue that I continue to work on and my limits are often tested.  I try to remember when I get worked up to breathe deep and let it go.  




 My best friends.

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