Juliana’s Test Post
New Orleans French Quarter
Lalala baaaa
Here’s a regal goat
The Final Countdown to NOLA!
There is officially one week until the start of the 2017 trip to New Orleans. Our weekly meetings have been eye-opening and informative. I can’t wait to get out there and dive into field work and become immersed in the unique New Orleans culture. I feel so fortunate to be going on this trip. My goal is to help the community as much as I possibly can, and also learn as much as possible so that I can educate other people.
Learned, Most Shocking, Missed
Learned:
The following are some of the highlights and interesting aspects of my trip to New Orleans. The Cooking School was really interesting. Using the local markets and talking with the community members really opened my eyes to starting line of people making local food. Visiting and learning about the levee and dam systems also changed my view on New Orleans. I now realize what people meant when they stated “New Orleans is underwater.” You can’t really visualize the water levels, elevational complexity/subtlety, or challenge of this city without being there. Learning about their levees and standing on top of them really gives you the true understanding of the city below the waterline.
Most Shocking:
To add to the disbelief of water levels, the 9th Ward was an extreme manifestation of all of these factors. The poverty, low elevation, levy failure, and destruction that took place really changed my perspective on the people’s situation.
Missed:
There was little we missed during this trip. And if we did miss anything, I didn’t/wouldn’t have known. The only portion of this trip I would have like to have learned more about centered around the Cooking School and culinary arts. I had an amazing experience and learned a lot, but I wish I learned even more about the recipes and key techniques. We learned about the culture and food, but putting the two together was very insightful. I learned elements of Cajun cooking, but mostly took away that a ridiculous amount of seasoning salt will cover you most of the time. Prior to this, I thought there was more to cooking southern food.
What I Wish I Would Have Know About NOLA
The Service learning trip to New Orleans was an amazing eye opening experience. For the more part, all of the essential amenities were met by the class but there are a few items of information I learned from attending. My personal experience with New Orleans was strongly swayed by the amount of allergies I had. I became sick with a sinus infection which dragged on through the entirety of the trip. If you are planning on going on this trip, enter the trip well rested and if needed lots of allergy medication. Other aspects of the trip, I was very happy with my rain boots. A good “pro-tip” might be to bring foot insoles to place inside your rain boots. Also having a quiver of power bars and cliff bars were handy. If you don’t get car sick, I would recommend blogging in between stopping points as you drive from stop to stop. You can always take more pictures. At minimum I took a photo at every stop, but it was an easy way for me to document and remember everything that we did in a day.
2016 Service Learning Poster Session
Come by Sierra Hall on Wednesday, April 20 from 4:30 to 6:30 PM for this year’s installment of our annual post-trip poster/video/gumbo fest! We’ll have food and posters and videos…and maybe even a one of a kind board game inspired by this year’s trip. Read More →
Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans? 💔
It has been two full weeks since our departure from New Orleans and not a day goes by that I do not reflect on my experiences. Going into the class I did not realize to what extent the “service” aspect of our trip would include. I really enjoyed the farming and agricultural practices we were able to partake in and learning about how they compare to the practices we have here in California. It was such a great opportunity to learn new things not only scientifically, but about the culture of the people who come from the state/area and how they have dealt with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. I was
surprised to discover the overall poverty level of the state of Louisiana. Hearing people’s stories and physically seeing the destruction that is still evident in the neighborhoods was very impactful for me. The people who were the most affected do not have
the money to rebuild or fix their homes. It helped me to reflect on how fortunate I am to come from a place that only really has to deal with wildfires and the ground shifting beneath our feet.
One of the highlights from this trip for me was trying the various types of foods and hearing the different music in the French Quarter. Something that stood out to me was when one of my fellow classmates asked where there was good music and the person he asked answered him with, “Just follow your ears.” I couldn’t help but laugh at that because it was so true;
around every corner there was something new and exciting. Not only in the realm of music were there exciting things to be found, but throughout our whole trip we were faced with places and situations that made for intriguing lectures or experiences.
Some of the most random things that I enjoyed were the fact that we were able to see the Mississippi
River and the Gulf of Mexico. I was glad when Dr. A had us take that short drive down to the Southern-most tip of Louisiana after our full day of working on a garden because that is something that not many people can say they have done. Throughout our whole
trip we were able to encounter and learn so many things that I would have never known or been able to experience if it had not been for this class. I would like to thank Dr. A, Dr. Patsch, Dr. Huggins, Dr. Lambrinos (& Diana!), IRA, and CSU Channel Islands
for offering me this amazing opportunity to go outside of my main area of study (English Education) and learn and serve not only the environment but the people as well.
