Trying to pinpoint our most favorite moment of this trip is entirely too difficult. By just taking a moment to brainstorm, I can think of several buzzwords that inspire wonderful memories about this wonderful city. So please forgive me, New Orleans, for I can’t begin to describe even a fraction of all the amazing surprises you have to offer. I know that in these next few sentences, I’ll be leaving out beignets (NOT benets), the walk of death to Domilise’s, Louis “LANCE” Armstrong Park, Wednesday night festivals and guacamole, CC’s Strawberry Shortcake Mochassippi’s, hours in Funky Monkey, alligator pictures, 32-inch Po Boys (and all that that entails), van photo shoots, Whitney Houston karaoke, light yellow freezy pops, and that word that Kim still can’t pronounce after 3 weeks (jamba, jumbo, jalymba.. JAMBALYA). Even though I can’t describe it all here, New Orleans knows how much I love it.
But if there was ever a moment that helped me to capture the spirit of the city, it was the first time I took a moment to pause on the railroad tracks and look out at the river. Of course, we’ve walked alongside this river, ‘ferry-ed’ across it, and discussed its damaging repercussions throughout these last three weeks. But on Monday, Kim, Andrew, and I walked up a flight of stairs to the Mississippi with Jackson Square behind us. I boldly walked up those steps, as we’ve done several times throughout our time here. However this time, when we reached the top and looked out across this beautifully wide stretch of water, I nearly lost my breath. The water was calm, and the sun was setting behind us, and the strong, soulful voice of a street performer seemed to linger and everything stood still. For a second, there was a moment to simply be. It was such a powerful moment to think about this river and its love-hate relationship with the city. Though it was responsible for much of the pain that New Orleans experienced, the love between the city and the river is undeniable. This city not only orients itself around the river on a ‘longitudinal’ basis (I don't think that word really fits, but I like the way it sounds), but embodies the very essence of the Mississippi. Both are some kind of a ‘tranquil tyrant’, with an uncontrollable force behind them that is kept in check by an intrinsic peaceful nature. The title “Big Easy” does both the city and the river justice.
After that moment, I think I understood New Orleans a little better. People are always questioning why you would rebuild a city that is just likely to flood again. But honestly, how could you not? There is so much cultural, historical, and social brilliance going on here that it would be an absolute travesty to leave it sitting in ruins. Even if care did forget this city, there is too much magic here to turn our backs on it now.
When I was working on my first project for our freshman seminar, I asked a native Louisianan to surmise about how New Orleans would function in another area. To this, she smiled and said “You can’t move it. Its location on the river contributes so much to the culture”.
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