New Orleans

We ventured to New Orleans our last few days in Louisiana to do a couple of university screenings.  This was the first time I had been to NO.  I had so many mixed emotions while I was there that I really didn't know how to feel.  It was honestly heartbreaking.  I had seen pictures and knew of the devastation from Hurricane Katrina, however, to see it personally and to know that it has been nearly 3 years and still is still so much to be done was very hard.   This is a city with now 12,000 people who are homeless.  There is only 1 homeless shelter in the city that has 200 beds and they charge $8/night. 

We stayed in the 9th Ward which is the neighborhood which was hurt the most by the hurricane.  We were in the upper 9th, which was not as bad as the lower 9th.  But still, we were surrounded by abandoned houses or people who were living in houses that others would never imagine living in because they were falling apart.  

Aside from all of this, New Orleans has a culture about it!  It was incredible to experience the hospitality and the truly unique setting that it brings.  The people, the music, the food.. its just New Orleans.  We were able to go to a real crawfish boil - in which I tried crawfish for the first time (and enjoyed it!).  If you have never been to one of these - they literally boil hundreds of crawfish and the pour them all out on a picnic table.  You go through a process and finally get to eat them (very little meat for the work it takes to open them).  But so fun!  

I had a lot of good conversations while in Louisiana and was challenged to truly think deeply about why I am doing what I am doing.  About the passions that I have.  And so much more.  As with other cities, the places in Louisiana were just as hard to leave, but now we are back to Texas and making the most of our last two weeks of tour!  

<3