Crazy Days

It's been about 55 hours since we left Waverly, Iowa and every minute of this trip has been awesome.

From the long drive, to playing board games (horrendously breaking rules) to all the laughs that never seem to end.

To be honest, driving into New Orleans on Saturday evening I couldn't help but think "how could this city have been so damaged by a category 4 or 5 hurricane. It looks like nothing ever happened. But I had no knowledge (or rather visual) of the current situation in the Lower 9th.

Immediately we were immersed into culture, going for dinner in one of Louisiana's most popular places. I loved how the place maintained a southern taste to it's decor. I loved the food, and better yet I loved the company I head. That game of flash we played was the longest flash game in history probably but learning what everybody had to say to those questions just helped me in getting to know everybody more outside of our classroom.

Bourbon Street: I have never, ever seen anything like this before. I thought I knew a party culture. But not even Africans; who love music, food, laughter and stuff that's illegal on this particular trip; have anything on the people of New Orleans. Besides the smell I loved every bit of it. The music, the freedom, the creepy people, the dancing. It amazed me how there wasn't one particular type of person on Bourbon; there was a multitude of diversity all sharing the same spirit...a post Mardi GRAS spirit that seems to be instilled into all New Orleanians.

After seeing the damage in the 9th Ward, I've began to wonder; how and why exactly there can be so much diversity and connectivity between all creeds of people on Bourbon yet areas of the 9th still experience some sort of segregation in that they have began forgotten. Why?