So far so good.

So far I’ve been here in New Orleans for almost three weeks now, driving here from Kentucky was boring and nothing worth commenting about, however upon arrival in New Orleans the weather and people were noticeably different. Different in a good way? No. Different in a bad way? No. While the heat here is miserable at times the night and mornings are good. The people though, at least who I’ve encountered have been pretty interesting, for example, take this guy who hangs outside a small grocery called Frady’s. He is shirtless Monday through Saturday (I haven’t seen him on Sundays), drinking a Busch and chain smoking. So far I’ve overheard this guy talking about how he’s always being arrested and can’t get a job. Why is this guy different? Cause he doesn’t give a damn. Now he’s not obnoxious and has been very friendly, once offering to watch my bike while I went inside, and no, he didn’t steal it. The laid-back attitude and hospitality of these people has really become a luxury for me since living in Kentucky it wasn’t uncommon to experience this attitude. So what’s so different about Kentuckians and New Orleanians? A lot. Obvious things like accents, but there are certain things that can’t be described through physical characteristics. Arts and culture are practiced in New Orleans. Arts and culture are celebrated in Kentucky. In Kentucky our jobs determine our lifestyle pace. In New Orleans you decide your lifestyle pace. There is this informal lifestyle in New Orleans where it seems primary needs and personal happiness come foremost. This could be classified as a condition of “The South”, but even between Tennessee and New Orleans the gradient is extremely weighted. While a lot of country music stars in Nashville live in suburban mansions, a majority of the musicians from New Orleans reside in their hometowns. One of the most respected jazz musicians Fats Domino still lives in the lower 9th ward, in of the most hurricane devastated areas. It became obvious to me over these past weeks that people here have an honest love for their city. The people here are proud to say: “I’ve lived here all my life.” For me, I’m still trying to find what I love about New Orleans. Yeah, the food’s good, music’s good, and most people are good which is part of this city but without the average citizens, New Orleans would be like Disney World for adults. So what about New Orleans is so “New Orleans?” It’s people first but I think it also has something to do with these horribly maintained streets, buildings that are falling apart, held together with paint. (Markey’s Bar, Vaughn’s), and humidity that hits you like a wall. Yeah that’s in Tijuana too but here it’s profitable.
At a local scale my new home on Pauline St. in the Bywater (9th Ward) of New Orleans, is like living a paradox. The environment is old and stale in a way that is fresh and inviting. Service, quality and prices in the small stores are competitive with those in the upscale parts of town (French Quarter, Garden District etc.) and my neighbors are friendly, like Jeff who lives behind us lets us use his pool anytime. It’s like a smaller French Quarter that hasn’t been discovered by tourists. There is definitely a small community environment in the Bywater. In the short amount of time I’ve been here I still wonder how different my experience might be if I was living in another part of New Orleans. Going to another part of New Orleans for me has been like visiting another town and coming back to the 9th ward feels like returning home. I feel like experiencing another area of New Orleans really requires waking up there.