Arrival

We made it!

Arrival

Outer:

            Finally, after a journey that felt like it would never end, we arrived in New Orleans. When we arrived, the sun was down and the train car got really dark and cramped. To say I was ready to get off is an understatement. I was ready to be on still ground and not feel like I was rocking on a ship in the middle of the ocean. I gathered all my things and waiting in the line to exit the car. Excitement begun to fill the air as we all were getting closer and closer to the door. It reminded me of counting down the week before for 2018 to start. As soon as we were getting off the car, everyone was stopping to take fun selfie’s. Smiles filled the terminal as we navigated our way to the lobby.


Once we got our bags situated and checked into our hotel room, we were on the move pretty quickly. Our first order of business was to get something to eat! I was so hungry and tried for the long days travel I would have stopped at the first place I saw. However, we had dinner reservations to get to. We left our hotel and started the one-mile trek to the restaurant. When we started walking, I expected the city to be like New York. I was expecting to be looking up at tall skyscrapers and battle crowds of people and traffic. I could not have been more wrong. The only hustle and bustle on the streets was the noise of our group laughing and navigating our way through the new city. I really only cared about our destination, the food.

We walked into The original Pierre Maspero’s restaurant. When we walked into the charming restaurant, we were hit with a combination of spices that I have never smelled before. Knowing where were, I could only assume this was Cajun. Although the place was small, it was packed. There was a small bar straight ahead as you walked in. The right wall was lined with windows. The left wall had two beautiful archways separated with an oil lit burning lantern. The menu was only front and back. I grew up with the philosophy that if a restaurant has few items on its menu, then that is a good place to eat. At first, I was going to play it safe and get a burger. However, the aroma filling the air urged me to try something new. I went with the Jambalaya and I could not have chosen a better dish. The chicken was seasoned with their own blend of Cajun. The chicken was juicy and the skin was crunchy and blackened with the spice. This was not the kind of spice that made your lips turn numb, it was the kind that made your mouth water for more. I was so glad that I tried something new. I cannot wait to eat on the rest of this trip!

Inner:

            From this experience today, I have learned that trying new foods is not all that bad. Actually, I might find myself enjoying it! I am so proud of myself for trying something new and liking actually cleaning my plate. It has given me a new found courage to continue venturing out and trying new things. I knew I wound need to have an open mind on this trip. Trying new foods is on hurtle that I expected to trip on a few times. I was fully prepared to eat the cliff bar I stashed in my purse for dinner when I didn’t like what I ordered.  

            I have visited a few different places in my life and I now feel that I have been missing out. Usually when I go to new places (such as New York City) I stick to things I like such as pizza and shopping malls. Tonight I feel like I have skipped out of some experiences. I am looking forward to going to museums, experiencing music, art, and more food as this trip continues.

            Once we left the restaurant, we left to try another new thing. Beignets is a type of pastry that is famous in this area. When we walked into the café that sold them, I felt like I was walking around a festival. They smelled exactly like funnel cakes. This is a dessert that I typically do not enjoy. I’m not sure what was different, but this tasted about a thousand times better than a funnel cake. They were light, fluffy, and warm. The huge pile of powdered sugar on top made me nervous that they would be too sweet. Actually, they were not too sweet at all. It was the perfect end to an amazing delicious dinner.

            When we got back to our hotel room, I was reminded how fun it was to live with girls. We swopped shampoo, hair products, face lotions, and clothes. It brought me back to simpler days in my life. Living with a boy for the past four years, I had forgotten how fun it was to have girls in the house again. It’s almost like I needed this, in this exact moment in my life. We had all been really stressed out the past semester and this feels like a fun girls’ trip that we are all on. Of course we all miss our home and families, but we are enjoying this time while we have it.

            As I am exhausted sitting in my hotel room thinking about the events in the next couple of day, I try not to have a negative attitude. The fact of the matter is, we are in a new city, we have to explore. I would much rather be out experiencing this new place instead of resting in my hotel room. I did not come to New Orleans to sleep and rest, I came to explore. Our schedule is jam packed of stuff to do. I am thankful for this because if we don’t get things planned out, then our time will not be used efficiently.