Cheers!
But I digress. Through the thundering noise of chirping crickets and a few family members and friends frantically trying to close this tab that I've tricked them into opening, I can hear some of you rhetorically asking what brought me yet again to this lovely little Crescent City, deep in the American South. Well, I was lucky enough to get a scholarship to finish my dissertation here at UNO's Center Austria. Now, some of you might be wondering what it is I'm actually working on, but even my mum tends to zone out a minute or two into my ever-changing attempts at answering that question, so here's the SparkNotes version: "18th century piracy in the Mediterranean - American captives in North Africa - captivity narratives reflecting and shaping early American identity." There's no immediate connection to New Orleans (except for weirdly named neighborhoods like Algiers, Tunisburg and Arabi, which I plan to look into), but I'm actually getting money and resources to work on my dissertation, so I'm not complaining. But none of you are here to read about reading, so let us move on to more pleasant topics. How's life in the Big Easy?
After a tumultuous last few weeks in Austria and a sweet little road trip in and around New York that involved a birthday party in Manhattan for Lisa (yes, that Lisa! Hope you didn't think I'd get rid of the best gift New Orleans ever gave me*), visiting my lovely aunt in Upstate New York and Mike and Lisa's wedding reception in Dillsburg, PA ...
Finally I can cross that off my bucket list!
... I arrived here in New Orleans. And what can I say? It's still the same old whacky city, only twice as hot.
Nothing new on the stop signs front, they still don't work here.
I love my apartment, my roommate is great, and my new Center Austria family (Günter, Theresa and our guardian angel Gertraud) made me feel right at home. I don't have to take any classes (which is good, as student fees have just about doubled in the last five years), but I've visited some of my old professors (yes, I'm that kind of student) and everybody was extremely welcoming and super helpful in terms of burying me in books I absolutely have to (!) read for my research. I don't study all the time though. A glance at my finances tells me I'm doing my best to single-handedly take care of all monetary problems that the musicians and bar owners at Frenchmen Street might have to struggle with, so there's that. Also, I've been to a house party or two that may or may not have been shut down by the police. And I saw so much love (and indecent exposures of public nudity) during the gay pride insanity that is Southern Decadence, it made me almost question my fondly held belief in the stereotypically schizophrenic relationship some people down here seem to have with religion and all things sex. Thankfully the cavalry marched in just in time and had me know by way of beautifully designed cardboard-signs that God does indeed still hate fags. Wouldn't want to break with old traditions now, would we?
As promised, no nudity. Just pretty flags and a little bit of hatred.
In short, I'm having a grand time. There are two things that I did want to mention though, before ending this little introduction: One, last time I was here, I wrote a blog about the unbelievable experience that is a student's first semester abroad. This is not that, and never could be. To make up for that, I'll try and add bits and pieces about the city itself. A little history here, some culture there, let's see how this plays out. I don't have any kind of special knowledge about New Orleans, but I'm curious by nature, so maybe I'll come across some fun facts that are worth sharing.
Second, you might have noticed that politically, these are interesting times indeed. Elections are coming up in November and it's pranksters like this friendly fellow in the picture below (not their actual faces!) wearing a #blackgunsmatter shirt, who get to decide whether or not they would like to give Joker's vicious little cousin a shot at steering this country head-first into the apocalypse:
"This should be fun!"
If not actually pleasant, witnessing all of this should at least be an interesting experience, and maybe I can get across some of the craziness that might start happening soon (it's been eerily quiet so far).
So yeah, this is what you're about to get into, should you choose to stay with me on this trip. If not, I'll have another nice journal to keep track of my experiences here, so no hard feelings. There will be sporadic quizzes though, so don't say I didn't warn you. Let me know if you have any questions or comments, but please be gentle - it's been a while. Alright, that's it for now, see you next month!
* Don't worry, Eileen, you're amazing, and we love you to bits. But Lilo just married, so let her be princess for a couple of days!
