First 2 Months

So……I’ve been in New Orleans two months now and I finally decided it would be a good time to start one of these crazy blog things. I don’t get to talk to as many friends as I would like, so this way EVERYONE can know about my new life.

My first week here I stayed in a hostel, living in a four bed room with 3 men, including a bi-sexual, neo-Nazi (very contradictory). After the first two nights I was moved because my body was covered in bed bug bites. I then spent the rest of the week sharing a room with a 39 year old stripper named Sheila. My next two weeks were spent at a guesthouse. I had my own room and everyone was a little less sketchy than at the hostel. There isn’t too much to say about those three weeks because I basically did absolutely nothing.

On January 27th, 2009 I moved into my new house which is where I currently reside. For those familiar with New Orleans it is in the Lower Garden District at the intersection of St. Andrew and Annunciation. Pre-Katrina it was the St. Thomas Projects. I’m living with two guys, one is a 27 year old Coast Guard Officer (Judson) attending grad school at the University of New Orleans for Naval Architecture, and the other is a 20 year old Canadian (Tony) that works at a local pizza restaurant. Within the first week of moving into my new place I got my first introduction to the “hood”. While on the phone on a sunny Sunday afternoon I happen to hear gun shots. When the police drive past and ask where they came from I don’t think twice about being honest. As I’m standing on the corner, some guy from a large group of people across the street feels the need to tell me that I am now in the hood and when people ask me that stuff I just say no. So, hopefully my house will not be shot up because I was “snitchin” on some neighbors. Anyway, I learned from the newspaper article the next day that 3 people were shot inside of a car two blocks from my house, while I was outside on the corner. Don’t worry, no one died.

Fast forward, I’m now working at the pizza place my roommate works at and also substitute teaching on the West Bank, which is on the other side of the Mississippi River from New Orleans. I will also be starting Saturday tutoring next week. For anyone out there considering substitute teaching, I strongly advise against it! After the shock of seeing children with silver teeth and kids telling me they have to “use it” in reference to having to use the bathroom, you realize that students just do no respect substitutes. I have had well behaved classes, but there is always a few bad apples that spoil the bunch. It seems as if I can’t teach the kids that want to learn because I’m too busy disciplining the kids that don’t want to learn. It’s sad, but the kids are so adorable. Today I had two girls in a second grade class start beating the crap out of each other. I mean, these are 7 to 8 year old children. I had to pull them apart, even though there is a serious no-touch policy with substitutes, and take them to the office. Some other stories:
1. On one of my first days, within the first 5 minutes a kid yelled out “I don’t like white people”.
2. Every time there is a white kid in the class, the other kids ask me if I’m that kid’s mother or the white teachers’ sister.
3. Today, my greeting was “Hello white teacher”.
Overall, it is fun, but certainly not for everyone. It’s just crazy because so many of these kids seem so grown in the way they talk, dress, and style their hair, etc., and then you see them take a nap sucking their thumbs. Ohhh they are so precious.

Anyway, sorry this is so long. Let’s get to Mardi Gras, which ended two days ago. Josh, his girlfriend Danielle, his college roommate Bob, and two other guys all come down for the celebration. We went to the French Quarter on Friday and Saturday night. It was awesome, lots of drinking, and thousands of people. I can’t say Bourbon Street is all it’s cracked up to be. It’s certainly crazy, but it seemed all I was doing was avoiding getting hit in the face with beads and making sure I didn’t lose sight of my friends. Believe me, those beads fucking hurt. The craziest thing about Mardi Gras is the way they shut down major roads in the city for all the parades. They barricade one of the busiest streets and there is no way to get through it unless you reroute and drive an extra 30 minutes around the city. For example, a friend and I get dropped off two blocks from his hotel. Even walking, you are not allowed to pass the barricades. So we reroute and two blocks becomes probably close to two miles. After those two days, I was done with Mardi Gras. In fact, on Mardi Gras day I went grocery shopping and then never left my house again. P.S. Fucking Wal-Mart is closed Mardi Gras Day, that is insane! Surprisingly enough, I am so relieved that chaos is over.

Hopefully my next blog will be short and have some good stories. Sorry so long, and I’ll work on my writing skills to make this more readable.