Off to Brazil

Hi,

Ok, I'm leaving for the airport in an hour so I'm gonna have to make this quick. Not going to be as in depth as most of my blogs are.

Sorry I haven't posted for two weeks - the entire first leg of my program! We've been having tons of lectures and classes and readings and site visits and social events so it's hard to find free time (and then when I do, I go out and have fun!)

I went on a ghost tour, and let me tell you, New Orleans is haunted. Seriously haunted. I thought potentially ghosts could exist before, and not that I've seen any, but I'm convinced.

Went to a jazz club called Preservation Hall, which was a really small venue but also amazing, because the musicians were so clear and pure in their sound.

We went to a second line, which is an event where anyone can come and parade down the streets and dance to live jazz music. This is a way for community members to meet each other or see each other after a long time and catch up.

Somehow typing this feels a bit inorganic, and I'm sure it sounds that way, too. Especially because my title is not its usual, clever self. I think I need to start taking more notes so that I can remember things I've done and write about them more in depth later. I guess it's just different because I'm not traveling independently for this trip, so being in a group and doing everything they do it's like... really cool and fun but also makes me less willing to write about stuff because it feels less unique or it feels like you guys should already know or something (which of course is a silly way to look at it). Plus, being so social all the time decreases my internal need to write. I guess that's personal growth. But maybe I should find a way to balance it.

The thing is that if I really wanted to write about the things that have had the greatest effect on me so far, then I'd have to tell you about the group dynamic and my relationships with other people, but you know I don't write about other people over the internet so....

But maybe when I get to Brazil it will be easier. Not sure. I promised to show you some photos, but I can't really get good internet access and I have to leave real soon, so when I get a chance I'll let you see. There's a few on Facebook.

I forget if I ever chose a new tagline.
Emily

Hola from NOLA

Howdy,

NOLA = New Orleans, Louisiana

I don't actually have much to say, but I figured I'd fill you in thus far...

Got to New Orleans without issue. Met some other students in a restaurant. Got to the hostel.

Ok, I'm already off to a bad start with this blog. It's just really boring to repeat everything I've done, I guess because nothing super interesting has happened yet. I mean, I've met some amazing people in my group and New Orleans is spectacular, seriously, it's beautiful and amazing. I'm still feeling out the group at this point - 10 boys and 23 girls - figuring out who I connect with and everything. But it's only day 2, so it's hard to tell at this point. But there are at least couple of people who I see myself getting close with, which is good, and everyone is nice (cue MTV narrator).

We've been doing a lot of orientation stuff. And by a lot I mean yesterday we went from 2pm - 9:30pm and today we went from 9am - 8pm. We get a couple breaks for lunch or whatever. The orientations are in a very well-airconditioned building. I wish they would open a window to let some heat in, which is a statement nobody should ever make if you ask me. So cold... so cold.

Had a po' boy, which is a sandwich that was originally created to be a "poor boy's" sandwich, so it has just bread, shredded lettuce, tomato, sauce, and for the meat I ordered fried shrimp. Our country leader made the joke that po' boys are actually expensive. She was right - it cost me $10.30. I also had some beignet, like, fried dough with powdered sugar. I know you're thinking funnel cake. It is not funnel cake. Imagine like an egg roll shaped deep fried dough rectangle. Photographic evidence of these experiences below:

Po' Boy and Beignet

I know, you are all shocked that I actually took a picture. Well I'm trying to actually do that this time around. Gonna need a few reminders, though. 

So, to be honest with you, I don't actually know how often or how much I will be posting for this blog. I doubt it will die off altogether, but I've never blogged while at school and this is technically school. I'm going to be really busy with readings, classes, excursions, hanging out with the group, host families,  adventures... so, you would think this would be the great makings of a blog, right? But I would rather have the experiences and write about them briefly than write extensively about my own thoughts and ponderings which is what I usually do. So, I just want to tell you that the posts might be short or infrequent now before we get in too deep. Maybe the pictures will make up for that? 

Been walking around a lot. One pair of shoes ruined my feet and another pair sort of drowned in the rain. Trying to resuscitate them. 

Okay, well I really don't have a whole lot more to say other than we went to Bourbon Street this evening which was super awesome. (I know, I am so descriptive!) Imagine Las Vegas only much more concentrated and not as much gambling. And without giant fountains and pyramids. Okay, maybe don't imagine Las Vegas at all. There were tons of bars, like, almost every building was a bar, and strip clubs and half naked ladies looking at us cunningly (don't worry, I resisted) and pizza and I don't know it just had a totally different vibe than the rest of the surrounding area. Well, it is there mostly for tourists, so I've heard. The rest of the city that I've seen so far seems very welcoming, and the houses are adorable (please be aware that I do not use the word "adorable" lightly). And I took a trolley today! Cable car? Street car? Not sure what they're called, I think it's street car. 

Also, this is something that I've always known, but since you're here to read about my ponderings, I'll tell you that my way of being social doesn't really jive with the rest of my peers' way of being social. Example:

*Walking with a group, on our way to a cafe* 

Person: Hey Emily, what's up?

Me: Oh, just taking a stroll, going to get some food. 

Person: Yeah... us too. 

Me: Look at that firetruck, it's nice. 

Person: Yeah...

Me: Did you know it's illegal to turn around in a fire station driveway? 

Person: No, but that makes sense. 

Me: I just learned that, too. 

Well, the conversation kinda died after that. Not sure if I should figure out how to be a better conversationalist or if I should talk to people who are don't mind me pointing out the obvious. 

That's enough ponderings for now. Oh, I hear some people wishing a girl happy birthday, because it is exactly 2 minutes into August 20th, and that's her birthday. That also means it's 2 minutes past midnight so I'm going to bed soon. Just wanted to let you know that I am here, I am safe, I am sometimes toasty warm and sometimes freezing, and I have bandaids on my feet. And I met some pretty cool folks who I'll be traveling with for the next 4 months. 

Off to have some sleep,

....

I really don't want to use that cheesy line I came up with last time. So...

No tagline for now,

Emily

I Love These Blurbed Lines

Unlike my good friend, Mr. Thicke.

Welp, you've found your way to my 4th ever travel blog - and this one is going to be one of the best ones yet! Hopefully I won't have to type this one entirely on my iPhone, haha.

This time around I'll be going to various places around the world. Here's the rundown:

New Orleans, U.S.A.: August, 2 weeks

São Paulo, Brazil: September, 5 weeks

Cape Town, South Africa: October, 4 weeks

Hanoi, Vietnam: November, 5 weeks

Bangkok, Thailand: December, 2 weeks

Got it? Sounds like a lot. Let me explain: I am studying abroad for my whole junior year. For the fall semester, I will be traveling with a student group and learning about 4 different cities around the world. So I will be getting school credit for my time abroad, but the program is not run by my school. We will be learning about sustainable environments, power dynamics, culture (anthropology), social structure, and plenty of other academic subjects in a hands-on, field-based setting. We'll also be living with host families in each place we go outside of the United States. The program ends in Vietnam, but since I've never been to Asia, my parents allowed me to spend 2 weeks in Thailand before I come home for Christmas, since some of the other students will be doing the same. My spring semester will be spent in Uganda, but that is for a different blog. 

As per usual, I can't make any promises about the frequency with which I post, since traveling for me generally entails limited internet access. However, I can prophesize that my posts will be quite long, since that seems to be characteristic of my writing thus far. Also, for some reason people have a hard time commenting on my blogs from the interwebs, so if you want to make a note on something, the best way is through Facebook or email. That way I'll definitely see it. 

My blogs always start and end in my house in the US, and this is no exception. I've been home for 2 weeks since my last adventure in Ghana, and now I only have one week more! Traveling can be tiring, but one might say that I'm addicted to it. Still gotta pack up, finish my book, do my pre-departure homework and... pet my little fluffles named Lucky the dog. 

I have two goals for this trip. The first is to get more exercise than I usually do while traveling and the other is to explore more. Because even though I do go all over the place, I still tend to spend more time in the house than I'm proud of. So. There we go. 

Well, I usually have a little tagline before I sign off each post in the language of wherever I'm going, but there's like, 6 languages this time so I'll have to think of something else. I looked up words that rhyme with 'urban' and got bourbon, pipe organ, and zoological garden, among others... so... that's not going to work. I tried 'metropolis' and got bottomless, esophagus, and urinary incontinence. Nope.

As luck would have it, my father put on a Carter Family CD while I was typing this. In a song entitled, "Lonesome Valley", the following lyrics were sung:

"Everybody's got to walk this lonesome valley,

We've got to walk it by ourselves,

There's nobody here can walk it for us,

We've got to walk it by ourselves"

Of course, right after that, another song played the lyrics,

"You're drifting too far from shore,

Come back before it's too late."

Bad omen, maybe? Well, ignoring that part, I like the first lyrics because even though they sounds lonely, they also make me think that travelers have each other to walk across the valley with. They'll never get lost, because they have each other to find the way. I'm kind of going on this adventure alone, but I'll be with others going through the same challenges, questions, and excitement as I am, so really, I won't ever be alone. We have each other to serve as our guides. So my tagline for this blog will be: 

Steppin' in the right direction,

Emz