At twenty-seven years old, your Facebook Feed and Instagram Account are no longer sprinkled but showered with happy marriages, friends with beautiful babies, and the apparent perfect romantic life. You feel like you shouldn't mind. You're a strong independent person pushing through life with strength and vitality, but sometimes these posts, images, and words cause a pang in your chest because you wonder if you'll find that one day. And too, at twenty-seven, you've been dating for a decade and you're tired. You don't know where to look, and you don't always have the time or energy to do so.
And when you're like me (and many others) and you battle with anxiety and depression through all of this, you may start to feel like you are not sure if you're valuable. If you are valuable, then why haven't you found that person after so much heartbreak, so many sexual encounters, bad dates, long-term relationships?
Almost two years ago, I was in a serious relationship. I thought this was it. I was completely and utterly entranced by this person and at first, it was amazing. But as a look back now I see the relationship for what it was. It was love that turned into manipulation and gaslighting. I changed myself completely for this person, I lost myself. And I told myself it was worth it, he was worth it. When that relationship ended and I returned home I felt my value was lost and I was in the worst period of depression I had experienced in a very long time. I was mentally and emotionally exhausted. I felt fat, ugly, worthless, broken and unable to stand back up and move forward.
I learned a lot from this time. And much of what I'm about to say is far easier to say than to do. But I spent a year doing these things:
1. Finding what I wanted to do. Not what others expected of me.
2. Embracing my passions and making strong friendships through those passions.
3. Analyzing my behaviors and emotions.
4. Going to therapy and asking for help when I didn't know what else to do-- including taking medication to balance out my depression and anxiety.
5. Taking care of myself by going to the doctors' appointments I should have made but I hadn't for years.
6. Moving. Making the changes I felt could help me start fresh.
7. Dating-- the good and the bad!
When you have depression and anxiety, you can't control the thoughts and emotions you go through, but sometimes you can change how you respond to them, how you behave in response. And that is something I'm still working on and takes a lot of self-reflection.
In August of last year, I met Joshua. It was a Bumble date (a dating app). I wasn't even thinking about it too seriously because I had quite a few bad bumble dates and went on this date with the thought "Well, he's cute, just have fun." We've been together ever since.
I'm not saying these steps are the answers to finding love. Everyone goes through different experiences and needs to work out steps for themselves. My main piece of advice is this, remind yourself of these things:
1. You are valuable. Even if you feel others don't see it. Someday, someone will and that is lovely but as long as YOU know it, that's what matters.
2. You are not alone. Questioning your value and feeling lost is something many people go through. maybe everyone else seems to have found ultimate happiness- but they were there once, they weren't sure what to do either.
3. You are strong.
4. Ask for help.
5. Don't fear change, jump into it.
When you're dating for a decade you notice that meeting people is more difficult. The dating pool is dwindling. And everyone has "baggage." I implore you to change that word from baggage to learning experiences. One thing that really, really, helped Joshua and me to bond immediately was our experience. I recently went through terrible heartbreak and so had he. We both spent significant time and effort to analyze our pasts, our behaviors, and what we could do to improve ourselves. I think this is key. We both analyzed our past relationships-- and one part of this is accepting blame for what was your fault (and to recognize what WASN'T). "What could I have done better for my partner but also for MYSELF?" Sure, the end of every relationship is not always your fault, it's not always your flaws that ended it. Maybe you dated a complete asshole. But then you analyze "why did I date that asshole for so long?" or "what parts of me did I lose in the process?" "what negativities did I contribute to it?"
It's important to recognize what you can do better for yourself and your partner. One point that I also think Josh and I do well is communication. It sounds simple but it's not. I've spent past relationships with the thought "This isn't something that is worth talking about, it will just upset him" but if you don't talk, resentment builds. Yes, if it's something frivolous it's important to let it go when necessary but not if it happens frequently (then is it really frivolous? No). And sometimes you have to process what you want to say and how to say it with love and respect-- don't just shout! But don't say you'll think about it, and forget it. And I'm not saying this is happily ever after for me, but I think it is, and it is definitely the best relationship I've been in. And that's because we've both learned so much in our lives. He sees my value and I see his. But we found our own first. We respect each other, our pasts, and our opinions (and we don't always agree). We wake up every day choosing each other, choosing to think about our actions and our words. And sometimes we falter, we miscommunicate or don't notice something hurtful we've done-- but we talk about it, we point those things out to each other and process it together. It is work but it is worth it. You are worth it.
And of course, if you aren't interested in a relationship at all, the above is still important. Your value and loving yourself is something you should carry with you through your life regardless of your romantic situation. And it takes constant work to remind yourself you're valuable, but once you begin to believe it, changes will come. Positive changes.
Any comments are welcome.
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Thursday, February 22, 2018
Food Insecurity, SNAP, and the Move by the Conservative Right to Starve the Poor and Fatten the Rich
So. THIS has been floating around Facebook in recent days:
There IS SO MUCH TO SAY HERE.
So let me start with a few experiences from my own life.
1. A family member of mine had just graduated from college and was working 2 jobs and still not making enough to buy sufficient food for herself and enrolled in the Food Stamp Program (SNAP).
With these food stamps, she didn't by "junk" she exchanged the food stamps for tokens at the local farmers' market and purchased HEALTHY food. This was a privilege though, as many places across the United States do not have this healthy option. These areas are known as "food deserts" as defined here "Food deserts are defined as parts of the country vapid of fresh fruit, vegetables, and other healthful whole foods, usually found in impoverished areas. This is largely due to a lack of grocery stores, farmers’ markets, and healthy food providers." by the USDA (http://americannutritionassociation.org/newsletter/usda-defines-food-deserts).
2. I also tried to get food stamps struggling with a full class schedule and only 15 hours a week of work and I was denied because I wasn't working enough hours.
3. While I spent my first year teaching after graduating from Ohio University and moving to Columbus, Ohio, I discovered SO much about our country's social programs. My students were refugees from Somalia (for those not familiar with geography, that's in eastern Africa), Bhutan, and Nepal (both located between China and India). They were often living in refugee camps in those countries where they suffered from maltreatment, hunger, illness, and abuse. Arriving in the U.S. these refugees knew literally no English and few knew how to write (as they lived on farms and had no need of schooling). Many of them were over the age of 40, and those from Somalia often had around 10 kids (which is NORMAL AND RESPECTED in their culture).
These lovely people were required by the government to attend 5 hours of English class every day in order to receive SNAP, section 8 housing, and financial assistance. Many of these students were in poor health and if they missed a day would have their benefits cut for three months. And sometimes their benefits would get cut for this period due to clerical errors by the said local government. Their small apartments were in poor condition, not through a fault of their own. These students also lived in a food desert. They did not have cars and had to walk to find food and the only places with food nearby were gas stations and convenience stores. They did not have the appropriate clothes or shoes (coming from very HOT climates) for the brutal winter in Columbus, Ohio. They could not speak English to express their needs for food or medical help. I acted as a teacher and as a social worker to help them fill out ridiculously long forms in English required by the government and I helped them make various appointments and learn their addresses in case they got lost. These were not undocumented immigrants "sneaking into the country to use the system" (which is an awful stereotype in itself). These were people forced to leave their homes due to war and by force with nowhere else to go. They had to learn everything from scratch. And ALL of these students were enrolled in these programs until they could get jobs-- often horrible jobs in chicken plants, underpaid, long hours, and horrific working conditions. And these are the people you want to send canned spinach to? WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?!
And that is just one small part of the large group in this country suffering that ya'll can't seem to stop complaining about.
SNAP also already has very restrictive rules that apply. My lovely roommate passed along a thread from twitter that really sums it up better than I can:
"Food stamps are grossly inadequate for providing for families, and do not cover non-food essentials you would get in a grocery trip — and other programs don’t really, either. Do you all understand what hunger looks like in this country? Do you really? I’ve seen it. I don’t know if you have. Go work in a school that’s been written off as not good enough and you’ll see it real quick. Hunger in this country rarely looks like the charity commercials you see on TV. What we have here is food insecurity and a huge amount of malnutrition. Junk here is cheap, junk has calories — it’s just, that’s all it has.
You know what one of the cheapest things you can get if you’re trying to maximize calories? In the US, that is, because of how our subsidies work. Cake mix. In a cruel sort of twist, we really can let them eat cake. Cake mixes are generally under a dollar. Eggs are under a dollar. Oil is usually about sixty cents, in a medium-sized bottle. A cake is about 4,000 calories. If you have next to no money and need to, at least, have enough calories to live, you eat cake. And particularly in food deserts, or areas where Walmart has driven out all of the local grocery store options, the other cheapest things are soda and chips (a lot of that has to do with the corn lobby’s power). The result: the cheapest possible things to eat if you are at a desperate point have next to no nutritional value. Having been there, any time someone goes “BUT PRODUCE IS CHEAP!” I want to punch them in the face. The first priority as an animal is consuming enough calories to live — everything else becomes secondary until that requirement is fulfilled. So sure, you can buy a head of lettuce for, say, a dollar fifty, but that head of lettuce does almost nothing to give you enough base fuel to get by. When people scoff at poor people in this country, “oh, they’re not ‘really’ starving, look at how fat they are,” what you’re seeing is people trying to get enough calories from any source to survive, while simultaneously withering from malnutrition. Sometimes, going a significant amount of time between meals; meals with no nutritional value, for that matter. The body enters starvation mode and stores accordingly. This country’s approach to food and poverty is shameful. You cannot pretend a bag of chips and a bag of apples being the same price (often they’re not) and a person opting for chips is poor choice making. A bag of apples doesn’t have enough calories, and that’s the baseline. When you’re in a place where it’s ‘eat food that gives you no vitamins, no protein, no micronutrients, etc.,’ or eating food that doesn’t give you enough basic breakdown of glucose to get your body through another day, you don’t have the luxury to “be healthy”. We screw people over by design, and then lecture them when they take the options most available and pragmatic to them — and then cut their benefits because they aren’t conforming to our standards." FROM @hugwins via Twitter (edited)
What we really need to understand is that there is SEVERE food insecurity in this country that is not being addressed and THAT is the real problem.
There IS SO MUCH TO SAY HERE.
So let me start with a few experiences from my own life.
1. A family member of mine had just graduated from college and was working 2 jobs and still not making enough to buy sufficient food for herself and enrolled in the Food Stamp Program (SNAP).
With these food stamps, she didn't by "junk" she exchanged the food stamps for tokens at the local farmers' market and purchased HEALTHY food. This was a privilege though, as many places across the United States do not have this healthy option. These areas are known as "food deserts" as defined here "Food deserts are defined as parts of the country vapid of fresh fruit, vegetables, and other healthful whole foods, usually found in impoverished areas. This is largely due to a lack of grocery stores, farmers’ markets, and healthy food providers." by the USDA (http://americannutritionassociation.org/newsletter/usda-defines-food-deserts).
2. I also tried to get food stamps struggling with a full class schedule and only 15 hours a week of work and I was denied because I wasn't working enough hours.
3. While I spent my first year teaching after graduating from Ohio University and moving to Columbus, Ohio, I discovered SO much about our country's social programs. My students were refugees from Somalia (for those not familiar with geography, that's in eastern Africa), Bhutan, and Nepal (both located between China and India). They were often living in refugee camps in those countries where they suffered from maltreatment, hunger, illness, and abuse. Arriving in the U.S. these refugees knew literally no English and few knew how to write (as they lived on farms and had no need of schooling). Many of them were over the age of 40, and those from Somalia often had around 10 kids (which is NORMAL AND RESPECTED in their culture).
These lovely people were required by the government to attend 5 hours of English class every day in order to receive SNAP, section 8 housing, and financial assistance. Many of these students were in poor health and if they missed a day would have their benefits cut for three months. And sometimes their benefits would get cut for this period due to clerical errors by the said local government. Their small apartments were in poor condition, not through a fault of their own. These students also lived in a food desert. They did not have cars and had to walk to find food and the only places with food nearby were gas stations and convenience stores. They did not have the appropriate clothes or shoes (coming from very HOT climates) for the brutal winter in Columbus, Ohio. They could not speak English to express their needs for food or medical help. I acted as a teacher and as a social worker to help them fill out ridiculously long forms in English required by the government and I helped them make various appointments and learn their addresses in case they got lost. These were not undocumented immigrants "sneaking into the country to use the system" (which is an awful stereotype in itself). These were people forced to leave their homes due to war and by force with nowhere else to go. They had to learn everything from scratch. And ALL of these students were enrolled in these programs until they could get jobs-- often horrible jobs in chicken plants, underpaid, long hours, and horrific working conditions. And these are the people you want to send canned spinach to? WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?!
And that is just one small part of the large group in this country suffering that ya'll can't seem to stop complaining about.
SNAP also already has very restrictive rules that apply. My lovely roommate passed along a thread from twitter that really sums it up better than I can:
"Food stamps are grossly inadequate for providing for families, and do not cover non-food essentials you would get in a grocery trip — and other programs don’t really, either. Do you all understand what hunger looks like in this country? Do you really? I’ve seen it. I don’t know if you have. Go work in a school that’s been written off as not good enough and you’ll see it real quick. Hunger in this country rarely looks like the charity commercials you see on TV. What we have here is food insecurity and a huge amount of malnutrition. Junk here is cheap, junk has calories — it’s just, that’s all it has.
You know what one of the cheapest things you can get if you’re trying to maximize calories? In the US, that is, because of how our subsidies work. Cake mix. In a cruel sort of twist, we really can let them eat cake. Cake mixes are generally under a dollar. Eggs are under a dollar. Oil is usually about sixty cents, in a medium-sized bottle. A cake is about 4,000 calories. If you have next to no money and need to, at least, have enough calories to live, you eat cake. And particularly in food deserts, or areas where Walmart has driven out all of the local grocery store options, the other cheapest things are soda and chips (a lot of that has to do with the corn lobby’s power). The result: the cheapest possible things to eat if you are at a desperate point have next to no nutritional value. Having been there, any time someone goes “BUT PRODUCE IS CHEAP!” I want to punch them in the face. The first priority as an animal is consuming enough calories to live — everything else becomes secondary until that requirement is fulfilled. So sure, you can buy a head of lettuce for, say, a dollar fifty, but that head of lettuce does almost nothing to give you enough base fuel to get by. When people scoff at poor people in this country, “oh, they’re not ‘really’ starving, look at how fat they are,” what you’re seeing is people trying to get enough calories from any source to survive, while simultaneously withering from malnutrition. Sometimes, going a significant amount of time between meals; meals with no nutritional value, for that matter. The body enters starvation mode and stores accordingly. This country’s approach to food and poverty is shameful. You cannot pretend a bag of chips and a bag of apples being the same price (often they’re not) and a person opting for chips is poor choice making. A bag of apples doesn’t have enough calories, and that’s the baseline. When you’re in a place where it’s ‘eat food that gives you no vitamins, no protein, no micronutrients, etc.,’ or eating food that doesn’t give you enough basic breakdown of glucose to get your body through another day, you don’t have the luxury to “be healthy”. We screw people over by design, and then lecture them when they take the options most available and pragmatic to them — and then cut their benefits because they aren’t conforming to our standards." FROM @hugwins via Twitter (edited)
What we really need to understand is that there is SEVERE food insecurity in this country that is not being addressed and THAT is the real problem.
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
What I've learned living in New Orleans that tourists should know.
New Orleans, Louisiana is a beautiful city that is celebrating its 300th anniversary this year (2018). I dreamt of coming here for many years and I finally have. I have been living here for 8 months and have learned a lot from experience and from my friends that are NOLA natives. I would like to pass along some of this information. If you ever think of coming to visit, here are some good pointers.
Getting Around the City:
New Orleans has a great public transit system (Well, FAR better than Nowhere, Ohio where I grew up, but not quite as great as other big cities in the U.S.)
The RTA system has an app you can download that allows you to purchase passes for the bus, ferry, and streetcar, these passes include: 1 day, 3 day, 5 day, and 30 day.
Sometimes there is construction, there are parades, or (of course)there are mechanical failures and some of the lines are down. Usually, if a streetcar line is down, they will have a shuttle bus for those people to continue on their journey. Sometimes, if you are in the French Quarter and must get back uptown, your best bet is to walk to Lee Circle and catch it there (if you don't see streetcars closer to Canal).
Now, this part is important. The St. Charles line is older and has no air conditioning (BUT the windows open easily if you push the tabs and slide them up)
(This is important in the summer when it's literally wet hell fire outside.)
Also, the St. Charles line has no wheelchair access.
Fun fact: You can also slide the backs of the seats to face your friends!
The Canal line has air conditioning and wheelchair access, as well as doors that open automatically at the front ENTRANCE and back EXIT of the streetcar.
The St. Charles line has a front ENTRANCE and back EXIT-- this is IMPORTANT. The back exit feels like it won't open, but when the light above the door lights up green, you must push VERY HARD. This is an important note because people don't realize it functions and shove their way angrily to the front ENTRANCE. Don't be that person. Cranky tourists shoving locals because they don't know the exit works can cause a lot of frustration. We like tourists and welcome them, just try to be polite, please. Many people use these lines every day to get to work and feel the same frustration you do.
Alternatively, Uber and Lyft do exist in the city and can be great options if you can afford it, but of course, during Mardi Gras and special events, you'll pay more.
Recommendations for Dining and Tourist Attractions:
There are many, many great things to see in this city. A lot of which I have yet to see! But here are some ideas off the top of my head, and I will add more as I go here.
Café Du Monde: Delicious beignets that everyone has heard about and chickory coffee. It's delicious! Beware, there are often long lines, but it's worth it. And also note, that is pretty much all they serve so don't go expecting much else.
Muriel's at Jackson Square: This is right on the corner by Jackson Square and the St. Louis Cathedral (founded in 1720, opened in 1794 and a beautiful sight to see too!). At Muriel's you'll find delicious Cajun/Creole/Southern dishes-- it is a bit pricey but yummy. And if you ask to go upstairs there is a balcony overlooking the square-- and a very "sexy" little lounge with red lighting for nightcaps with a romantic partner. This is the view from the balcony at Muriel's:
Café Amelie: Also located in the French Quarter, this is a more upscale café with a beautiful courtyard, brunch, coffee, and drinks served.
Frenchman Street: Frenchman Street is where you find the music! The street is lined with clubs and street musicians, I like the Spotted Cat, myself. And if you go further (opposite direction of the quarter), you'll find the Marigny area that is recently revamping and has some great trendy places like Pizza Delicious.
Bourbon Street: Bourbon Street is what everyone thinks of when they think New Orleans. It is tourist central. Here you find gigantic daiquiris, 24-hour bars, strip clubs, bright lights, some music, Voodoo shops, psychic readings and more. It's a fun experience for what it is but it is certainly NOT all NOLA has to offer-- and with the drinks 24 hours and constant tourists, it can be smelly and dirty- so don't be shocked, but that shouldn't deter you from going, it can still be good fun and a very different experience from your non-vacation life. Here is one photo on took on Bourbon:
The French Market: The French Market is lovely because they offer food, drinks, groceries, souvenirs and almost anything you can think of, it's a more European-open-air type market (shown here)
Now, there are MANY AMAZING restaurants throughout the Quarter and the CBD (Central Business District) so feel free to adventure out and about!
Haunted Tours: I've done these before and they can be lots of fun, though a bit pricey. Make sure to tip your tour guide, it's a lot of talking and memorization and they are often quite funny and energetic!
The Garden District:
The Garden district is along the way to Uptown if you're taking the St. Charles line toward Tulane and Loyola (by the way this is a beautiful ride (lots of very large, old, beautiful buildings, mansions, etc). The Garden District stretches from St. Charles south towards Tchoupitoulas St. (Shortened often to "chop") and the river. There are many beautiful historic sights, and if you head to Magazine Street which is in the middle, you'll see a couple of above ground cemeteries, along with wonderful restaurants, coffee shops, and more!
I highly recommend District Donuts (you'll be amazed!) and Juan's Flying Burrito on Magazine-- I also like Rum House (Carribean Taqueria.
Also up on St. Charles in this area is a place called the Pontchartrain Hotel. Obviously, it's a hotel. But if you enter and take the right (not left) elevator you can go to what was the Penthouse Suite at the very top that is now a bar called "Hot Tin"--styled circa 1940s trendy-- with a great view of the city!
Uptown New Orleans:
This is more of my domain because I live in this area-- although I'm always learning more and don't have too much time or money to venture out.
On Tchoupitoulas and Napoleon, you'll find a place called Tipitina's. This is a great music venue. Many of the Jazz and Blues greats have and do play here, although many other genres are involved. It is a great spot for music if you don't get to the quarter.
In this area, you'll find some great restaurants like Shaya (award-winning Israeli Restaurant)($$$), Rum House ($$), Dat Dog ($$) (well known local hot dog joint). There are bars along the way. A couple of bars I like in this area include Ms Mae's (this bar is a 24-hour place, and is divey, a pool table, air-hockey table, and often with a cyclical group of regulars. It is CASH ONLY and you must have your ID to enter, but the drinks are cheap and strong), Le Bon Temps Roule (a historic neighborhood bar with live music 4 nights a week, a couple of pool tables, and a divey atmosphere), Buddha Belly (this bar is cool because they have comedy night, karaoke night, and you it is a laundromat-bar, with pool tables. Again, divey.) ** DIVEY to me is a good thing, sidenote.*** and Kingpin (this is a little neighborhood bar with pleasant people and a nice place to feel like a cozy regular).
I've still got many more places to check out.
On Prytania Street you'll find the historic Prytania Theater- it only has one theater and shows one movie at a time but also plays old classics on certain days and does a midnight showing of Rocky Horror regularly. It's also BYOB.
Uptown also includes Audobon Park and Zoo-- an absolutely beautiful park with a running/biking track (it's worth it to check out!). This park is located on St. Charles and is across the street from Loyola University (fantastic architecture!) and Tulane University.
I recently went to a couple of places in the Bywater I'd like to recommend although I don't know the area very well yet.
Bratz Y'all: This is a German Beer Garden and Restaurant, it's tucked behind another great restaurant which will be mentioned next. You might not notice it right away but I highly recommend it. The food there is FANTASTIC authentic German food and beer, some of the large plates are a bit pricey (for my salary) but worth every penny! Here are some images:
In front of Bratz Y'all, is Pizza Delicious. And the name doesn't lie! The pizza is fantastic. There are also choices of wine and beer as well. And the slices are big!
One major attraction in the downtown (CBD) area is the WWII Museum, it is a beautiful museum that has a pretty cool set-up. You are given dog tags and a story to follow, you can listen to your person's story as you walk through several buildings to see the many exhibits.
Other areas of interest include: The Marigny, City Park, Treme, CBD, and Midcity which I don't know much about yet but I intend to!
Mardi Gras
Many tourists see Mardi Gras as an opportune drunk-fest, but there is much more to it than that!
If you find yourself interested in some of the history, this link contains a bit of history. It also shows the dates of parades and parade routes, along with other tourist information. http://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/schedule.html#
Most of the parades within the city (as there are others in other areas outside of the city), travel along Magazine, Napoleon, St. Charles and down to the Quarter to Canal.
There are some things you should know. If you attend Mardi Gras in the CBD/ French Quarter area, there are bleachers, scaffolding, and stands set up for you to perch upon to enjoy the parades- though you pay. If you find yourself watching in the uptown area you can watch from the sidewalk and the neutral zone/area (the median) but often people set up seats, tents, and ladders for the kids and camp out until the parades start-- so always get there early (unless you don't care about a good spot).
Some basic rules that should be followed:
1. While everyone enjoys drinking throughout Mardi Gras, remember that children and families will be in attendance, especially during the day, so don't knock the children over (OR ANYONE for that matter), or steal their throws. This is a happy time for everyone and many families have members on the floats that they are waiting to see.
2. Do not flash boobies. This is something you will get arrested for if seen by an officer- public indecency is a real thing. Of course, there are sexual innuendos and double entendres, etc. within the themes and costumes of the parade, you can still get in trouble. You don't actually have to do anything but stick your hands up and shout "hey" to get beads.
3. The beads aren't the best part. They throw some really cool stuff, like decorated shoes, purses, cups, hats, koozies, bags, candy, glass beads, and themed items.
4. Bring a bag to carry your throws. Trust me your neck will get sweaty, tired, and red if you wear them all night (and you'll be pinpointed as a tourist). Bring a bag. You'll want it.
5. Costume it up! While of course, these are not necessary, it adds to the fun-- but choose costumes that are not racist, please. There are many important cultural aspects to this event, don't be offensive :)
6. Be kind to the officers and local restaurants. Some restaurants on the parade routes stay open and serve during parades. Keep in mind that thousands of people are walking around, running in to use the bathrooms, and they can't prepare food for thousands all at once SO BE PREPARED TO WAIT PATIENTLY. I saw some very horrendous attitudes towards restaurant workers this past Mardi Gras, don't be pushy, they're doing more than the best that they can.
7. Use garbage cans when possible. This seems obvious, and the city does a wonderful job cleaning up post- Mardi Gras, but it's just frustrating to see piles of trash NEXT TO the trash can. Remember that people live here.
8. Don't pick up beads off the ground. Now, this is another way to spot a tourist. Think about it, what will you do with all the beads you collect in the end? Just leave them there OR there are occasional empty floats that roll through for the sole purpose of throwing the un-caught beads back. Also, if it's muddy and rainy and people are running in and out of port-o-potties.. well the beads are probably pretty gross.
9. It's not a sprint. It's a marathon. Pace yourself. If you're here for all of Mardi Gras week, Wednesday through Tuesday, there are many, many parades and events to attend. Don't feel guilty taking a day off, or missing a parade, if you want to last all the way through Mardi Gras Day (Zulu -one of the coolest- rides at 8 a.m. Mardi Gras Day). And make sure to hydrate, if you're drinking four days or five days straight, eat, drink water, stay afloat.
10. Be prepared rain or shine. The parades will roll no matter the weather (unless it is dangerous for the riders). Bring a raincoat, be prepared.
This list will be updated with every adventure I take. I hope this helps. And any friends with comments or additions please send me a message and I'll add it!
Also remember, you can drink as you walk through this city. Publicly drinking is a city-wide thing, but please be sure to be kind and throw your plastic cups in garbage cans located on sidewalks and keep our city clean :).
Some images from above were taken by me personally, while others were obtained through Google and I claim no rights!
Getting Around the City:
New Orleans has a great public transit system (Well, FAR better than Nowhere, Ohio where I grew up, but not quite as great as other big cities in the U.S.)
The RTA system has an app you can download that allows you to purchase passes for the bus, ferry, and streetcar, these passes include: 1 day, 3 day, 5 day, and 30 day.
- The Jazzy Passes cover the buses and the streetcar.
- The Ferry Passes cover the ferry (obviously).
- The Integrated Passes cover all three (buses, streetcar, ferry).
Sometimes there is construction, there are parades, or (of course)there are mechanical failures and some of the lines are down. Usually, if a streetcar line is down, they will have a shuttle bus for those people to continue on their journey. Sometimes, if you are in the French Quarter and must get back uptown, your best bet is to walk to Lee Circle and catch it there (if you don't see streetcars closer to Canal).
Now, this part is important. The St. Charles line is older and has no air conditioning (BUT the windows open easily if you push the tabs and slide them up)
(This is important in the summer when it's literally wet hell fire outside.)
Also, the St. Charles line has no wheelchair access.
Fun fact: You can also slide the backs of the seats to face your friends!
The Canal line has air conditioning and wheelchair access, as well as doors that open automatically at the front ENTRANCE and back EXIT of the streetcar.
The St. Charles line has a front ENTRANCE and back EXIT-- this is IMPORTANT. The back exit feels like it won't open, but when the light above the door lights up green, you must push VERY HARD. This is an important note because people don't realize it functions and shove their way angrily to the front ENTRANCE. Don't be that person. Cranky tourists shoving locals because they don't know the exit works can cause a lot of frustration. We like tourists and welcome them, just try to be polite, please. Many people use these lines every day to get to work and feel the same frustration you do.
Alternatively, Uber and Lyft do exist in the city and can be great options if you can afford it, but of course, during Mardi Gras and special events, you'll pay more.
Recommendations for Dining and Tourist Attractions:
There are many, many great things to see in this city. A lot of which I have yet to see! But here are some ideas off the top of my head, and I will add more as I go here.
Café Du Monde: Delicious beignets that everyone has heard about and chickory coffee. It's delicious! Beware, there are often long lines, but it's worth it. And also note, that is pretty much all they serve so don't go expecting much else.
Muriel's at Jackson Square: This is right on the corner by Jackson Square and the St. Louis Cathedral (founded in 1720, opened in 1794 and a beautiful sight to see too!). At Muriel's you'll find delicious Cajun/Creole/Southern dishes-- it is a bit pricey but yummy. And if you ask to go upstairs there is a balcony overlooking the square-- and a very "sexy" little lounge with red lighting for nightcaps with a romantic partner. This is the view from the balcony at Muriel's:
Café Amelie: Also located in the French Quarter, this is a more upscale café with a beautiful courtyard, brunch, coffee, and drinks served.
Frenchman Street: Frenchman Street is where you find the music! The street is lined with clubs and street musicians, I like the Spotted Cat, myself. And if you go further (opposite direction of the quarter), you'll find the Marigny area that is recently revamping and has some great trendy places like Pizza Delicious.
Bourbon Street: Bourbon Street is what everyone thinks of when they think New Orleans. It is tourist central. Here you find gigantic daiquiris, 24-hour bars, strip clubs, bright lights, some music, Voodoo shops, psychic readings and more. It's a fun experience for what it is but it is certainly NOT all NOLA has to offer-- and with the drinks 24 hours and constant tourists, it can be smelly and dirty- so don't be shocked, but that shouldn't deter you from going, it can still be good fun and a very different experience from your non-vacation life. Here is one photo on took on Bourbon:
The French Market: The French Market is lovely because they offer food, drinks, groceries, souvenirs and almost anything you can think of, it's a more European-open-air type market (shown here)
Now, there are MANY AMAZING restaurants throughout the Quarter and the CBD (Central Business District) so feel free to adventure out and about!
Haunted Tours: I've done these before and they can be lots of fun, though a bit pricey. Make sure to tip your tour guide, it's a lot of talking and memorization and they are often quite funny and energetic!
The Garden District:
The Garden district is along the way to Uptown if you're taking the St. Charles line toward Tulane and Loyola (by the way this is a beautiful ride (lots of very large, old, beautiful buildings, mansions, etc). The Garden District stretches from St. Charles south towards Tchoupitoulas St. (Shortened often to "chop") and the river. There are many beautiful historic sights, and if you head to Magazine Street which is in the middle, you'll see a couple of above ground cemeteries, along with wonderful restaurants, coffee shops, and more!
I highly recommend District Donuts (you'll be amazed!) and Juan's Flying Burrito on Magazine-- I also like Rum House (Carribean Taqueria.
Also up on St. Charles in this area is a place called the Pontchartrain Hotel. Obviously, it's a hotel. But if you enter and take the right (not left) elevator you can go to what was the Penthouse Suite at the very top that is now a bar called "Hot Tin"--styled circa 1940s trendy-- with a great view of the city!
Uptown New Orleans:
This is more of my domain because I live in this area-- although I'm always learning more and don't have too much time or money to venture out.
On Tchoupitoulas and Napoleon, you'll find a place called Tipitina's. This is a great music venue. Many of the Jazz and Blues greats have and do play here, although many other genres are involved. It is a great spot for music if you don't get to the quarter.
In this area, you'll find some great restaurants like Shaya (award-winning Israeli Restaurant)($$$), Rum House ($$), Dat Dog ($$) (well known local hot dog joint). There are bars along the way. A couple of bars I like in this area include Ms Mae's (this bar is a 24-hour place, and is divey, a pool table, air-hockey table, and often with a cyclical group of regulars. It is CASH ONLY and you must have your ID to enter, but the drinks are cheap and strong), Le Bon Temps Roule (a historic neighborhood bar with live music 4 nights a week, a couple of pool tables, and a divey atmosphere), Buddha Belly (this bar is cool because they have comedy night, karaoke night, and you it is a laundromat-bar, with pool tables. Again, divey.) ** DIVEY to me is a good thing, sidenote.*** and Kingpin (this is a little neighborhood bar with pleasant people and a nice place to feel like a cozy regular).
I've still got many more places to check out.
On Prytania Street you'll find the historic Prytania Theater- it only has one theater and shows one movie at a time but also plays old classics on certain days and does a midnight showing of Rocky Horror regularly. It's also BYOB.
Uptown also includes Audobon Park and Zoo-- an absolutely beautiful park with a running/biking track (it's worth it to check out!). This park is located on St. Charles and is across the street from Loyola University (fantastic architecture!) and Tulane University.
I recently went to a couple of places in the Bywater I'd like to recommend although I don't know the area very well yet.
Bratz Y'all: This is a German Beer Garden and Restaurant, it's tucked behind another great restaurant which will be mentioned next. You might not notice it right away but I highly recommend it. The food there is FANTASTIC authentic German food and beer, some of the large plates are a bit pricey (for my salary) but worth every penny! Here are some images:
In front of Bratz Y'all, is Pizza Delicious. And the name doesn't lie! The pizza is fantastic. There are also choices of wine and beer as well. And the slices are big!
One major attraction in the downtown (CBD) area is the WWII Museum, it is a beautiful museum that has a pretty cool set-up. You are given dog tags and a story to follow, you can listen to your person's story as you walk through several buildings to see the many exhibits.
Other areas of interest include: The Marigny, City Park, Treme, CBD, and Midcity which I don't know much about yet but I intend to!
Mardi Gras
Many tourists see Mardi Gras as an opportune drunk-fest, but there is much more to it than that!
If you find yourself interested in some of the history, this link contains a bit of history. It also shows the dates of parades and parade routes, along with other tourist information. http://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/schedule.html#
Most of the parades within the city (as there are others in other areas outside of the city), travel along Magazine, Napoleon, St. Charles and down to the Quarter to Canal.
There are some things you should know. If you attend Mardi Gras in the CBD/ French Quarter area, there are bleachers, scaffolding, and stands set up for you to perch upon to enjoy the parades- though you pay. If you find yourself watching in the uptown area you can watch from the sidewalk and the neutral zone/area (the median) but often people set up seats, tents, and ladders for the kids and camp out until the parades start-- so always get there early (unless you don't care about a good spot).
Some basic rules that should be followed:
1. While everyone enjoys drinking throughout Mardi Gras, remember that children and families will be in attendance, especially during the day, so don't knock the children over (OR ANYONE for that matter), or steal their throws. This is a happy time for everyone and many families have members on the floats that they are waiting to see.
2. Do not flash boobies. This is something you will get arrested for if seen by an officer- public indecency is a real thing. Of course, there are sexual innuendos and double entendres, etc. within the themes and costumes of the parade, you can still get in trouble. You don't actually have to do anything but stick your hands up and shout "hey" to get beads.
3. The beads aren't the best part. They throw some really cool stuff, like decorated shoes, purses, cups, hats, koozies, bags, candy, glass beads, and themed items.
4. Bring a bag to carry your throws. Trust me your neck will get sweaty, tired, and red if you wear them all night (and you'll be pinpointed as a tourist). Bring a bag. You'll want it.
5. Costume it up! While of course, these are not necessary, it adds to the fun-- but choose costumes that are not racist, please. There are many important cultural aspects to this event, don't be offensive :)
6. Be kind to the officers and local restaurants. Some restaurants on the parade routes stay open and serve during parades. Keep in mind that thousands of people are walking around, running in to use the bathrooms, and they can't prepare food for thousands all at once SO BE PREPARED TO WAIT PATIENTLY. I saw some very horrendous attitudes towards restaurant workers this past Mardi Gras, don't be pushy, they're doing more than the best that they can.
7. Use garbage cans when possible. This seems obvious, and the city does a wonderful job cleaning up post- Mardi Gras, but it's just frustrating to see piles of trash NEXT TO the trash can. Remember that people live here.
8. Don't pick up beads off the ground. Now, this is another way to spot a tourist. Think about it, what will you do with all the beads you collect in the end? Just leave them there OR there are occasional empty floats that roll through for the sole purpose of throwing the un-caught beads back. Also, if it's muddy and rainy and people are running in and out of port-o-potties.. well the beads are probably pretty gross.
9. It's not a sprint. It's a marathon. Pace yourself. If you're here for all of Mardi Gras week, Wednesday through Tuesday, there are many, many parades and events to attend. Don't feel guilty taking a day off, or missing a parade, if you want to last all the way through Mardi Gras Day (Zulu -one of the coolest- rides at 8 a.m. Mardi Gras Day). And make sure to hydrate, if you're drinking four days or five days straight, eat, drink water, stay afloat.
10. Be prepared rain or shine. The parades will roll no matter the weather (unless it is dangerous for the riders). Bring a raincoat, be prepared.
This list will be updated with every adventure I take. I hope this helps. And any friends with comments or additions please send me a message and I'll add it!
Also remember, you can drink as you walk through this city. Publicly drinking is a city-wide thing, but please be sure to be kind and throw your plastic cups in garbage cans located on sidewalks and keep our city clean :).
Some images from above were taken by me personally, while others were obtained through Google and I claim no rights!
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