Impressions of New Orleans 9/21/07

New Orleans is a great city. There is still A LOT of work to be done though. I live in the lower Garden District and pretty much on the border between what was flooded and what wasn't. Most of the tourist sites (French Quarter, Garden District) were not flooded, but there was still damage to electricity and some houses had wind damage. Once you get past that area, though, the repair is sporadic. Some areas are great - there are only a few still damaged houses and it looks pretty normal. Other areas are not so great - many houses are still "abandoned" (that doesn't mean that no one lives in them though, which makes those areas in particular pretty dangerous). On my walk to school (on Canal St.) there is a ton of construction going on and many buildings have been completely renovated. Lots of stores are open (although at strange times, but I'm not sure if that's just New Orleans or if that's from Katrina). Despite everything that's gone on in NOLA, the people are still wonderful - I've been taking the public bus to school sometimes and people just talk to you about their experiences. It's amazing. People are still VERY frustrated with the lack of funding, FEMA, and the levies, but they're trying their best to make due.

Classes are good too. They're all really interesting and I like that there is a very international aspect to the whole school - not just the classes. There are people studying here that have been all over the world. I'm living in a house with three other housemates - which is really interesting. There is another female public health student and 2 male part-time students. One is a bartender! Hehe, it's actually really nice living w/ people who aren't in public health and who know the city really well (one of my housemates has lived here for 7 years).