On the Other Hand 10/24/07

New Orleans is a great city. It's so different than other cities I've been to. This month, there is a jazz concert every Wednesday in Lafayette Square (close to my school). The concert is full of all different types of people - I think that might be what I like most. There are young children, elderly people, whites, blacks, families, students, business people... It's really nice going b/c you hear great music and it's great for people watching. While there is still a lot of work left to do in the city, there is also a lot of progress. There is pretty much construction everywhere!

While the city is a little more difficult to get around b/c you can't/shouldn't walk everywhere, unlike in Williamsburg, the public transportation is ALWAYS an adventure. I take the bus most days to school and navigating the system has been a bit of a challenge. But, I think I have the hang of it now. The city is also working on improving the system - one of the highlights of my week last week was seeing a streetcar go down St. Charles. I live about a block off of St. Charles in the lower Garden District. When Katrina hit, the entire streetcar system was wiped out. While it's running a little now (about 4 blocks - mainly tourists take it), it should be running about half way up St. Charles by November. It was very exciting to see it go past my block. Last week was a bit of a crazy week. Some of my classes are only half a semester (so the profs can do research out of the country) so I had several final exams and projects due. However, they went really well, and I miss not having those classes because they were so interesting. But, I did pick up another class, Public Nutrition and Health in Complex Emergencies. So far, it's very interesting and I think I might want to work in complex emergencies in the future. I'm also starting to look at classes for next semester - my only problem is that I want to take so many!

This week has been a very weather-full week (yes, I made up that word, but it's very applicable). On Saturday, it was beautiful weather - perfect outdoor, sunshine, nice comfortable temp. Sunday, the weather was hot and humid. Monday, we had torrential rain and flash flooding. Tuesday, more dark gloominess turning to windy and cold. Today, a little warmer (not much). The rest of the week is supposed to be nice, luckily!


On Saturday, I went costume shopping. New Orleanians love dressing up for any occasion, and Halloween is no exception. Apparently, things get crazy! So, I went to this store called "On the Other Hand." The woman who owns the store is amazing! She smokes like a chimney, is incredibly cheerful, and definitely from New Orleans. The store is a consignment store and she has the most amazing clothing from 20s dresses to Indian wedding outfits. When we came in, she told us everything was half off, the pink tagged items were 90% off, and everything was negotiable! I got a fully-sequined dress for $3, my friend got a bridesmaid dress for $25 and my other friend got a fully-beaded long dress for $20! It was great! Then, the lady asked if we could take pictures for her to see us in our lovely costumes :)