Dedicated to my buffoon goon of a brother, Daniel.
New Orleans
New Orleans
And you thought I finished up my blog posts? Never! It's me again! Minhee! I could never skip REFLECTION. It's too important. Here are my thoughts, condensed and re-thought out in text. NEW ORLEANS was certainly a new adventure for me. I've only been to Florida for Disneyland, but I don't think that gave me a good glimpse of Southern America. To be really honest with you, I had no expectations. I didn't thoroughly research the history or culture of New Orleans as much as other places I have been to (other than places to eat, attractions, etc.). New Orleans was also a slightly random choice of vacation location, but it excited me regardless because I think it's really cool and important to see other parts of the world! Since traveling more these past years, I have found a lot of value in traveling and appreciate the massiveness of both the States and the planet. I definitely want to travel more domestically.
First, I didn't realize how much French influence there would still be in New Orleans - street names, architecture, food, famous attractions, and even its legal system. Compared to other big cities in America, New Orleans definitely still holds onto its roots. I liked walking around in the more residential areas of New Orleans and admiring the architecture. The buildings were all connected and colored in pastels. I liked the ornate patterns on the window panes. As we streetcarred through less city areas of New Orleans, Allison remarked how many houses had columns and porches. It made me think of the houses in my area and how no one really has a porch, and if they do have one, it's not used so much. The majority of the food I ate was Cajun and Creole. I've never really had either before, so I was glad to try. Cajun food in particular is deeply salty and seafood and meat heavy. I enjoyed the unique flavor, but really yearned for some fresh vegetables during the trip. I remarked to Allison that I could probably eat a whole head of lettuce. Hehe. The beignets were awesome, but very much fried and drenched in powdered sugar. They're something I would have every now and then. The jazz scene was awesome. I don't listen to jazz regularly, but I definitely appreciate it. A lot of the bars housed free live jazz performances and you could hear lots of charming melodies by simply walking down a street. We were able to see live jazz at Preservation Hall and that was really awesome. I like how improvisation is encouraged and celebrated. I've played instruments in school and always had to stick to strict tempos and notes (which also makes for good music, just different methods). People seemed more comfortable speaking with each other, especially in public. Sometimes, that led to some deeply rooted racist conversations (with good intentions, surely, but dang... have you never seen an Asian person in your life), but I appreciated it. In New Jersey, people don't really talk to each other. I'm used to sticking to my agenda, having a friendly 5-second interaction with my cashier, and saying quick thank you's and running out. Strangers simply don't talk to each other. It's as if everyone might have malicious intent. Kind of sad, but given the world we live in, kind of necessary. But anyway, I liked the friendliness of the people around me. Uber drivers were more prone to conversation too, but probably because they noticed we were tourists and wanted to impart some good advice. Overall, I had a fun week! There were definitely more places to scope out further away from the French Quarter, but I think we got to see a lot. As much as I enjoyed being in a new space, I probably would not visit again. If I did, I would probably stray away from the French Quarter and see the Garden District or areas by the river! I will say that I had a blast with Allison and I would love to travel with friends in the future (time, opportunity, and money permitting)! And of course, I loved blogging!!! I just like remembering what I did. In full detail. I hope to use this more in the summer. Or even spring break! Heehee. Stay tuned for potentially more...
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Today is only words and MS Paint drawings.Cot damn. The day started out with Allison and me eating our last breakfast. Rip grits. After eating and whatnot, we checked out of our hotel and said bye to New Orleans. We headed to Louis Armstrong Airport and driven by a Uber driver who we thought was talking to us, but was actually talking into his earphone(?) or something. Gee whiz. (It was at this moment I realized that I had a drawing tablet and proceeded to draw out my MS Paint art via that rather than via my trackpad.) Our flights were to depart around the same time. We hung around together and got Starbucks. I got an iced coconut milk latte, which sounds awesome, but tasted so bad. It was so sour. Oh well. At some point, Allison left to go to her gate and I watched Bojack Horseman, ate corn chips, and tried to inhale as much coconut as possible. I innocently thought I'd be home in a couple of hours, comfy in the presence of my family and familiar surroundings. Oh, was I so wrong. Here begins my internal monologue of a series of annoying events. 11:15AM FLIGHT DELAYED TO 12:30PM Okay, okay, not terrible. Things could be worse. Allison texted me telling me she was boarding. I didn't mind waiting another hourish. I end up watching more Bojack Horseman and eating corn chips. I board. Everything is good. Until all of the passengers and I sit there on the plane, waiting and waiting and waiting until the pilot mentions that there's some sort of error. We wait another minutes or what-have-you... and we have to get off the airplane. Something is up with the engine and the quick fix ain't working. Fricking bummer! Everyone is exasperated and collectively groans. We all file out with carry-on's and such. Well this is annoying. 12:30PM FLIGHT DELAYED TO 1:19PM Oh wait, just kidding. 1:19PM FLIGHT DELAYED TO 2:00PM Many people storm the representatives at desk back at the terminal. People are unhappy. I'm sure a lot of people were on a time constraint and had to be back in New Jersey for business. Or maybe they just wanted to go home. I vainly wait in line, hoping to hop on a plane at 2pm and go home and enjoy good Korean food. At some point, I get tired of waiting in line and decide to leave the line and buy a protein box (which costed $11 for 2 boiled eggs, cheeses, and crackers) for lunch. Whatever, okay. 2:00PM FLIGHT DELAYED TO 6:00PM OH MY GOSH you've got to be fricking kidding me. At this point, I have eaten my protein box and settled back down near the gate. Everyone around me is annoyed. Luckily, I have no time constraint. But still. I just want to go home. But in order to do so, I need to wait another 4 hours. I ponder what to do in that time and decide to Facetime some friends I haven't talked to in a while. You know, why not? At this point, my laptop has about 20% battery left and my headphones have about 25%. I only brought my phone charger in my personal bag. I yearn for the laptop charger in my checked in bag, but alas, as a wise man once said, whatevz. As I Facetime my friends, I decide to walk around the terminal out of boredom, exercise, and exploration. I figure there's no point in sitting around doing nothing. As I peruse the other gates, I end up walking out past security. I turn back to the worker in horror and protest and earnestly say that I accidentally walked out. He spares me no mercy and tells me to go through security again. Frick! Well, also my fault. I go through security once more. I tell the worker, who sees my already marked and checked boarding pass. We have a laugh and I go through security once more. Literally right before my bags go through perusal, I realize that I refilled my water bottle! It was about halfway full. I took my water bottle and looked for somewhere to dump my water. Frick, I can't exactly pour my water into the trash can. That's indecent. So I decide to chug down my water, spilling a little on myself. I take a bin and put my lone water bottle in there. Given the circumstance, I think I did a good job! I feel like I could have caused more ruckus for the people around me. Yeet. After this whole debacle, I Facetime my brother for funsies. I highly contemplate getting another Starbucks drink to compensate for my not so great one earlier. I decide against it, mainly because I didn't want both of my hands to be carrying something. I sit down at a emptyish gate. I whip out my laptop and squeeze out like 20 minutes of a Bojack episode. Darn. I dillydally some more and eventually approach my actual gate. I sit down and await my 6pm flight. I pack up my stuff and travel to the bathroom pretty often. At some point, the fire alarm goes off, making a piercing and repetitive noise. Everyone semi-panics, until we realize that the workers are literally not moving. One person mentions how we're situated right next to an emergency exit door and how he won't move until he sees/smells smoke. Okay man, I think. Valid. The alarm announces that there's some small fire somewhere in the gigantic airport. Eventually, just the fire alarm lights are going off. Then nothing altogether. I imagine everyone thinking, lmao what? 6:00PM FLIGHT DELAYED TO 6:29PM Ooooooooooooooookay. Wacky. I whip out Becoming by Michelle Obama. I have 50-60 pages left. People around me seem pissed and fidgety. 6:29PM FLIGHT DELAYED TO 7:00PM Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. ORIGINAL DEPARTURE: 11:15AM
ACTUAL BOARDING TIME: 7:00PM ACTUAL PLANE LEAVING THE GROUND: 8:00PM Horrendous. The flight is so empty, probably because people were able to get other flights. The pilot, who flew from Houston to pick up this flight, apologizes for the inconvenience. Within 15 minutes of the flight, my headphones finally give in on me. I had finished my book. I really didn't have much to do other than sleep. I try, leaving my headphones on to block out noise, which it does semi-successfully. I do not sleep. I end up looking through my photos on my phone and thinking of tongue twisters. Yeesh. FINALLY, I arrive home nearly 8 hours late. I vow to write an angry email and demand some sort of compensation. Absolutely ridiculous, this is! I thought that my airplane woe was quite extraordinary and deserved its own post. It did take up my whole day, so I guess it's worth it. Reflection to come soon. I hope you felt my feelings throughout the day. Dwell on them. |
Who dis?Guess what - it's me again! Travels commence again this winter. Join my pal, Allison, and I as we enjoy all Nola has to offer. Blogging from 1/6 til 1/10! Bone apple teeth~ ArchivesCategories |