So, this past weekend I FINALLY made it to the crescent city of New Orleans! I was completely stoked as I'd not been there before and it's been on my short-term bucket list. But this weekend, my friends and I took that 6.5 hour trek for the Essence Music Festival.
We had a rolling ball, and here at my desk on Tuesday morning, I'm paying for it! I am not sure if the city didn't sleep simply because it was the Essence Music Festival Weekend, or if that's just how the place got down. Either way, I barely winked the entire time that I was there. The city has this shop called 'Daiquris' and they serve drinks ALL of the time. I mean they have these places in the malls, and you can even DRIVE-THRU and get one! And the business is a franchise so they're pretty much on every other corner. I'm not a drinker, but even I was impressed! We people-watched and partied until I felt like I was sleep-walking and I learned some of their lovable lingo...and let me just tell you, their linguistics sound like NO other place on Earth! It's not just for television! And Bourbon St, I'm convinced is Babylon. I saw so much tomfoolery and debauchery that I never have to watch t.v EVER again!
I found that this place is an enigma to me, and I'm sure it would've been the same pre-Katrina. The city's tourist areas looked just as I imagined...vibrant, full of life, gaudy, gorgeous, and armed with old money. The French quarter and it's view of the Mississippi River was absolutely breathtaking, and I enjoyed every minute of the view, even with the devil breathing down my neck (I'm sure it was hotter than hell). Once we finished with all things touristy, I felt we'd be remiss not to visit the lower 9th ward. You see, I love to have fun, but I also like to be checked in reality. And boy, was I!! I saw so many homes that still were abandoned, boarded up, spray-painted with hazard numbers and just plain ole debris. As fun as my weekend was, these are the sights that wiped the smiles clean off my face. I just didn't understand how I could go across a bridge and witness SO much devastation and dilapidation when the "other parts" of the city were still thriving like nothing has ever happened. I completely understand that in order for the city to continue to generate revenue, they have maintain the "ritz" of the tourists' areas, however I don't understand how people can be in your own backyard, literally and be so impoverished. I became livid, overwhelmingly sad and motivated all at the same time. We REALLY failed with Katrina, and I mean epically so. It's a shame that even 6 years later, conditions like the aforementioned in the city still exist. I don't know if people come to the place and just don't care to see the devastation or just don't care about the fact that it exists altogether. Either way, after having a blast while I was there for the festival, I came back home with a different inspiration to do my part in aiding impoverished cities and at-risk youth. It's one thing to see things from afar (it seems like everyone has forgotten), it's something altogether different to travel the same path. And you can mark my words, as sure as my name is Anneka, you can bet that I will do what I can to help with such a catastrophe. I encourage and even challenge you to do the same.
No comments:
Post a Comment