New Orleans

There are a lot of places I like, but I like New Orleans better. There's a thousand different angles at any moment. At any time you could run into a ritual honoring some vaguely known queen. Bluebloods, titled persons like crazy drunks, lean weakly against the walls and drag themselves through the gutter. Even they seem to have insights you might want to listen to. No action seems inappropriate here. The city is one very long poem. 

-Bob Dylan

It's been 17 days since I left snowy New Hampshire for the warmth of the southern states. There's something simultaneously terrifying and exhilarating in a complete uprooting, which is what this was. A new city where I knew no one, had no job and was tied only to a bed in a hostel for the low price of
two hours work per day

For anyone trying to travel on a budget I highly recommend emailing a hostel to see if they will exchange work for rent. I was surprised how quickly this one responded and how many other people I have met that have made similar arrangements in other parts of the country. 

 So I've been down here looking for work, very similar to what I was doing here three years ago applying for teachNOLA, except this time I'm on my own and looking at tutoring as well as teaching. There's a problem though, one that was hinted at by the Old Fool and I wish he were still with us so I could tell him that I finally get it. The people here are very warm and friendly, they talk to you at the bus stop and offer advice in the corner store, but they are by and large uneducation and, much to my horror, very proud of it. There is a culture of ignorance so vast that it seems to actually perpetuate itself. Businesses like the Who Dat Shack and hospital advertisements that dare the reader to translate a review written in "native slang". This pride in culture means that education as I know it is hard to find and support for it by parents even more scarce. The teachers I've spoken to are frustrated
or have checked out, urging me to lower my standards for pay and results.

Like I said, I love the city and have been having a blast walking around, taking full advantage of museums, architecture, and the streetcar system.

1. Vegetables: I have never been in a place, much less a city, where it was so hard to find a vegetable. I know it's another cultural thing, but as a vegetarian it gets a little tricky! I've found that there are really four places to get produce, Rouse's Market with a really small selection, Whole Food with a huge but more pricey selection, the farmer's market which seems to be hit or miss, and Wal-mart which is the last place I want to but veggies on principle alone. Everyplace is very expensive with a small container of mushrooms ringing up at $2.50!
2. IPA: Yeah, I have a beef with the beer around here. There are lots of Buds and Miller Lights but not a whole lot of good hoppy IPA or microbrews.
3. Pay: The cost of living is cheaper than the north, but the pay is also way less in most industries. As a teacher I wasn't offered more than $9/hour which is frustrating when bartenders start at $15/hr. 

So, what to do about New Orleans? Well, I think I'll take advantage of the city for a little while longer and then split for a new state, one with work. I like my hostel with my thirteen rotating roommates, but I've also seen those who have stayed too long, years in some cases, and that's not for me. So on I go!

Transient Eats

"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, 

it would be a merrier world"

-J. R.R. Tolkin

Today I reached the two week mark. Had I been a normal employee I would have given my two weeks notice today, but instead I gave it four weeks ago which created all kinds of hullabaloo. But oh well, the closer I get to the flight date the antsier I've become.

So here's a serious concern of mine which may seem a little vain especially in our transient world where we tend to be grateful for whatever we get. I loved living in the Jetta, but when it came down to eating it was hard to be healthy without a kitchen or place to store veggies. I tried to eat well with salad bars and lots of chick peas, but more often then not I'd pick up some french bread and cheese so by the time I graduated and moved back to New Hampshire I weighed a little over 250lbs. Now I've never been a small girl but that was the heaviest I've been so taking that off became a priority. The result of my post-vehicle resolution was that I've lost about 60lbs in the past nineteen months, which is roughly equivalent to a nine year old boy.

I started by eating only salads and exercising a lot, which helped me lose some but it really sucked, so (after giving up for a few months) I went Paleo. I really liked Paleo if only because it got me thinking about what healthy really means, but after about five months I went almost vegan. So 60lbs later I feel much better however I'm heading off again and wondering how on earth I'll keep healthy when I am once more faced with no kitchen. My saving grace is that I'll be in the relative heat of the south where no cook food and veggies are appropriate meals as opposed to the northeast in the winter where not only can you barely buy a vegetable (besides potatoes and onions) but all you want to eat is hot food.

I figure that if what I eat is my biggest concern about the move then I'm not doing too badly. I wish I was leaving tomorrow though. I'm ready!