Saturday's Adventure (Outer Journey)

The Ursuline Convent is one of the only true French buildings left in New Orleans. It is very large and has a nice courtyard. The courtyard has these pretty trellis fixtures around one of the bells. I liked the way that the bushes were taken care of. The bushes were extremely green. The convent was made from cypress which is supposed to be termite resistant. It had to have some pieces replaced though. Just because something is resistant does not mean it can not happen. It was nice to learn about that and cypress. I am glad I packed a little snack or two because there was a lot of walking today. I was super hungry and ate one of my apples and muffins. It curbed my appetite until we went to the open air market. I wish I would have gone shopping because the stuff was really pretty. We decided to go to a BB Kings Blues Club. It was the best music I have heard since I was able to sit down and go some place. I had the spinach dip and it was creamy. We walked from there to our food tasting. The streets were packed and crazy. My first meal was a Po'boy. It had roast beef and southern mustard. The mustard adds a nice kick to the piece it's self. One of the places called Arnaud's had a really cool museum for Mardi Gra Queens. The dresses in that room were so intricate. There were so many little crystals. I love dresses and these are the best. Today was a long day but food was the best.

The Inner Foodie (Inner Journey)

Today Consisted of three different adventures. First we went to the Ursuline Convent. The Ursuline Convent was very big and beautiful. I am not the most religious person in the city. I believe religion is the best for some but not for me. I did not feel very comfortable, but I did enjoy going and seeing the architecture. I think it is weird to donate money to a place and it not getting taxed. I liked that the chapel had a statue of Joan of Arc. I like that she fought in battles, it makes me happy that she tried to fight the patriarchal society. She also has a statue else where in the city and her weapon of choice is the canon. After the Ursuline Convent, we went to the St. Louis Cathedral it was larger than life. I really liked the walk back to the cathedral. There were a ton of people and performers. The music clung around the city and streets. I loved being able to see the dancing Pikachu. I wish I was able to take a picture with him, but we were too busy. The air smelt like fresh sweets and barbecue. I would enjoy going and eating at one of the barbecue places or eat something that I never eat in Peoria. This is the city that has the most unusual people and I like the open and free atmosphere.
In the cathedral we enjoyed looked at the way they are set up. I wish I was more into the religious vibes. I did not relate too much.
The most exciting part of the day was going to the food tasting. The food was different than what I had expected. I had the turtle soup and it tasted like a weird chicken. It was unlike anything I have eaten. The praline was really good and sweet. They use butter, cream, and pecans. They are almost like a soft brittle. I am excited to try more food later on my own. Today was a success.

Inside a Tourist Eyes (Inner Journey)

Today was so much fun. I was able to experience a few firsts. My first macaroon was so delicious. It tasted like a brownie with a thick frosting on. I got them from PJ's coffee today with some other students. Today was the day with the least amount of anxiety. I was able to have fun and enjoy the weather. The wind was a little chilly, but the sun was amazing and felt great on my skin. I have not felt this great sunshine in a long time. I feel a slight sting on my scalp since I have such fair skin. I met one of the mules on the French Market. Meeting this mule made me so happy. They are so sweet and adorable. She had put her head on my chest, this was super exciting. I wanted to meet some new friends while I was down here and this was a check mark off my list. I hope I am doing well with people. I hope the people I have been with on this trip do not think I am weird. I just like being open anymore since I am not in high school.
I love being able to talk openly with people who are into the nerdy things like video games and television shows. In this city, I feel that I can be who I want to be. it is very relaxing, I like my outfits and being free. I know some of my outfits were a little thin for the weather. This is my goal to have more freedom of expression towards my style.
One of our tours was interesting because the houses have there own personalities in this city. A few of the houses were a fancy French style in the French Quarter. It makes me want to have a nice large fancy house and have a ball.

A Little Bit of Sunshine (Outer Journey)

Today was started off with a trip down to breakfast. I had a fresh waffle with strawberries on top. It was so sweet and delicious. We walked down to the French Quarter. It was about a mile from the hotel. I had fun exploring the scenery to our destination. We went Jackson Square and waited on our tour guide, Milton. While waiting on him to arrive, I made a new friend named Patsy Klein. My friend was a mule, she was a sweet. She is intelligent and able to pet her. He was a sweet man who enjoyed his job.  He took us on a tour of Congo Square. It was beautiful, I loved going to the square. We then went to one of the cemeteries. It was surreal seeing all of tombs in the cemetery. There are so many lives and history placed into just one little block. They are all buried above ground. There were so many different tombs and we were able to see how some people were segregated even in death. After the tour we ordered a taxi to the hotel for my jacket and to take a small break. From the hotel, we walked to the pharmacy museum. I was ten times more comfortable when I had my jacket on. I tried macrons for the first time and they were great. I had a chocolate one and they have been something I wanted to try for a while. When we got done with the pharmacy we went and explored some art galleries. There were a few pieces that were neat. There were tones of pieces that reminded me of granite, but they were different. They had Mardi Gras masks connected to them also. When we were done with the galleries, we went down to the Frenchman street, it was fun to explore. Later we tried a couple of places and went to hotel to finish the night.

The New Exploration (Inner Journey)

Today gave me a little anxiety. I never take public transportation or taxis. I used both today. I freaked out the most with the Uber because she had gone the wrong way twice on our way to the hotel. I have read too many stories of stuff going wrong with Ubers and taxis. We came out safe and sound. When she got lost it showed us around the other side of the hotel that we would have not seen before. Even though I had a little anxiety, I felt better when we safely made it to the hotel. I cannot fear the unknown. I must let go of past fears and embrace them, except spiders. If I see one while here, I’ll run miles away. When we got to the hotel, we were the first to get there but the last to get our key. I was rushing to get my shower in before we had to go somewhere else. That shower was the best thing I had experienced that early in the day. I had felt so dirty after getting off that train. At my house it takes a minute or two to get the water warm, here it was immediate. Even though I was rushed I was so happy afterward. After the shower and getting dressed, I had to run down to the lobby and wait for the rest of the class to show up. We walked a couple of blocks until we hit where our street car was supposed to pick us up. I was curious when I kept hearing ambulances and fire trucks on the road. I wish I could have investigated what happened, but our car showed up right in time. I was different because I could see the city. When I was told that there may be rats the size of opossums, I was pretty interested in maybe seeing the little guys. I’m a little disappointed I didn’t meet them yet. When we had finally made it to the French Quarter it was down pouring hard. I enjoyed seeing the buildings and the

holiday set up. I wanted to explore, but I couldn’t leave the group. There were so many things to do, but too much rain preventing me from doing any of them. We went to the Original Pierre Maspero’s and my Jambalaya was good. I do wish I only ordered the crab cakes because those were so amazing. They had a slight kick and the crab was so different compared to what I have ever eaten. After dinner was when the rain was the worst, but my table went to Bourbon street and it looks like it may be exciting when we try it out. Since there was no Jazz band until late, we decided to run and go to Café Du monde. I did not like it as much as I thought I would. I think I would rather have tried dessert at the restaurant. After trying the Café, we decided to leave the French Quarter. Today I really enjoyed talking to some of my class mates more. I felt awkward at first because I do not any of them. Today was very successful for me.

Beignets and a Little Rain (Outer journey)

Today was extremely wet. When we were getting off the train it started to sprinkle then later it started to down pour. When we got off the train, we were able to see the Super Dome. It was a lot smaller than the Dallas Stadium I have visited, but still impressive to gaze at. We had to wait to get our luggage and the air smelled like herbs and cheese bread. My stomach was growling the whole time. We had ordered an Uber, it was a brand-new experience. Our Uber lady got lost, but we found a gourmet grilled cheese place to try out. As she circled back around to our hotel, we noticed we were the first people to show up. After getting our room key we went into our room and started to get ready for dinner. I hoped into the shower. I have never felt the need to take a shower so bad as today. Turns out I could have waited to take a shower due to the weather. It was still Sprinkling when we left the hotel to the streetcar. This was a new

experience for me. It was different because if you wanted off the car at a certain stop you pulled the wire to notify the person in front. Our destination was to the Original Pierre Maspero’s. The food I tried was so good. The Jambalaya was my favorite from my sampler platter. It ha a little spice and seafood. After the dinner, our table went to Bourbon street for a minute before we got completely soaked from the rain. Since none of the bands played until later, we decided to leave and meet at Café Du Monde. I had beignets and coffee, which was supposed to be hot chocolate. Beignets are very similar to funnel cakes. The coffee was good even though I did not want it. At this point the rain was going down even harder. My jacket was completely soaked the whole time. Even though I was soaked I enjoyed every moment of it.

Too Much Time Thinking (Inner Journey)

Today has been full of a lot of emotions. I have only been without my animals for a couple of days in my life. My animals help keep my anxiety from getting too out of control. While in New Orleans, I hope I meet some new animal buddies to help me out. Coming out to Champaign was different because I did not drive. I am usually always the who volunteers to drive places. We were singing in the car and talking about

what would like to do while there. Ever since I was told about Comic Con/ Wizard Con in New Orleans I have been so excited.

I am very passionate about nature and seeing the natural beauty in the places I visit. While on the train I was trying to look out the window into the woods. Every state was the same they were full of trash. Near the tracks and the farthest I was able to see. It is so sad to see because animals choke and die on that material. I am also angry at the people who think it is okay to just throw garbage out onto the ground and not garbage. The last hour was peaceful watching a couple of pelicans flying around one of the marshes. I almost felt like it was me about to take a dip into the unknown. The bird dives in with the hope that it is going to find something just like I hope I can rekindle some of my creativity.