New Orleans-just arriving

I am at a café. Avram is at work. Before I walked here, I walked his dog, Mason. We walked by a school that had a chicken co-op and Mason's puppy brain had a overload of excitement. He didn't quite know how to process his extreme good fortune of finding small, bite-sizable animals that smelled so darn delicious.

By the way, I am in New Orleans, visiting my friend Avram. Avram lives in a shotgun house with a girl named Ana. It's not really a house, but more of a really long room. To get to the bathroom one must walk through the living room, Avi's bedroom, Ana's bedroom, and the kitchen. Each room is connected through tall french doors. I had a conversation last night while in Ana's bed, (she is out of town, thank you Ana) talking in a loud voice, to Avi who was in his bed in the room next door. I've never staying in a shotgun house, and it is perplexing why a house would be made that way. Avi doesn't have any answers either.

My objective today, before Avi gets home around 5:30, is self-reflection & arrival. I find the best way to travel and to see new things, is to first empty what I have going on in my brain. I must empty my goblet before I refill it. I am journaling, blogging, reading, walking down canal street and checking out the people, the trees, the way the air feels different on my body here. I just had my first cup of Chicken Andouille gumbo. The soup was spicy and hearty, with tender chunks of shrimp, sausage and chicken. Avi and I googled gumbo recipes last night on his phone while we drank beer and smoked cigarettes at the bar (you can smoke at bars here). We plan on making a pot of gumbo on Thursday when Avi has off work.

I read a graphic novel last night called "A.D-After the Deluge" It had serious gaps in the plot, but was beautifully illustrated and put the flood in the forefront of my brain. Avi has a library of New Orleans type literature that he's marked and stacked for me on the coffee table. I want to read 5 books while I'm here. I've already read 1.

My students are on my mind. My little community. I wonder how they are. I hope they are still all there when we return from holiday. I think about Alondra who called me on the phone on Christmas Eve. "Hi Ms. Kraft" said a little voice. She called to tell me her baby sister, new to the world, was released from the hospital and she "already was home" was Alondra's words. What can I do to help her make this point of in time a special, rite of passage?

I am grateful for these 5 days of self, and outward discovery, of reflection and exploration, of laughter and fun, of sleeping late and cuddling with kitty cats, of blogging and reading, of food and drink, of long talks and long walks---for all this I am a happy girl.