Louisiana!!

Sunday I flew out of Philly on the way to Louisiana. Total flights: 2, Philly to ATL (of course... did you think I would connect anywhere else?) and ATL to Alexandria LA. My bag weighed exactly 50 pounds... that takes talent, so after 7 months of living out of a suitcase I can finally estimate what 50 pounds according to Delta airlines feels like. The weather was not bad in Philly but apparently in ATL and Louisiana it was rainy so everything was way delayed, so delayed in fact that I missed the chapter meeting! So, I did not get an opportunity to meet the chapter and introduce myself, oh well.

I have only been in Louisiana for two days and I already feel like I have tried so much new food and feel like I'm in a different place. I'm not sure I have heard the word ma'am so many times in two days : )

Maybe since I started out on the East Coast in Virginia and PA in the beginning of the year it didn't feel like too much of a different place. It was definitely in the same comfort zone, someplace new, but everything was not unfamiliar. Going from Wisconsin, where it was 14 below zero, I saw frozen lakes, ice fishing shacks to now Louisiana where the trees are green, flowers in bloom, sun shining feels ...much different.

The women were so surprised that I had not tried local favorites, dirty rice, gumbo, grits, craw fish and many more. So, I have made it a priority to eat as many new things as possible during my 4 weeks in the state, going more south each week I travel. Yesterday I had "good gumbo" for lunch during my Greek Advisor meeting, delicious. It seems that everyone has an opinion on where "good gumbo" can be found, so I had some with a seal of approval. I can now see why one of the chapter members craves her Mom's gumbo when she is feeling ill. I also had a beinget in the morning.. delicious pastry, like a doughnut only way more rich. Today I had a meat pie.. while ordering I asked the women I was having lunch with if it was like a Jamaican beef patty... they looked at me like I was strange and said they had never had one of those!! So, yes, in fact they are the same, you say meat pie, I say beef patty... potato, pahtotohe. I've also experienced fried okra, catfish fillet, craw fish tails. I keep hearing a new thing I need to try every time I look at a menu, its great.

The place I am staying this week is amazing. Its right on the river with flowers blooming and near the downtown area. The buildings here are different in a good way, definitely southern style, with black metal lattice on most buildings, and if not columns in the front. I'm also seeing Fleur de leis everywhere. Its great to see a place that has so much pride. There is LSU stuff everywhere, even though I'm not near LSU at all.