DukeEngage | Duke Center for Civic Engagement

 I log on to the DukeEngage website a few minutes ago for the first time in a few weeks. Yet again, a picture appears of admirable Duke students who no doubt want to leave their mark somewhere on the world. And of course the picture took place in a foreign country. There is nothing wrong with this...but there is something wrong with the fact that this is what DukeEngage has become about: "going to an exquisite place to challenge yourself and change the world." I posted the following on my Facebook a few moments ago and feel compelled to do the same here, just hoping that it will reach a few more people:

Viewpoint: Three years after the Katrina disaster, the fate of the ravaged city has been strangely absent from the campaign

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1837105,00.html

People ask why I did DukeEngage New Orleans...why did I stay domestic? It's weird because the hard question for me is why do you feel compelled to leave the country?

"I watch the BBC, where America goes to all these countries and rebuilds communities in a matter of days," my mom observed last night. "That just doesn't happen here. People are losing hope, people are tired."

Restaurant Reviews (Parte Deux)

Somehow my blog has become an amalgamation of random asides, overly flowery observational writing, anecdotal recording and summer intern guidebook/tourism propoganda.  This post will do nothing to change any of that.

How about this time we start downtown and head uptown?  OK?  Sound good?  I thought so.

Cafe du Monde: I made an egregious oversight in not mentioning this New Orleans institution this first time around.  In my defense, it's not so much a restaurant as a coffee shop but when one of the city's most famous foods is produced someplace, it probably deserves a mention.  Here is the entire story on Cafe du Monde:

Go there.  Eat beignets.  Don't wear black.

I have rarely put something more delicious in my mouth than those ridiculous pieces of fried dough.  The coffee is pretty good too.

Tujagues: This is the second oldest restaurant in New Orleans.  The bar (like the actual wood) and the mirror behind it are even older and got shipped over from France or some such nonsense.  It features a fixed menu d'hotel which includes salad, bread, soup, brisket, main dish, bread pudding and coffee.

The bread was a little stale.  The seafood pasta didn't exactly make me believe in higher powers.  There was an actual crab leg in my gumbo which while a ringing endorsement for authenticity, was a little trick to negotiate in my soup.

THAT SAID, the brisket was amazing.  The meat just fell apart at the touch of the fork and was so good.  It made one want to never, ever, ever become a vegetarian because the despair of never eating such meat again would be too overwhelming.  I am exaggerating only slightly.

The bread pudding also made me immensely happy-- it was all rich and yummy and the rum sauce was excellent and best of all they brought and extra for Ask Allison! which we (by which I mean "I") got to eat.  It was good enough to make one be ok with being "shape challenged."

Landry's Seafood: This place in on Decatur (which makes me think of Sufjan every time), at the center of the river front tourism area and therefore does not scream "CATERS TO NATIVES."  We tend to avoid such places because we like to think that "summer interns" are at least one step above "tourists." Maybe my disdain is just a deeply ingrained Florida thing.  There's just something inherently annoying about knowing that the fanny-packed masses are responsible for your area's continued fiscal well-being.

That said, Landry's is delicious.  The service was particularly awesome-- Lauren, Margaret and I left feeling like some sort of VIPs.  There was free salad.  The bread was warm and just tender enough without being soft.  Our pasta was delicious (GRILLED SEAFOOD PASTA.  DO IT.)  Margaret's hamburger looked yummy, her steak fries and onion rings tasted yummy.  Did we mention that our waiter was excellent?  And the entire restaurant is decorated to feel like you are outside-- plants everywhere, the bar looks like the exterior of a building, faux-finishes, glass windows everywhere-- without having to BE outside-- where it it hot and muggy and there are bugs and you don't want to eat, just guzzle down water and reach AC.  Therefore Landry's is in fact amazing.

I never ate at Palace Cafe or Reconcile Cafe.  Next trip!

Food Court in 201 St. Charles (aka my building): I have been spoiled by the fact my building has an extensive food court on the second floor.  It means I could eat something different evryday of the summer without ever having to hit the sidewalks.  I mostly brought lunch anyway but when I didn't I enjoyed the hamburger place's cheeseburger, the Mexican's place's taco salad and the healthy place's peanut butter, banana and honey sandwich.  We were all very happy together.

FredRicks: When I did decide to leave the building, this deli down the street was an excellent choice.  I ordered a roast beef po-boy, because I enjoy roast beef approximately three times a year.  Maybe less.  Upon arriving back at the office I began to regret this choice when I opened the wrapper to find not a neat, orderly sandwich but rather a mess of meat, bread, gravy, mayonnaise, lettuce and tomatoes.  I spent a good deal of time analyzing how to even get the food out of the gravy soaked wrapper, eventually deciding to just get my hands dirty and clea up before continuing to work.  A fork and knife was also involved.  And once I got the food into my mouth it was great.  I recommend that should you find yourself on St. Charles and in need of lunch that you stop by.  (Joel would be so pleased by this.)

Welty's: I discussed this in my last post, but just to reiterate: yum.

Five Happiness: Actually in Mid City, but since it's located just lakeside of Canal, we'll throw it in here.  If the phrase "the best Chinese food in New Orleans" gives you pause, you aren't alone.  Even if you account for the large, restaurant-running Asian population of the city, they're mostly Vietnamese.  So the "best Vietnamese in New Orleans" might mean something.

The food is yummy though.  We had it for our education symposium and I ate a lot of it.  Not too greasy and take-out feeling, the cashew chicken won the night for me.  I bet they do good eggrolls.  If I really felt any urge to eat Chinese food in the land of red beans and rice I would get it here.

Juan's Flying Burrito: Not as good as Cosmic.

Nacho Mama's: ALSO not as good as Cosmic.

OK, so these two Mexican/creole/whatever places on magazine are both good.  The burritos at Juan's are humongous and filled with good things.  Their (over-priced) guacamole is delicious and when you eat it with your (not free) chips it will make you pleased with the world.  I enjoyed my mexican egg rolls at Nacho Mama's as well, though I enjoyed watching Nicole attempt to choke herself on soup more. 

(What does one do if one's dining companion chokes on soup?  There's nothing to Heimlich out!  Maybe CPR?  I don't know that either.  Do not have a medical emergency near me people.  You will die.)

The problem with both of these places is that I spent the entire time sitting there wishing I was at Cosmic having my mini burrito.  That's not their fault of course but simply means that I will drive into Durham on August 12 and proceed directly to Cosmic before going to my apartment.  Which is blissfully located 0.39 miles from my apartment.  It shall be a good year.

Oh, back on the topic of, you know, New Orleans, I prefer Juan's to Nacho Mama's, but they won't split checks, so if that is a concern it might be easier to head to Mama's.  Also, dude, punny names!  Loves it!

Slice: Pizza!  They do big, New York style slices with fun, boutique toppings and a bunch based on a tomato-less pesto type thing.  The salad is also divine.  While it's a full restaurant with lots of moderately priced Italian specialties, you can do dinner for under ten if you limit yourself to a half salad and a slice of pizza.  It's plenty of food and delicious.

Maybe you might want to not use the outside table like we did.  While it did allow us to be a bit loud, we essentially ate dinner with several members of the NOPD, a couple of crazy people and a homeless guy. YMMV.

Sucre: A "sweet boutique" on Magazine.  They do amazing specialty deserts-- delicate chocolates and candies, French macaroons, a sparkly purple Tiffany's mousse (no, it seriously looks like a five year old's shiny purple dance costume bodice).  We got the gelatto and it was delicious-- each flavor was incredibly rich and distinct and the "kid's cup" is more than enough for your average non-kid, especially if it's acting as a follow-up to dinner.  The entire ambiance is very cute and quirky, two very big thumbs way up.

Trolley Stop Cafe: Skip it, head to one of the 80 other (better) diners in the area.  There is a LOT of food on these plates but dude, they were OUT OF BISCUITS!

La Madeleine: So this chain which, people have been quick to tell us, is based in Texas, is pretty fun and cool actually.  The food is yum and the croissants are some of the best I've had in any sort of commercial environment.  I think we already all miss the chicken salad sandwich and tomato soup.  I really sincerely hope that they will soon spread their commercial influence to the Traingle area because I totally had more things I wanted to try and oh the deserts... happiness.

Magnolia Gril: Magnolia Grill is internationally famous.  It's bar style-- you walk in and sit the counter and order right up.  We got hamburgers (par normal) and laughed at our server who was... interesting, to say the least.  At many times the line for Magnolia Grill can go out the door and around the block so I strongly suggest going at an unusal time-- I think we hit it up on a Sunday night and we walked right in. 

Magnolia is also mentioned by name in the Preppy Handbook so you KNOW it MUST be good.

Rue de la Course: Super cute local coffee shop, though Carla complained that it's over priced.  I enjoyed the coffee and the ambiance is great-- they take great older buildings and retrofit them as coffee bars.  Free wi-fi (score!) and cuteness... we spent some major quality time hanging out on the sidewalk outside of this place (and the Starbucks on Magazine) wiling away the hours...

Jaques-Imos: Oh dear.  It took us entirely to long to go to this place.  You get to its location on Oak Street and the front entrance borders on sketchy-- tiny shopfront, barely looks like a restaurant, man out front playing checkers... then you go inside and if you're very lucky (or early) you don't have to wait and walk through the kitchen en route to the dining rooms, which are covered in gorgeous murals of New Orleans-y type things. 

Then your server brings you a plate of cornbread and YOU DIE AND GO TO HEAVEN.  It's all warm and sweet and covered in sweet butter and it amazing and yummy.

The food is a little pricy but split the entre and you're good to go.  The chicken isn't my FAVORITE fried chicken ever but it's pretty darn good and the mashed potatos are completely delicious.  We severely, severely enjoyed our dinner here and I wish we'd managed to go again before we left.

This post is a few days late as I am now home, still reflecting on my last two months in the Big Easy. I would like to date what is written beyond this sentence as Friday, August 1, 2008…

The day was ending and my bittersweet last moments on the 12th floor of 1515 Poydras had come to an end. I wished off my coworkers, gladly welcomed their last-minute advice on life, and walked into the scorching 97 degree, humidity-saturated day. I did not just leave the comforts of air-conditioning but I left where I felt most comfortable as my stay in New Orleans was near its end. During the last few weeks I began to spend more time with my coworkers than my fellow DukeEngagers. This is no slight against DukeEngagers. It is just the way things turned out. No longer was working out or playing sports after work an option because of my injuries. Around the time of my second injury (the dislocated finger for those keeping tab) I had moved desk locations to a room more prone to conversation and engagement. I actually enjoyed staying at work until five o’clock, a change from the groans and dozing head that usually signaled a day’s end.

So, understandably, it was a poignant goodbye as I left work for the last time today. But, the goodbye was necessary as we will see next. “You will appreciate it after it’s gone.” I think we have all heard this phrase uttered to us in some form. Over the past few weeks I was liberated from taking the streetcar home. Now, I enjoy the streetcar but the novelty wore off after the first month, especially after getting a ride with a coworker once. It was then I realized a trip that should take eight minutes was taking 45 minutes on the streetcar. Today, however, I snubbed a ride home knowing this would be my last opportunity to take the streetcar ride home until my next visit to New Orleans. It was one of my best decisions of the summer; it was after these 45 minutes did I realize that I Am Engaged.

After the ten minute walk down Poydras to St. Chaarles for the streetcar stop I waited the usual five to ten minutes for the streetcar to arrive. During this time the crowd waiting at the stop obviously grew; however, as the crowd grew, smiles escalated. I am in the middle of downtown New Orleans surrounded by skyscrapers and folks in business suits. The stereotype of northern cities is that everyone minds his or her own, walks their walk, and talks their talk. Constant hustle and bustle. I never noticed this walking downtown everyday for work. Interesting…

Applause all around me!

Ah, the streetcar has arrived. Such a great site: the streetcar driver looking down on us from his perch as we are all literally at his mercy. So many times, especially at the downtown stops, does the driver yell out of his open window (without even grazing the brakes, may I add) “Notha’ car comin’ right behind me!” with such a candid smile that all you can do is laugh as it rolls by and you are forced to wait another few minutes. Thankfully, today was not that day. The driver came to a graceful halt and was all smiles as he welcomed all of us aboard. It was at that point when I realized it was August 1. My month long streetcar pass for July had expired. I pulled out a dollar but had no quarter (yes, New Orleans transportation seems to think $1.25 is a convenient fare for the streetcars and buses). What real man carries change anyway? Pshh…Anyhow, I have been here for two months. Why panic? It is called the “Big Easy” for a reason. I told the driver the honest truth and he smiled, told me to put my dollar in the machine, and that “We ain’t gonna murder you o’r nuthin’ son.” Call me too analytical or whatever, I took kindly to the “We” in his statement. Nawlins is one great family.

And like any family would, as I got on the streetcar and saw no empty seats a young lady to my right was kind enough to slide over on that full bench so I could sit down. I am pretty sure half of her rear-end was struggling to stay on the bench but she did not mind. The eye-to-eye contact just said it all. You would have thought we were kin if you saw it play out. At the next stop, well, we did not stop. The exact scenario I described above about the driver passing happened. And as if God was confirming my beliefs about this city, the people waiting at the stop all laughed when the driver yelled that a car was behind him. No groans, no flipping the bird, and no anger.

A man with only a few coins soon came on the streetcar, explaining to the driver that he was only going a few blocks. He placed what he had into the coin machine and took a seat across from me. Call me cold-shouldered but growing up in the north you rarely will find a group of randomly selected people who do not mind talking to a homeless person…especially if much of the group were in business outfits. This guy came on the streetcar and started throwing out jokes left and right. It had rained a bit that day. He said he got poured on twice that day. He asked us if we were surprised and some guy from the back of the streetcar exclaims “Hell no, it’s New Orleans!” He said that he had been waiting 15 minutes for the streetcar. He asks us with a stern face “Why was the streetcar late?” He then shrugs, smiles, raises his hands palms upward, and says “Who knows?” The streetcar bursts into laughter because here in New Orleans, who does know? Live life easy and do not complain about what you cannot control.

The last interesting note I took on this final journey down St. Chaarles was when this woman had rung the bell to stop, walked to the front and realized that she was at wrong street when the streetcar made the stop. Nothing wrong with this. She then, however, proceeded to make the same mistakes for three more consecutive streets! I looked around each time and all I saw were smiles. The streetcar driver showed no chagrin and even explained what landmarks to look for next time. Four unnecessary stops! All of this resulting in a streetcar full of smiles.

Now, I have mentioned many miniscule details that I noticed during this last streetcar ride. During the walk back to my dorm, however, I realized that this is why I spent two months in New Orleans. The other day (Friday, July 25) we had went to a reception with Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu. Without making a whole new blog post, Landrieu told us that currently the city is on its knees. There are problems in every American city, whether being health care, education, housing, insurance, city sewer systems etc. all cities have problems. However, he added that New Orleans was different: New Orleans has all of these problems. In his eyes we are “rebuilding a civilization.” He told us touching stories about his mother and random New Orleanians who could not live anywhere else. Down in the south, especially in New Orleans, people do live with their pasts.

To further cap off the remarkable self-reflection and realizations during the past hour, I was able to fully understand words from the CEO (Joe) of my company earlier that day. In one of the more remarkable experiences of my two months I had the opportunity to sit in a sort of “executive meeting” at LPHI. I was there to present the policy brief I had been working on for the past month. Besides those two minutes, the rest of the hour was spent soaking in knowledge as three of the smartest people at LPHI talked about what steps to take next to better New Orleans health. Seeing as I was just an undergrad, they took the time to give me a crash course on public health. At the end of the meeting Joe took on a serious tone. He began brainstorming about possible connections to help make LPHI more community based. He seemed very concerned about this and said something to the sort of being up here in our building, educated with mostly master degrees or greater, it is sometimes difficult to connect with the people on the ground.

I then realized what I had learned as I observed the actions of New Orleanians for two months. To really work in a position of power in a service-based organization (like a public health institute) you must understand the people. Sounds cliché. Sounds easy. To put it in the context that made me understand it though was imagining if someone was trying to change me. To really get through to me someone would have to spend time to get to know me, understand what is important to me. Once you understand that New Orleanians do not bow to anybody, live life and enjoy every minute you start to understand the context of the mental health issues which abound. You understand why eating large food portions are part of New Orleans history. You understand why rebuilding the city is necessary. No more asking why Katrina had to hit. Because, “who knows?” Let’s just make the best out of it.

Thank you to Duke, Melinda Gates, and the Duke Endowment for giving me this great opportunity.
 

The date is Wednesday, August 6th, 2008. I’m writing this blog post from my grandparents’ house in Louisville, Kentucky, 359 miles from my hometown and 707 miles from New Orleans. I left the Big Easy last Saturday, stayed with Sushma overnight in Atlanta, and drove the rest of the way home on Sunday before leaving for Louisville on Tuesday. I already miss New Orleans like crazy.

Over the past few days, I’ve been asked two questions over and over: “How was your trip?” and “What did you learn?” To answer the former, I usually give a generic answer: I tell them the food’s great, the music even better, and I had a good internship experience. I hate giving that answer because I feel like it’s an injustice to the amazing experience I’ve had over the past two months.

Here’s my real answer: I feel like a part of me is missing now that I’ve left New Orleans. I miss energetic brass performances by Rebirth and Soul Rebels, improvisational jazz by the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, and the unpolished but incredible talent of dozens of rising stars at open mic nights. I miss the intimacy of Snug Harbor, the liveliness of Blue Nile, and the individuality of Bacchanal. I miss playing ultimate frisbee with college kids from all over the country, walking along Magazine Street on a lazy weekend afternoon, and running through Audubon Park and along the Mississippi River in 96 degree heat.

I miss the taste of fried shrimp topped with remoulade on a po’ boy, spicy jambalaya served with Creole gumbo, and sweet potato pancakes from Slim Goodies. I miss pub quiz at Finn McCool’s, happy hour at Superior Grill, and smooth shisha from Hookah Café. I miss my bright and mentor-like coworkers, the interesting entrepreneurs I interviewed, and the supportive group of Duke students I lived with. I miss meeting guest speakers and learning about the challenges New Orleans faces; I miss feeling like an insider trying to develop solutions to those challenges.

I miss a lot of things, but most of all I miss feeling alive and productive. Rarely did I have an extended period of downtime when I didn’t know what to do with myself. There were opportunities to go out and explore New Orleans every night, and when I didn’t feel like leaving the dorm, there were always other Duke Engagers to talk to and get to know better. Even on nights when we just sat in the same suite, writing our individual blogs in silence, the atmosphere was enough to keep me from feeling lonely.

Strangely enough, I’m feeling that loneliness now after returning home. It’s not that I didn’t miss my parents and friends back home – I’m extremely happy to see them. It’s just that I feel like there was no conclusion to my New Orleans experience, no way to wrap it up and feel satisfied. My internship improved in the last few weeks I was there, and I started to get really close with some of the Duke students, then bam! Experience over.

Even my connection to the Duke friends I’ve made will have to be put on hold: in less than 3 weeks, I’ll fly to Berlin, where I’m studying abroad for the fall semester. As excited as I am for Berlin, I feel a tinge of sadness fearing that the relations I formed with New Orleans and the people within it will slowly diminish into just a memory. My parents tell me that New Orleans will always be a part of me. I believe that, but it doesn’t make it any easier to leave behind.

That brings us to question number two – what did I learn; what will I take with me? I learned how to work in a group during my Idea Village internship, making mistakes throughout the summer that hopefully I can rectify in future jobs. The Village People also inspired me to pursue my ambitions and laugh at complacency. There’s a great video of a commencement speech on this subject by Steve Jobs that Daryn showed me. My career possibilities are wide open, but the one thing I’m sure about is I will refuse to remain in a career where I don’t look forward to going to work, even if that means not having a career at all and jumping around from job to job.

I also learned a lot about myself. I have a better understanding of my character strengths and weaknesses (thanks for the psychoanalysis, Rosanna), and I know what areas I want to work on in the future. I know my leadership style and how to best lead on a personal and professional level. I was also single for the first time in a very long while, which led to interesting results that I will not elaborate on, but I feel like I have a clearer vision of where I want to go with that in the future (sorry for the ambiguity, but this is a public blog).

One more thing I learned about myself – I love New Orleans. People at work always asked me if I would return to work in the city after graduation. While I still can’t give a definite “yes” because there’s much more of the world to explore, I know that I won’t be satisfied with just an occasional Mardi Gras trip back to NOLA. I mentioned earlier that I fear that my experience will one day be simply a memory, but while it’s impossible to recreate the same Duke Engage experience, it’s certainly not impossible to stay connected to the city. What form this takes is yet to be determined, but it’s safe to say my relationship with New Orleans is by no means over.

http://madsquared.blogspot.com/

wow, i really miss NOLA.