The NOLA Experience: A Photo Blog

Welcome back Tulane! We are all back to normal on campus after Isaac and looking forward to continuing with orientation activities and classes this week. No major damage on campus, and with the exception of a few downed tree limbs, the city of New Orleans is back to normal as well.

For over 250 members of the incoming class of 2016, their Tulane and New Orleans experience started a week early as participants in the NOLA Experience. NOLA gives students an opportunity to spend a full week in town before classes start in one of 16 different tracks. Tracks range from outdoor adventures to food to sports. You can read a little more about NOLA in my post about it from my experience as a track leader last year.

For the second year, I was a track leader and man was it a great week! My coworker Andrew and I took the reins as leaders on the Crescent City Arts + Music track. We did everything music, art, theater, photography  architecture, etc. Rather than go into great detail telling you all about the stuff we did, I figured a photo blog was in order. So, here goes. Enjoy!

Day 1 took us on a Louisiana Swamp Tour in Jean Lafitte National Park. Here are four of NOLA's best Orientation Leaders: Samantha (one of my freshman participants from last year!) John, Kensey and Madison.  

Checkin' out one big gator!

The beauty of Jean Lafitte National Park

On day two, we did some community service by helping landscape and weed the Sculpture Garden at the New Orleans Museum of Art

Then we had a lunch picnic in the garden

On day three, we checked out Byrdie's Gallery. They do all kinds of great stuff with clay. Here we are raku firing some fleur-de-lis clay pieces we glazed. 

Here we are gazing our pieces before the raku fire. 

Outside of Byrdie's clay studio. She's a Tulane graduate from 2008!

Some work inside of Byrdie's.

Here's the final product! 

My co-track leader give a quick lesson all about the St. Claude Arts District. 

We also took an amazing bike tour of the Marigny and Bywater neighborhoods. Here's Kenzie and Lea getting ready to get on their bikes.

We also checked out the Treme neighborhood on the bike tour. Here's the New Orleans African American Museum. 

Here's a shot from our bike tour of the Marigny. Did you know that New Orleans is home to the nation's oldest WWI monument? Well here it is!

Lunch break on day three at Cake Cafe, one of my favorite restaurants in the Marigny. 

Group shot out front of Cake Cafe

On Day 4, we were in for a real treat! Frank Relle, one of New Orleans' most famed photographers (and a Tulane alum) took us on an incredible photo scavenger hunt of the French Quarter. It was a blast! To see some of Frank's work, check out  http://www.frankrelle.com/. And for you freshmen, you will recognize his photos from the cover of your summer reading book, Nine Lives. 

That's Frank in the middle. He's a pretty excellent dude. Here we are mid-scavenger hunt at Pirates Alley in the French Quarter.

Posing for a shot on the French Quarter scavenger hunt.  

This was awesome. One of the stops on the photo hunt was in this amazing antique store. Ethyn, who's an amazing musician, was invited to play on this antique piano (for sale for $250,000!). Turns out Billy Joel played this very same piano two weeks ago, which was originally built as Chopin's personal piano! 

The group stops for a photo op in the French Quarter

That French Quarter sure is pretty!

More from the photo tour of the French Quarter. I guess Marie didn't get that jumping memo. 

The photo hunt took us in this amazing Civil War shop in the French Quarter. 

One of the scavenger hunt clues was "Bobby McFerrin slogan." We found it!

In the afternoon onday 4, we checked out New Orleans printmaking and glass studio. 

Here we are learning how to screen print. 

And here we are getting a demo on how to make glass Mardi Gras beads using the torch firing method. 

Meanwhile, here is Bella and Ellie drying off their freshly screened shirts.

Sarah screen printing her shirt. 

Sunglasses required for bead making. 

Veronica hard at work on her glass bead.

The second half of day 4, we hit up Mardi Gras World to see where Mardi Gras is made. Here we are on our tour. 

On day 5, we teamed up with Galeria Alegrai to make masks using Mardi Gras beads. 

 Here we are hard at work on the mask mosaics!

I told them to show up when they meet their roommate for the first time wearing this.  

After masks were done, we got a great improv show from the team at The New Movement. Check them out at  http://www.newmovementtheater.com/new-orleans/   

Last stop of the week was WTUL, our campus radio station. 

That's a lotta vinyl. 

All in all a great week! Can't wait for NOLA next year.