Two Days in NOLA

Here's me doin' a little dancing in Jackson Square. Not necessarily a part of the itinerary, but highly recommended. 

One of the most frequent questions I get from prospective students and their families, in addition to where should we eat in New Orleans, is: "We've never been to NOLA before... what should we do?"

New Orleans is a fabulous town in so many regards, so it never surprises me when we end up on the list for Travel + Leisure's World's Best Cities and land in the top ten. It would take well more than four years to experience everything that New Orleans has to offer. I've been here for 15 and still discover new and incredible things to check out every day. (By the way, want to see all my favorite spots in town? Follow my NOLA here, and there rest of the admission office here!)

But... what if you only have two days in town? At the risk of providing you with some of the more typical tourist options, I am going to offer you a nice itinerary for the first-time visitor to Tulane and New Orleans. Consider yourself a non-typical tourist, but someone who still wants to see the most important stuff.

Before we get going, I also had a few of my colleagues and current students provide their takes on what to do with only two days (the length of a typical college and city visit) in this fine town of ours. So, enjoy Two Days in NOLA for:

The Typical Tulanian
The History Buff
The Frugal Foodie
The Outdoorsy Family
The Health Nut
The Literature Lover
The Sports Addict 
The Art Lover 

And now, let's get going with Two Days in NOLA for the First Timer!

Day One:

Arrival:

Arrive in NOLA in the early afternoon and check into your hotel. We've got a number of hotels that we recommend that offer great discounts. If you've never been to New Orleans before, I would recommend staying somewhere close to downtown. New Orleans is a very walkable city and staying downtown will give you access to all we've got to offer. I'd recommend staying in the Central Business District (CBD) or the Warehouse District over staying in the French Quarter. The Quarter is amazing and definitely a place to check out during your time in NOLA, but can get verrrrry busy and difficult to navigate, especially on the weekends. The CBD and the Warehouse District are just a few blocks from the Quarter and provide some of the best hotels in town. My top three picks would be the International House, the Ace and the Renaissance Arts Hotel. The first two get my highest recommendation because they are totally local and boutique.

Afternoon:

You're heading to the French Quarter to spend the afternoon around Jackson Square and the St. Louis Cathedral. Jackson Square is the center of everything in New Orleans. Do a full lap around the square, peek in St. Louis Cathedral (which dates back to 1718) and check out the local artists, performers and tarot card readers that post up around the square. Then, dig in to some beignets at Cafe du Monde, because no NOLA trip is complete without them. Mosey down to the French Market (which closes at 6 pm) for a bit to grab some tchotchkes. Before it gets too late, stroll back up Royal Street (one of NOLA's 15 must see streets) to jam out to the street performers and check out the amazing stores like Cohen Antiques and MS Rau Antiques. If you must, head over a few blocks to Bourbon Street to say you saw it. And then run away from there very quickly because you are not a tourist and only tourists hang on Bourbon.

Evening:

Go eat. I have a whole blog dedicated to this. I could save you some time and just say go to Domenica.

Royal Street in all her glory. Photo: Four Seasons of Food blog

Day Two:

Morning:

Time for your campus tour! I recommend the 9 am tour before it gets too hot in the afternoon. Sign up here.

Afternoon:

Now it's time to really act like a local and head over to Magazine Street. Magazine is 6 miles long and has some of the best shopping, dining and drinking in town. It's also the place you're most likely to see Tulane students hanging out during their nights and weekends. Once your campus tour is wrapped up, head back to the Office of Admission, and then right out front to St. Charles Avenue to pick up the downtown streetcar. It's $1.25 and a great way to see the city. It's also the nation's only national historic landmark that is mobile. (Side note: right now some of the drainage under the tracks is being replaced, so at a few spots a bus route follows the same streetcar line.) Hop off the streetcar at Washington Street. This will put you in the heart of the Garden District, another must-see. Stroll around to see Commanders Palace and the beautiful homes that surround it, particularly on Coliseum, 2nd, 3rd and 4th streets. In just this area alone, you can find the home where Benjamin Button was filmed, Ann Rice's house, Sandra Bullock's house, and Archie Manning's house.

Once you've had your fill of the Garden District, keep walking away from St. Charles until you hit Magazine Street and make a right. The area of Magazine Street between Washington and Louisiana is where it's AT for lunch. Want to really get a taste of Tulane? Head straight to the Rum House for lunch. Or Ignatius. Or Basin Seafood. Or Dat Dog. Or Slim Goodies. I could go on and on.

One of the incredible houses you'll see in the Garden District. This one belongs to Sandra Bullock. Photo: Zimbo.com

Evening:

You've had some time to nap off your full day of eating and walking, and maybe you head to the gym, or even take one of my spin classes. Now, it's time to see what this music scene is all about in NOLA. After dinner, grab an Uber and head down to Frenchmen Street, considered by many to be the local's version of Bourbon Street. On Frenchmen, you'll find four blocks of some of the best live music in the world, from jazz to blues to gospel to reggae to rock n roll, Frenchmen has it all. My top choices would be the Spotted Cat, DBA, and Three Muses (which also has great food!). Spend a few hours bopping into any music venue you'd like. Most are free or relatively inexpensive. While you're there, drop in to the late-night Frenchmen Art Market. It's open until at least 1 a.m. and hosts some great local artists selling jewelry, painting, sculptures, etc.

Day Three:

Morning:

Time to check out one of the best museums in the world, The National WWII Museum. There is a reason it's ranked the top attraction in NOLA and one of the top ten museums in the world. First order of business will be seeing Beyond All Boundaries, a movie which will set the stage for the rest of your visit. Know why we have the WWII Museum here in NOLA? The hundreds of Higgins boats, the ones that landed on the beaches of Normandy and that Eisenhower credited as being a major factor in winning the war, were conceived of and built right here in town.

Once you've wrapped up your visit, stick around for just long enough to grab lunch in the Warehouse District, right where the museum is. I recommend Butcher, Peche or Cochon—all on my list for the top restaurants in town.

The National WWII Museum. Trust me- it's incredible! Photo: NYT.com

Afternoon:

Now it's time to head home. Wipe away those tears; you'll be back for four years to experience all of this and much, much more as a nearly-local by way of being a Tulanian!  

This could all be yours someday! 

St. Louis Cathedral

A little Tulane flair in the French Quarter

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THE WORLD OF SPORT

What is being a sports fan really about? Is it just like an addiction to chess or light beer or mashed potatoes? Well, no; it’s more than that. It makes you a citizen of a parallel world.

A famous sonnet by E. E. Cummings ends: “listen, there’s a hell/ of a good universe next door; let’s go.” With a somewhat different signification, Shakespeare wrote in ”Coriolanus”: “There is a world elsewhere.”  But a catchphrase like that surpasses and outlasts its original meaning. Many of us have been looking for and happy to embrace another habitat in a world of sport.

This alternative world is much more forgiving than our basic everyday one. If the player or team you root for loses, you can put on a brave smile and declare, “Just wait till next year.” It is a more sustainable loss than any other kind; you can even, with impunity, switch to another sport and win there.

But what if your team or player wins? True, your triumph is vicarious, but less so than a mere win at cards, say, or at pick-up sticks. Why? Because it is in an activity that the whole first world can watch on mass media, which for all is a form of projection into, participation in, a great game with the playing field not merely even but also universal.

I am basing this largely on my own experience, and my feeling of intense identification with this or that famous sports figure. But this identification is just as possible with an entire team. Take for example the orgiastic oneness with the American Women’s Soccer Team, winners just now of the World Cup. Do not the tens of thousands watching their triumphal progress through the Canyon of Heroes, as two tons of confetti at tax payers’ (i.e., your) expense, are wafted halo-like onto their heads absorb you into their victory?

I myself idolize my Serbian ex-compatriot and fellow Belgrader (former in my case, but still), tennis champion Novak Djokovic. Whenever he wins, and nowadays he usually does, it is very much as if I were winning a bit too. The only things comparable might be movie fandom and adoration of pop musicians, whether singers or instrumentalists. But even there, there is a significant difference. Those stars are not always around, at best in your record or video collection, but that is not happening in the Now, as a TV broadcast is. And somehow your having to handle a disc or a DVD makes it feel more manufactured, less universal than a program you watch with perhaps millions of others.

With actors or actresses, lust enters into the reckoning. As a heterosexual man, for example, you cannot quite escape some yearning, probably unacknowledged, for the likes of Jane Fonda, Mary Louise Parker, or Laila Robins. And then there is the fact that they are impersonating, being someone other than themselves, that makes for some distanciation--to say nothing of th’ expense of jism in a waste of shame. Djokovic, on the other hand, is always Djokovic, absorbing you as unmitigatedly himself. 

What promotes identification is also steady availability thanks to the Tennis Channel, ESPN, or some additional channel. This allows for close, extended contact such as I do not have with actors who are often on hiatus. Not to mention actors who rub me wrong: a Streisand and a Minnelli, say, who put me totally off. There is no one in sports who does quite that to me, although creatures like Svetlana Kuznetsova or Madison Keys come close. It may help, though, that we know little or nothing about the private lives of any of them.

Sports are simply better covered than the arts in just about any publication. The sports section of the Times keeps me company through my long breakfast as no other section, save the Arts or the Book Review, does. But in regional newspapers there is only sport accounted for, whereas movies, to say nothing of theater or literature, hardly exist.

Charismatic sports figures are depicted and written up extensively in the papers, and an aficionado can spend hours with them—not to mention attending them in action if one has the time and the means to do so. This, usually, provides al fresco benefits to boot.

And sports have their history too. There is no shortage of fan-historians who can recite for you the scores of baseball games long past including the names of batters and pitchers, with at least as much gusto and detail as most theater fans can come up with details about seemingly forgotten shows. But what am I getting at with all this?

I am trying to demonstrate that there is this other world of sports in which we can immerse ourselves, get passionately involved with, fill our thinking and conversation, and thus ward off the more humdrum, onerous, and potentially hurtful real world. I, for instance, spend hours upon hours watching tennis on TV, driving my uninterested wife nuts with the sound, and then spend more hours discussing it on the phone with a likeminded friend. To my mind, it far outclasses as escape the widespread passion for pop music, even as the sound of rackets hitting balls is subtler than that of most modern pop music, and I’ll even throw in Glass and Reich.

So it is also for you and me that the starting bell tolls or the pistol pops, that goals are scored and basketballs tossed, that fantastic jumps are made with or without pole over high bars, or down into the deep end of pools. For us also that losing shoulders are pinned down with half or double nelsons, that a baton is deftly passed from one runner to the next, that capped heads bob up from pool’s edge to pool’s edge, or heavy gloves thunder onto opposing chins. It is for us too that eternally young and charmingly bedizened persons pirouette on the ice, that foils and sabers are crossed and that skis fly through the air to dizzying distances and that teams or individuals leap gazelle-like across hurdles crowding upon them.

It is also for our emotional participation that a fully or partly inflated football is thrown across considerable distances, that archery conjures up memories of more glorious ages. I could go on and on, but think I have made my point sufficiently.

And as I am writing this, I have just watched the great Novak Djokovic once again wresting the Wimbledon trophy away from the grasp of magnificent Roger Federer, which fills me with a glow that will last me at least till nightfall. For childless me it is, I imagine, what a little boy’s flawless recitation of a poem or a little girl’s baking some prize-winning cookies is to a proud parent.

Only, I’d like to think, even better.

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CPE exam 2015 set books

Hello to all our blog-followers, just a repost of this year's Cambridge CPE set texts for the writing part.

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LEARN TO WRITE AN ESSAY FOR THE CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH PROFICIENCY EXAM 2015 (CPE Essay Sample Part 1)

Essay on the importance of food

Undeniably, food plays a mayor role in our society. People´s interest in food is evident in the popularity of cooking TV shows such as Master Chef. However, hectic as life is nowadays, there is very little time for families to make home-made meals and share time around a table. So, what is the importance of food? The following essay summarises the main ideas of two texts in this topic. 

   

To begin with, it is necessary to state that consuming food is more than just satisfying a biological need. A shared meal is a perfect way to tighten bonds, to celebrate special occasions, and even to show someone how much we care for them. In addition to this, good food is healthy. Family doctors advise strongly to consume diets rich on vegetables and fruit. But not only this, in a bigger scale, food is even a national symbol, and can be linked to a society's identity. Take for example the tapas in Spain, which symbolise the Spanish joy for friendship, party and life. 

Finding a way to combine good, slow, healthy food with our busy fast moving lives is tricky, but very important. Millions opt for the easy already-made-meals available in shops 24/7, which enables them to spare essential time for other "more important" activities, but to my mind this is not correct. It is my belief that in the fast moving world that we live in, it is of fundamental importance to find quality time for each other and to cook daily meals with the whole family present. This can help us to deepen and reafirm the bonds that we hold with each other.

Posted by Wilma Roobol

#words 280

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How I Spent my Summer Vacation

Happy July, everyone! I already gave you a little taste of how I spent my vacation so far this summer. Now I am back to work and heading up to Eugene, OR for the week for the OACAC conference on international college admission.

But more important than my summer is how our students are spending their summers! I put a shoutout on my Facebook page to see if any of my students were up to some neat stuff. They sure were... have a look!

Kelly at the NFL!

Kelly Aucoin, '16

This summer I have the privilege of interning in the Media Sales Department at the National Football League in New York City. Along with the other 33 interns in the League Office, I’m participating in an 11-week program designed to expose us to multiple facets of the corporate side of the NFL. Though I spend much of my time in my department working with both data-based information and creative media, I get to attend luncheons with the interns where we learn about other departments. These presentations cover a variety of topics—from Officiating, where we got to call the plays, to Broadcasting, where we learned how the NFL schedule is constructed. In the past five weeks, I’ve fallen in love with NYC; however, I definitely won’t be complaining when I return home to Tulane and the Who Dat Nation in the fall for my senior year!

Alexander singing in a concert at an Italian Opera House. 

Alexander Sibley, '15 

After graduating from Tulane University with a BFA in Vocal Performance, I was offered one of the five main roles in Madama Butterfly in Italy with La Musica Lirica. I am playing the role of Goro. I am here for five weeks and am currently in my third week! I have been singing everyday, working with internationally known coaches and voice teachers. It has been a great experience to start my opera career in Italy! In the fall, I will be attending Loyola University in New Orleans to receive my Masters of Music. I have been cast into the New Orleans Opera Company and will be appearing in La Traviata in the fall. 

Lena @ Sony Music 

Lena Franklin, '16

I'm finally getting a chance to put both my degrees to work. This summer I am interning at one of Sony Music's subsidiary labels, "Louder Than Life," in the heart of New York City. I am really fortunate to have the opportunity to work under Salaam Remi, the VP of A&R for Sony music, and his partner Kim Lumpkin, because they have both been extremely successful in their careers. My internship has allowed me to gain first-hand experience on how the music industry functions on a corporate level. The coolest part of my internship is that I work on the executive floor so I never really know who I'll run into. It's that element of spontaneity that definitely makes coming to work exciting. Each day when I walk into the office I think about how far I've come since my first day freshman year. When I see the skyline of New York as the elevators open on the 32nd floor I realize that I'm so close to those big dreams that I made for myself when I first got to Tulane.

Maddie in Dublin

Maddie McGee, '16

I've spent my summer on Tulane's summer study abroad program in Dublin, Ireland. I'm taking two classes: Irish Contemporary Film and Irish History, Society, and Culture. The experience of learning about Ireland while actually being on its soil has been incredible. As part of the program we have gotten so many opportunities to travel throughout Ireland, including trips to the Cliffs of Moher, Belfast, The Dingle Peninsula, Blarney Castle, and so much more. I have learned so much in only a short amount of time about this place and its people and it has made me feel an even stronger connection to my own Irish heritage. 

Ella at her desk. The painting behind it is by a well known contemporary artist, Philip Guston, entitled "Red Cloth." 

Ella Weiner, '17

This summer I am working in the Director's Office at the Brooklyn Museum as the intern for the General Counsel. This position has allowed me to combine my two majors, art history and political science, in an interesting way that will help me professionally going forward. Everything I am working on is classified, but in general terms I get to do legal research, compare policies, prepare reference materials for hot-button legal issues museums are facing, and navigate international relations between museums—all as an undergraduate. 

Dan at Active Minds in DC

Dan Robinson, '17

I am currently working at Active Minds Inc. in Washington, D.C. It is a non-profit organization that works to eliminate stigma behind mental health issues on college campuses. They have 436 local chapters across the US and a few other countries. My position is a mental health programming intern; I primarily create and improve national programming that chapters are able to use. I recently submitted an op-ed to Psych Today on this subject. 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-guest-room/201507/dr-google

The OTL gang and Andrew

Andrew Lemoine, '16

I spent the first half of my summer working as an Orientation Team Leader for Tulane’s New Student Orientation. Our team of ten Orientation Team Leaders (OTLs) is responsible for serving as primary resources and role models for new students and families during Orientation. We also plan and organize many different components of New Student Orientation and Fall Welcome with the hope of providing the best Tulane experience possible for incoming students. From activities such as student small groups and campus scavenger hunts, to fun evening activities and hilarious skits, OTLs serve as supportive peers and mentors for new students. With over 1,460 students having traveled to New Orleans to participate in NSO, our team has had the opportunity to make sure that every student coming to Tulane has the greatest and most exciting experience possible, while feeling confident and prepared to join, enjoy, and contribute to our unique Tulane community.

Patrick, Phoebe and the Upward Bound crew.

Patrick Wroe, '16 and Phoebe Coughlin, '17

We are both interns with Tulane University's Upward Bound, which is a Federal Program that prepares high school students for the college admission process. These students are usually from low-income families and are prospective first-generation college students. All summer we have been tutoring them for the ACT and conducting a self-leadership class for which we developed the curriculum. Because of our experience in undergraduate admissions, we are working with the high school seniors in their College Prep course and getting them exposed to the application process. With our seniors, we got to visit the great state of Texas and see four colleges in Dallas, and this week, we are heading off to Chicago, IL to see a total of five colleges with the students. We have absolutely loved working with these students and would argue that it's the best summer job out there!

Nate Fowler, '18

This is my first summer in New Orleans and I am loving it. The weather hasn't been as intense as I thought and I am around lots of friends from school who stayed as well. I am here doing my Second Tier Service Learning internship with the Nola Fair Housing Center. The organization is dedicated to helping end housing discrimination in Louisiana, and they work on many different aspects, from state legislation to individual cases. I'm really enjoying my time here so far. Also, I am helping with a Social Psychology study run by Dr. O'Brien. This is a new experience for me, but it has been really interesting to see behind the scenes of what will hopefully become a published journal piece. Beyond my commitments, I have tried to explore the city more, I've gone to the Bywater a lot, eaten some great BBQ, gone to a handful of festivals and just relaxed in the sun.

Ariel and the Mama Maji team.

Ariel Bernstein, '16

This summer, I decided to stay in New Orleans, and not just because of all of the fun summer NOLA activities. I received a great opportunity to intern with a local/international non-profit here called Mama Maji, that first grabbed my attention through the mission statement: “We empower women through water." This strongly pulled me in, because it directly addresses two topics I deeply care about: women and water. On average, women Sub-Saharan Africa alone spend 152 million hours a day collecting water from their nearest water source, not even knowing if it’s clean. Because the journey is only half the hardship, women lose out on opportunities to participate in their communities through education, business, and culture. Mama Maji works to provide more than just better access to clean water; they aid in the emergence of empowerment and agency among local women through their active participation in these water projects. Water is now no longer a burden for women, but a resource for success. My work for Mama Maji is centered around connections with the local community, mostly developing curriculum for water and environmental education initiatives we are implementing in various elementary schools throughout New Orleans. Even though I have only been working with Mama Maji for a month, it has been one of the most eye-opening positions I have ever had the pleasure of holding, and I cannot wait to continue my summer with them! Check out my fundraising page.


And there you have it! Hope you readers are having a great summer as well. 

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