Find YOUR NOLA …Find YOURSELF.

On our first day in New Orleans my sister and I were told…..

New Orleans has everything you are looking for, so be careful what you look for .

…It wasn’t until the end of our trip that we fully understood what our hostess meant by that.

On the surface, New Orleans Louisiana seems like a place for all people. A place that embodies all of the same principles of AfroPunk:

• No Sexism

• No Ageism

• No Racism

• No Ableism

• No Homophobia

• No Fatphobia

• No Transphobia

•No Hatefulness

As the days passed by our snap shot perception of New Orleans began to change. By our second day in New Orleans, my sister and I swiftly began to view NOLA differently for various reasons. We realized …

NOLA is a big pot of gumbo soup, brewing with several cultures and languages. Severed with a side of classism… lightly washed down with a warm glass of southern hospitality.

We only came down for a couple days to celebrate my sisters 23rd Birthday but we got more than we expected. Each day, as we roamed the town on our rented bikes, we noticed that people from all walks of life have access to NOLA .

Handicap people mingled with everyone. Each disable resident we came across seemed to have easy accessibility in and out of most stores. Even the homeless people where treated like regulars by local business owners. Every person seemed to be recognized as a human being and every local seemed to know each other. No stranger could walk past you in the street without speaking or greeting you…that southern vibe.

But as we explored NOLA more and more we both began to notice everyone had a specific role to play and they played their role.

Tourist seemed aloof and disconnected to the intense classism issues we noticed. Most tourists were too busy enjoying the laid back drinking laws and environment of New Orleans. People could drink all day, anywhere. At one point my sister and were cruising the French Quarters with Hennessy & Coke in our bicycle cup holders. As long as you are of the legal age (21), the bar stays open for you. With that being said, most of the city seemed to be intoxicated with life or by some sort of substance.. By our 3rd day there, we couldn’t decipher between the two.

The French Quarters was filled with bright colors brownstones that resembled the colors of the rainbow. Each house seemed to be in competition with each other. Each house seemed to be telling a story of New Orleans complex French history and diverse past. Most of the people who lived near or in the French Quarters came from affluence. The exterior of the houses and building were French in design and costly. We only wish we could afford *sigh*

While roaming the French Quarters on our borrowed bikes, we randomly rode past Solange Knowles beautiful yellow house. As we were leaving the area on our bikes we had the pleasure of seeing Solange Knowles leave her house. We were in complete shock LOL.

Later on that same day we bummed into her husband , Alan Ferguson, in the famous Jackson Square. We almost didn’t recognize him at first glance, he behaved like a local.

Unfortunately for the other 85% of New Orleans residents, life was nothing like the it was depicted to be in the French Quarters.

My sister and I never really like to stay at hotels when we travel, so rented out a room away a few blacks away from the tourist area ( the French Quarters).

Our hostess was an Asian hippie named Wayne. He was born in China but came to America when he was 7 with his parents for a chance at a “better life“. He was a former New York City money mogul from who left the fast pace of New York for a simpler and happier life. He told us that he left New York because he was tired of making money just to pay his rent. We found that to be common story for people who are now moving to NOLA.

Many post Katrina residents like Wayne came to New Orleans to live a slower paced lifestyle. One night a taxi driver picked us up for Saint Roch Avenue and told us that the area we were staying in use to be a bad area, filled with drug dealers and black on black crime. My sister and I were shocked to hear this because barely saw any black people there during our stay.

We were told by some friends where we were staying in gave us more insight as to the after math of Katrina and how it has become just another form of gentrification. Many of the black people who lived in the homes close to the French Quarters before the hurricane owned their homes and some even built their houses with their own hands. Now the government is trying to find ways to push these natives out.

Many of the previous owners didn’t have the financially income to fix up their old damaged houses and had to leave ” home”. This allowed a more financially stable demographic to come in a buy up real estate for themselves or tourist like us.

On our last morning my sister and I decided to walk over to the French Quarters to get a personal view of the historic city.

It was a good 15 minute walk from the French quarters but 10 minute bike ride to the French quarters.

As we were walking and stopped to ask a older black woman if we were walking int he right direction. She began to happily give us advice and then proudly showed us her home and told us how she had been living their for decades. Looking back on that conversation we now understand the magnitude of her pride and the history behind her city.

By making a conscious decision not to stay in the touristy spot and venturing out with the locals, it allowed my sister and I to behave as the natives would. It made our experience richer and filled us with the everyday encounters of true New Orleans residents.

Every time we encountered someone working they seemed to be happy. We noticed that most people just worked to be able to play later. Everyone was welcoming and understood their roles in a chaotic city that never sleeps like New Orleans, filled with music on every street.

If you ever get a chance to visit New Orleans…please do! It is a life changing experience you will never forget, if you keep your eyes, mind and heart open.

See you soon NOLA!

Afro Punk, FindYourNola, FollowYourNola, New Orleans, NOLA, Solange, Solange Knowles, Travel

Author

Nkemlife

Nkemlife is a lifestyle blog created by two sisters, to share their personal styles, business and views on life, family and womanhood. (En – khem) means “mine” or “my own.” Nkem Life means “My Life.” Nkem Life’s objective explores various issues pertaining to women, cultures, foods, styles, hot spots, natural products and women entrepreneurship around the world. By using the Nkem Life platform we hope to inspire and challenge you to think and do differently, if you so choose.