Now In New Orleans! From Present to Past (sorta)

Author’s Note: The following events were written as they were occurring. As such, they were written in the appropriate tense at that time. The following events occurred on January 5, 2019.

It’s been a while since a new blog post has been published. Don’t worry, I didn’t abandon any of you, life was very busy for the remainder of 2018. I had the honor of serving as Vice-Chair for the University Program Board where I had the opportunity to apply leadership theory into practice. Thanks to a unique leadership class on Hurricane Katrina at Chapman University, I am going to New Orleans! Here’s a new series called “Now In New Orleans!”

Day One started off with about two hours of sleep, along with doing some final packing. In order to avoid Delta’s $40 fee for checking in a second bag, I crammed everything I needed in my one luggage, carry-on, and personal camera bag. Packing for this trip was a little different than your typical trip as we are spending five nights at Saint Jude Community Center located at the edge of the French Quarter. Because we are staying at Saint Jude, we need to bring our own bedding and towels, which reminds me that I did not pack towels. It’s too late for that now!

The class I’m taking is called “Leadership in the Eye of the Storm: Hurricane Katrina case study.” This class is offered almost every Interterm at Chapman University. Students from different academic disciplines get the opportunity to study how effective and ineffective leadership from the likes of then New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco, General Russel Honoré, FEMA’s Michael Brown, and others effected the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians who fell victim to the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina. For Leadership minors such as myself, it’s also an opportunity to study different leadership theories and models, such as Robert Greenleaf’s Servant Leadership Model and the Relational Leadership Model, and identify how these different leadership practices were implemented (or not) during the Post-Katrina response. In addition to Leadership, we also discussed how New Orleans’ demographics shifted. After Hurricane Katrina, there was an increase in the city’s Hispanic/Latino population and a decrease in the city’s Black population. We also discussed New Orleans’ rich history in order to prepare for our stay. The class has begun and I don’t want to give too much away right now so let’s move on to today.

I arrived at Los Angeles International Airport just before 7:00 AM where I checked in at Terminal 3 to catch Delta Air Lines flight 1411 to New Orleans. Having gotten to the airport early and also being a Skymiles member, I decided to check out the Sky Club lounge while I waited for my plane. The lounge was small but it was fairly quiet and the service had been quite good. I got discounted entry to the lounge due to having a Skymiles credit card. There was a small selection of Breakfast food items ranging from different yogurt varieties to eggs and pancakes. There were also different cereals stored in thin cylindrical containers, a selection of cranberry and orange juice, and coffee provided by Starbucks. There was also a selection of different soft drinks, juices, and alcohol below the coffee selection. I served myself some eggs, pancakes, a croissant, and plain yogurt topped with brown sugar and dried cranberries. The croissant tasted similar to a pancake which I liked. The pancakes were pretty good as they were and the eggs were fine. The food was better than anything Sodexo serves at Chapman! As 8:00 AM neared, I could hear the roar of some planes taking off in today’s gloomy weather. Hey, it’s an airport, what did you expect?!

For anyone visiting Terminal Three at LAX, Delta is renovating their Sky Club lounge by expanding it. The expanded lounge is set to open in 2021.

After spending about an hour and a half at the SkyClub lounge, I boarded Delta flight 1411 to New Orleans where I sat in seat 16C. If you’re flying on any Delta Boeing 737, do NOT sit in Row 16. These seats do not recline whatsoever which made for an uncomfortable experience. In fact, I paid to upgrade my return flight to an exit row seat in Row 18, the row with the most legroom on the entire plane. The flight was nothing special, it was a cramped 3-hour hop from Los Angeles to New Orleans featuring your stereotypical crying baby. I actually switched seats with the woman and her baby as it turned out that I was sitting next to her partner. This wound up being an upgrade for me as I now had a seat that could recline!Despite leaving LAX 30 minutes behind schedule, we arrived at Louis Armstrong International Airport early. I deplaned as soon as I could and met with one of my two professors at baggage claim. I spent the next 40 minutes waiting for my bag and discussing various things with my professor, finding out that he grew up and went to school near my neighborhood. If you’re reading this Delta, you guaranteed that I would get my bag in 20 minutes and you did not deliver.

After meeting with my professors and other students who arrived at Louis Armstrong, we packed up our things and drove 11 miles to the French Quarter, which is world famous for Mardi Gras and public drinking. I experienced some culture shock despite being in the same country I have spent all but four months in! Part of it was some anxiety I had about crime in Louisiana, which has the highest homicide rate per 100,000 people in the country. And unlike Japan, this is a town I’m not super comfortable with traveling alone, but this also provided me with plenty of opportunities to make new friends with my fellow students.

After checking in to the historic Hotel Saint Pierre, the class and I walked over to Louisiana Pizza Kitchen and ate dinner together. Everybody was mixing and mingling and while I was interacting with my fellow peers, I was quite tense and anxious. I’m not too sure why that happens but being in New Orleans has been quite an adjustment so far. It’s almost as if I am in another country but with some American customs mixed in. The cars give away the fact that this is still America but Toto, I don’t think I’m in California anymore!

The group and I wrapped up the night by getting beignets at the world-famous Café du Monde. After getting showered in powdered sugar, four students and I briefly explored the French Quarter. We walked down Bourbon Street and visited Reverend Zombie’s House of Voodoo and called it a night. Let’s just say that the only Voodoo I’m into is Voodoo Doughnut.

New Orleans is a city that I am getting to know. My perspective on the city is that of a first-timer who understands the city from a Hurricane Katrina context. The French Quarter is quite lively and diverse and I’m looking forward to all the new experiences I’m going to have in the coming days.

Disclaimer: I am not sponsored by Delta Air Lines or any company. I have a passion for traveling and like to document my experiences. I strive to make travel a part of my career in the future.