Stephanie Skove
It’s a funny thing becoming accustomed to a new location. The first time we rode the St. Charles Ave streetcar back to Loyola it stopped at a random location, and we all looked around at each other confused because this was not our stop. Were we going the right way? Were we on the right streetcar? We soon realized that there was construction on the streetcar tracks, so we had to get off and get on a bus to continue the rest of the way. That was the first week. Yesterday, a group of us were on another crowded streetcar except this time we knew exactly where we would have to hop off and transfer to the bus. So while all the other tourists were looking around puzzled as to why they were no longer continuing on their merry way, our group had jumped off and gotten a seat on the bus like a true native.
After five weeks in New Orleans, I feel pretty confident about my navigation and knowledge of the city and happy that I no longer feel like a wondering tourist. Although I have been here for five weeks, it still seems a little too early for me to call myself a native. But when is someone actually considered a native? Do you have to live here for at least a year, two years? Most people who live in New Orleans have lived here all their lives. It seems to me that eight weeks is just long enough to no longer feel like a tourist but still lack a complete understanding of the culture and traditions that make this city what it is. At our reflection session this past week, we all shared things that were “so New Orleans”. Red beans and rice on Mondays is so New Orleans. Friendly bus drivers that will strike up a conversation with you is so New Orleans. Saying she made twelve yesterday, meaning she turned twelve is so New Orleans. Even though I recognize all these things that are associated with the city, I don’t feel a part of it all. I might know to tell the taxi driver to take Claiborne Ave and not St. Charles Ave back from the French Quarter, or that when the street car stops at the Rite Aid its time to get on the bus, but I am still mostly an observer in this city. I guess for me being a native is when the things that are “so New Orleans” become normal, everyday things that you don’t give a second thought. At the end of this experience, I think I will end up somewhere in between tourist and native.
After five weeks in New Orleans, I feel pretty confident about my navigation and knowledge of the city and happy that I no longer feel like a wondering tourist. Although I have been here for five weeks, it still seems a little too early for me to call myself a native. But when is someone actually considered a native? Do you have to live here for at least a year, two years? Most people who live in New Orleans have lived here all their lives. It seems to me that eight weeks is just long enough to no longer feel like a tourist but still lack a complete understanding of the culture and traditions that make this city what it is. At our reflection session this past week, we all shared things that were “so New Orleans”. Red beans and rice on Mondays is so New Orleans. Friendly bus drivers that will strike up a conversation with you is so New Orleans. Saying she made twelve yesterday, meaning she turned twelve is so New Orleans. Even though I recognize all these things that are associated with the city, I don’t feel a part of it all. I might know to tell the taxi driver to take Claiborne Ave and not St. Charles Ave back from the French Quarter, or that when the street car stops at the Rite Aid its time to get on the bus, but I am still mostly an observer in this city. I guess for me being a native is when the things that are “so New Orleans” become normal, everyday things that you don’t give a second thought. At the end of this experience, I think I will end up somewhere in between tourist and native.