Art (Inner Journey)

There's A Lot To Learn About Art

Looking at the art that is literally stacked in Jackson Square gives you many different images in your mind about the architecture of New Orleans, what the artist was thinking when they created the painting, photo, etc., and also makes you wonder if any of the art is copied and unoriginal or inspired by other art/artists. I learned that a lot of artists focus on painting Architecture in the French Quarter, the St. Louis Cathedral, People playing instruments, Cafe Du Monde, and the Cemeteries in the area. All of these photos/paintings appeal to tourists because they are all popular to visit because of the history and uniqueness of New Orleans. Many of the paintings were popping with bright colors. There were also pet portraits that were interesting and also probably popular among tourists because it may remind them of their pet whom they miss at home. There were also deconstructed paintings that were more abstract and I remember learning about abstract art in my art 301 class at school. They were a mixture of wood with colored paper that ran together to create different geometric shapes if you look at it from farther away. I learned that art can quite literally be anything. There is no definite definition because it is subjective and objective at the same time. In New Orleans much of the art is created by spray painting on building walls and painting murals on walls as well. There is even an entire building that has been dedicated to putting art up on every inch of building that is there. Can you imagine how beautiful an entire building covered in and out with art would be?

Art (Outer Journey)

Art Lines The Gates Of Jackson Square

On Royal Street, and throughout New Orleans there are many talented artists. Specifically there are many artists that hang up their paintings and photos in Jackson Square. Marybeth and I traveled down Royal Street to search for art that inspired us. I took this photo of my favorite piece of art that I found in New Orleans. It was created by a European artist who is deceased. The workers at the gallery couldn't tell us much more, other than the fact that these paintings were expensive to purchase. I like this painting because I have always wanted to visit Italy where the houses are literally right next to the water. I like how you can see the buildings muffled reflection in the water. The colors that were used are repetitive, and the trees are all kept together which creates a sense that the mountains in the background go on forever. The city looks abandoned. The canoes are not docked anywhere and it helps tell a story. I made up a story about how the ripple in the bottom lefthand corner is from a larger boat and the residents living in the city were fleeing their homeland because it was about to be invaded. They took all of the canoes and left them floating in the water away from shore so they couldn't be followed. I picked this painting out of all of the others (which is about twenty) in the gallery because this one drew my eyes in with the way it looked. Most of the other paintings consisted of floral/flowery arrangements. 

Music (Inner Journey)

Music Is The Soul of New Orleans

When we visited the Jazz Museum I learned a ton of information about how the city of New Orleans celebrates and expresses itself through music. Professor Longhair was the artist from one of the exhibits in the museum. We learned that he originally started playing the piano with keys missing, and he was able to come up with songs that were still incredible and popular. Pictured below are a few other artists describing what instrument they play and what music means to them. The music I heard in the streets made me feel the need to dance and sing along, even if I didn't know the lyrics to the songs half the time. I learned that Louis Prima wrote a song that is performed in the Jungle Book. I learned that African Americans used to gather in Congo Square to make music, listen to music, and dance on the Sundays that they didn't have to work. The emotions that I felt as the music was streaming through the streets of the French Quarter can be described as happy, giddy, nervous, and excited. The music back home in Illinois is not played live on the streets, unless you attend a concert. It is played on the radio. I prefer Jazz over the Blues which has a slower beat and in my experience makes me more tired than alert and excited. The hardest part about listening to music is that you never know where that music is going to make you think about. Some of the older music that was played reminded me of music that my grandmother would like and sing along with, and that was difficult and sad for me because she passed away this past Summer. I learned a lot about Louis Prima and Professor Longhair's musical career at the jazz museum.  I had little to no idea that Louis Prima was responsible for creating a song that the chimpanzee in the Jungle Book sings originally. I learned that many performers in New Orleans don't have the money to make their music career better (through education, mass production, etc) than simply singing on the streets, so some of these performers are that much better at what they do than some of these artists we listen to today who have had the privilege of getting an education in music or being noticed by a big production company.

Music (Outer Journey)

Music Is The Voice Of The City


There is music played/performed on every street in the French Quarter of New Orleans. My favorite player was a man who was playing many instruments all at the same time. He had a drum, harmonica, guitar, and singing all at once. Music is how the locals express themselves. If you step into any shop, bar, club, restroom, there is music playing. Most of the time there are people who are dancing in the streets along with the music. This morning in particular there were trumpets parked outside of Cafe Du Monde performing. All of the music is loud and can be heard from a couple blocks away. Another performer that was incredible in my opinion is the woman playing with roughly five other people. She had a clarinet and could hold a note for over a minute at a time. Anytime you thought that she was going to run out of air, she'd keep the same note going. The other time that I think music was impactful for the entire city was during the Joan of Arc parade when the drums were being beaten on to further dramatize her being burned with fire. The music in the bars is more pop culture current music rather than jazz music like what's heard in the streets. The difference between music coming out over speakers versus music played live is astonishing. The live music hasn't been fine tuned and "gone over" before being released into the world. The live music is practiced and learned over time, and is difficult to perform when you have more than one person performing. 

Farewell New Orleans (Inner Journey)

Learning and Trying New Things Is Important

This experience has taught me a lot. My favorite part about this trip was going on the alligator airboat tour. I got to hold a baby gator named Dollar, and even though it wasn't a very "safety first" experience considering my face was inches from his mouth, it was still my favorite. My favorite part of the class was learning about the unique history of New Orleans and about topics like Hurricane Katrina, Yellow Fever, and Fires that eliminated eighty percent of New Orleans at one point in time. I learned that even though we are focusing more on how Katrina impacted New Orleans, there have been a few other hurricanes that have also done massive damage. I learned that the people of New Orleans are friendly, they love jazz music, they are very accepting towards many different types of people. I learned that staying home through college and not having roommates in an apartment or dormitory was the right thing to do because living with people that you just met for an entire week is difficult but also entertaining. I learned that I take my personal time for granted because we were with someone at all times. I also like to sleep in instead of wake up early, but if I have to get up early I can. I also learned that I take my form of transportation for granted, because if I had to walk everywhere in Peoria I would never leave my house. I learned to be less afraid of trying food that is different from anything I typically eat in Illinois. All in all, I feel like I am coming out of this experience with more knowledge and the capability to come out of my comfort zone more often.

Farewell New Orleans (Outer Journey)

Leaving The Big City

Today as we say goodbye to one of my favorite cities in the world, we were instructed to go to our favorite place in the city and take a photo. My personal favorite place was the St. Louis Cathedral because it stood out the most. It is massive and one of the first things you notice around Jackson Square. It's even more beautiful on the inside once you walk in with paintings on the ceilings, stained glass windows on the walls, and an incredible alter surrounded by history. I have been keeping track of where we have been on this trip in order to tell my friends and family who plan to come to New Orleans someday where the best places to eat, stay, and hangout are. To someone wishing to visit New Orleans, I would say that Bourbon Street is the most lit up and lively street in the French Quarter. Frenchman Street is where you will find the best music and majority of the locals because tourists usually hangout more on Bourbon. You must visit the St Louis Cathedral, The Presbytere, and take a couple hours later at night to visit some of the "haunted" areas in the city. The food that is indigenous to New Orleans is definitely worth trying, especially if you are not from the South and haven't ever visited before. Make sure to bring an umbrella if there's even the slightest chance of rain. Wear walking shoes, because it's easy to walk the entire French Quarter in a day because there's that much to see and do. The souvenir shops all have relatively the same items, so search for better (lower) prices especially because they're all only a few doors down from each other. All in all, my trip here was one of the most exciting, breathtaking, and mesmerizing things that I have done in my lifetime.

Day 4 Visiting Historical Sites (Outer Journey)

Today I Visited The Oldest Building in New Orleans

Today we toured the St. Louis Cathedral, the Ursuline Convent, and the Pharmacy Museum. In the inside of the Cathedral we got to see the different art/paintings/stained glass that was on the walls and ceilings. We got to see the alter, and hear how the bishops are buried below it when they pass away. We got to see the paintings and stained glass windows that covered the walls and the ceilings. In the Ursuline Convent we got to learn about how the sisters helped educate young women and how they were some of the first nurses to the royal hospital in New Orleans. In 1788, the fire that left over eighty percent of the city burned, did not harm the Ursuline Convent. We were told a tale of how this came to be. There is a statue by the name of "Little Sweetheart" that is roughly twelve inches tall that the sisters prayed to, to keep the fire away from them, and it worked. As the fire was getting closer, they put the statue in the window and the flames blew back and the fire was put out by the wind. At the pharmacy museum we got to see how "doctors" back in the early 18-1900's helped their "patients". We learned that back then there was really no licensing laws that were in place, so if you wanted to practice medicine you easily could. Many of the medications from those times were things that took an immense toll on the body. These doctors were trying to rid their patients of whatever was going on in some of the most violent ways possible. For example, doctors were shoving mercury down the throats of people who suffered from yellow fever. Back then, we didn't have any idea of what was going on. Nowadays, medicine is different and it requires you to have a license and we have figured out the ways in which hand washing is essential for not transmitting disease. We got to see how the old instruments that were used for things like eyeball donation, abortion, going to the restroom while in bed (bedpan), worked. I am grateful to live in a time where the human race knows more about disease today and where we have the potential to come up with newer and improved ways to survive. The moment that impacted me the most was when the tour guide at the pharmacy started talking about how doctors back then and still to this day use leeches to help with reconstructive surgery's because they help with the clotting process and help vascularization. This reminded me of the Grey's Anatomy episode where George O'Malley had to put leeches on a patient to do exactly that, promote healing and new tissue formation by optimizing vascularization. The patient went crazy and wanted to keep one of the leeches that was used in the end because he heard that they just throw them out afterwards. I mostly enjoyed the pharmacy because it was nice seeing where health care was at one point in time, compared to what it had developed into now.

Day 4 Visiting Historical Sites (Inner Journey)

There is A TON of History to learn about here in NOLA

Today, we went on tours through the St. Louis Cathedral, The Ursuline Convent, and the Pharmacy Museum. We learned about Henriette Delille, an African American free woman who helped people in need in the surrounding area. She was the founder of the Holy Family after she was denied the opportunity to become a sister of the Ursuline Convent due to her skin color. Saint Pope John Paul II declared her to be a "Servant of God", so she was recognized as such and in 2010 she was declared Venerable. We learned about the sisters of Ursuline Convent and how they helped educate young women as well as helping in the royal hospital as some of the first nurses. The Ursuline convent was first moved into in 1752, and it survived the fire of 1788 that wiped out more than eighty percent of New Orleans. Thomas Jefferson himself assured the sisters of the convent that their property and their rights under the constitution are guaranteed. The convent's staircase is one of the only floating staircases left in New Orleans (meaning there is no support holding it up). The clock that sits in the convent was brought to Texas by some sisters that moved, and it was among the debris from the hurricane that hit Galveston Texas many years ago. Luckily it was salvaged, however the sisters died in that same hurricane. The pharmacy museum is where the first licensed individual in the country began to practice medicine. We learned that basically anyone in New Orleans could practice medicine and back in the late 1800's-early 1900's there weren't any laws controlling medical practice. Back in those days, they were using things like cocaine, heroine, cyanide, etc in medications to purge the disease out of the body. During the times when yellow fever ran rapid, they used mercury to try and fix things and it wasn't working, What did in fact work were the fires that they lit that created smoke which drove the mosquitos who were spreading the disease away. They did not know/believe in things like hand washing, changing needles after each individual use, and the measures that they took to try and cure or fix problems were horrible to the body that you were bound to die regardless. The life expectancy was low, and families named multiple children the same name hoping that one of them would survive. Even though prohibition was happening, people were getting prescriptions for alcohol so they were still drinking. 

Our Free Day In New Orleans (Inner Journey)

Alligators May Be THE Coolest Animal On Earth

Did you know that alligators can hold their breath underwater without coming up for air for roughly seven hours? They also have between sixty to seventy teeth when they are born and most are only six inches long. They go through 3,000 teeth during their lifetime. They go underwater for the winter (70 degrees and less outside) and can lower their heartbeat by one-two beats per minute to slow digestion so that they can go six months without food. When they come to the surface in the warmer months of the year, they eat chicken and they love marshmallows (the locals call it swamp crack). There are only about fifty albino alligators in the world and the one pictured below is kept in the Louisiana Swamp Tour building because outside in the sun her skin can burn. Her name is Sugar, she is seventeen years old, and she had two pupils in one eye which is incredibly rare. The other alligator pictured is named Dollar. He loves getting the back of his neck scratched. He is six weeks old currently and he was caught by our tour guide when he was two weeks old who is holding him (we also held him). The longest alligator that they have caught in the swamps we visited was fifteen feet long. If you measure the length in inches from the gator's nose to its eyes that is how many feet long they are. You can hunt alligator in the Louisiana swamps, it is legal. This year gator sold for $8/pound. The month that they hunt is during September. The locals that grew up around here including our tour guide allow their children to swim in the swamps because gators are less aggressive and more afraid of humans than crocodiles are. With that being said, their kids do still get bitten from time to time and they simply treat it like someone from Illinois would treat a dog bite. Not the biggest deal to them, they are used to it. There are no crocodiles in these swamps even though the water is part fresh and part salt. Crocodiles are typically and mostly found in Florida.  Our tour guide has ten stitches in his right hand from hanging onto a marshmallow too long over the side of the boat, and a roughly ten foot gator came up and snatched it and got his hand with it. Luckily, the gator did not pull him underwater and he got to keep his hand. Female alligators lay eggs during the mating and reproduction season which is between May-July. If they get hungry enough, they will eat their own eggs if they are starving. Alligators grow up to two feet per year. Larger gators  do in fact eat the smaller ones. All in all, there was a lot learned to day that was alligator specific. 

Our Free Day In New Orleans (Outer Journey)

I Held An Alligator!!!!!

Today was our day to roam the streets and city of New Orleans on our own without having class time. My roommate and I decided to go on an Alligator Adventure Tour. We were picked up by a shuttle provided by the company, and dropped off in the swamps where the boats were docked. We then boarded the airboats (which do not have brakes or reverse), and went out into the swamps to see swam-life such as turtles, alligators, birds, and nature. The tour took roughly an hour and forty minutes and we got to see a gator that was two and a half feet long, turtles that were perched on a log that hung over the swamp waters, and birds that were wading in the shallow parts of the swamp looking for food. From the start of figuring out which excursion we wanted to partake in, I was nervous to come that close to an alligator. I remember when the airboat first took off faster than it was going at the start of the tour between the smell of fuel, wind on my face, the boat bouncing up and down with the waves, and the water slightly splashing the sides of the boat spraying the passengers aboard I had a lot of adrenaline running through me. In this photo pictured below, not only did I see a gator, I held a baby one. With one hand around his neck and the other clasping his tail so he couldn't bite or free himself from my grasp I held him. His skin felt and looked similar to that of a snake; hard, scaly, and earthly colored. The moment that impacted me most was looking into his eyes. They were yellow on the outside with tiny slits the size of a pinky nail for pupils and reminded me of when someone is jaundiced and their eyes become yellow toned. We got to see where the alligators nest to reproduce. When we arrived home we ate leftovers for lunch, changed clothes, and headed down to ride the streetcar and people watch. We ended up grabbing dinner at a restaurant called Houston's which had many food options that were closer to Illinois food options. We say that we ended up there on accident because we originally planned on going to a place called "The Big Cheesy" and when we got to the spot where it was supposed to be it was closed and torn down. After dinner we went to Jackson Square to watch the parades. They were as incredible as they are described to be by the locals. 

Day Two In New Orleans (Inner Journey)

My Head Is Exploding With Information

Today after exploring the Cabildo, Presbytere, and the Jazz Museum my head is exploding with an influx of information. There are so many amazing musicians in this area, but currently at the Jazz Museum there is a Louis Prima exhibit. He wrote the song called "sing, sing, sing" in the movie the Jungle Book that the chimpanzee (King Louie) sings. Louie Prima was the first musician to record/perform the song "I Wanna Be Like You" that the chimp sings in Jungle Book as well. At the cabildo we learned about Captain Maunsel White, who fought in the Battle of New Orleans. He was born in Ireland and immigrated to the United States. He commanded the Louisiana Blues which is a militia company. After negotiating the exchange of prisoners with the British, White became a life long friend of our later president Andrew Jackson. At the Presbytere, we learned about three major hurricanes that have greatly impacted New Orleans. Hurricane Betty, Katrina, and Rita. The part of these exhibits that impacted me the most was in one of the videos where a first responder was describing her experience when rescuing survivors of Katrina. She was helping a mother and son, and they did not have a carrier to hoist a baby up into a helicopter for air evacuation, so the first responder had to grip the child tightly and pray that he didn't wiggle out of her grasp and fall to his death while trying to rescue him. The amount of courage and trust during harsh times in New Orleans only better helped the people who live here accept others in all types of ways. 

Day Two In New Orleans (Outer Journey)

Music Is The Heart of New Orleans

Today we toured the Jazz Museum, The Presbytere, and The Cabildo. The Presbytere had displays of the different Hurricanes that have impacted New Orleans as well as Mardi Gras information. The Cabildo had displays of The Battle of New Orleans as well as the history of the city including my personal favorite, nightlife. The Jazz Museum has displays of Louis Prima and Professor Longhair as well as remnants of the old  U.S. Mint building. My personal experience that I loved was interacting with the interactive pieces of the Jazz Museum because it truly took you back in time with the card-board cut outs of the different Jazz Musicians. The videos and the recording studio that you could step into and listen to the music through gave you the sense that you were actually in a recording studio with Louis Prima. The other thing that I did today with a select few classmates was trying NOLA Poboys sandwiches for the first time ever. I decided not to get one that was spicy, so I got a grilled chicken sandwich with mayo, lettuce, and tomato. Originally I was not sure what to expect but inside the restaurant you could smell the delicious desserts they were baking and so I had high hopes that my lunch would be fantastic. I wish the sandwich had more sauce because I like it when bread has more sauce on it, I believe it makes it easier to eat. Overall, the experience was better than some of the more spicy food that I had on the cuisine tour earlier this week. I also liked walking with a bigger group for lunch because it made me feel overall more safe than simply walking with one other person. The experience that I dislike the most along this whole journey is how much my feet hurt at the end of the day. I especially look forward to when I can take my shoes and socks off at the hotel, but then my feet are smelly and I have to take a shower almost immediately after removing my socks. We all know what dirty and sweaty feet smell like, especially those that have traveled on long trips where you've had to walk a lot. 

First Full Day In New Orleans (Inner Journey)

The Biggest Impact So Far Was.......


The moments that have impacted me the most this far has been trying the different types of food that are out of my comfort zone that New Orleans has to offer. I have learned how some of the restaurants are "haunted". I have witnessed and learned about Antoine's Wine Cellar that is one hundred and sixty five feet long, and his restaurant that is one hundred and sixty seven years old and has always ben family run. I learned where a "poor boy's" sandwich  got its name, and what it consist of (brisket and horse radish). I also learned that Louis Armstrong was an African American musician who played the trumpet. I learned that during prohibition times, there was a restaurant that labeled their tickets "mystery" so that they could serve alcohol and even when people were caught drunk they would say to the police that the place they bought it from was a "mystery". I learned that a "beignet" is a doughnut like dessert that is served with powdered sugar that makes it delicious. I learned that when you are on a cuisine tour, even if the food looks similar to food you have already tried, that does not mean that it resembles it at all. I have tried shrimp before, but when it is in gumbo it is more spicy than it usually is where I am from, and if you know me you also know that anything even remotely spicy I dislike a lot. Most of the food on the cuisine tour I enjoyed though.

First Full Day In New Orleans (Outer Journey)

Today I tried Turtle Soup!

We went through at least three hours of tours today and I loved every minute of it. This city has so much unique history of how it came to be, who made it that way, and how it greatly differs from Illinois. We went through the St. Louis Cemetery number one today and got to see the voodoo queen of New Orleans Ms. Marie Laveau's burial site. Next we went to Louis Armstrong's park and got to hear the history of the Native Americans and Africans who congregated in Congo Square and danced and sang. Then we went to the French Quarter to sight see the different architecture in the area. After that, we went on a cuisine tour which consisted of our entire class group going from one restaurant to another and trying the food that is indigenous to New Orleans. The food that I was most nervous to try was the turtle soup, but it turns out that I actually enjoy it. The biggest moment of the day in my opinion was seeing the different musicians in the French Quarter and hearing their instruments and the sound of the deep soulful voices involved. I was standing across the street from one group of roughly five individuals who were playing instruments and singing. The person that stood out to me and spoke to me today was the lead singer. She's an African American woman who was singing and playing the clarinet and it drew me in. She was leaning back and putting all of her air into her music notes. I could feel the hair standing up on the back of my neck and even though the foul smell of the city was present between the mixture of booze and marijuana, in that moment I didn't care a bit because she was an incredible musician. 

Arrival (Inner Journey)

Learning Experiences Upon Arrival

There was much to see and learn upon entering New Orleans. The biggest learning experience I have had thus far is through the Haunted History Tour. Ina, our tour guide took us around the city for over two hours looking at the different buildings and telling us the stories of the supposed "ghosts" and how they came to be. We learned that there was a slave owner living in the French Quarter named Madame LaLaurie and her husband who tortured slaves so roughly to the point of killing them, so in order to make what was happening known, the chef in the kitchen who was also a slave set fire to the kitchen so that the authorities would come and figure out their wrongdoings. Pictured below is the photo of the house now and the window frame that is now a wall is where the original torture room was located. They ended up killing roughly thirty-two people that we know of that were on the slave registry of slaves whom she had purchased. I learned that it is not known if she had more than that due to slaves being sold on the black market. There were many other stories told as well, but this one I found most interesting. Also interesting is the fact that unexplainable misfortune comes to anyone who had owned or does own that house, period. At one point in time when Nicholas Cage was still acting in movies he owned this house and him and his family lived there for a couple of years. Nowadays, he is no longer acting in any big time movies and he has gone bankrupt. The question that this history tour begs is "Are you a believer, and if not, are you now?"

Arrival (Outer Journey)

We Have Officially Arrived 

We left the train station in New Orleans by uber to our hotel, and quickly unpacked everything and noticed that our rooms are bigger than I initially thought. I did however also notice that there are only two mirrors in the room and with four girls getting ready every morning that could prove to be problematic. As we got further into the city the "wonderful" smell of Marijuana fills the air roughly every twenty feet and it only gets worse as it becomes later at night. We went to dinner and the food options were a lot different from the food options in Illinois. I tried jambalaya for the first time and it turns out that I like it. It was a mixture of rice and meat covered in spices and in my opinion it tasted similar to something like a chicken fajitas in Illinois. Next, we had the pleasure of talking with Ina as she gave us a brief history of different haunted places in the city of New Orleans. With her imagery as she was describing how these people came to haunt the area it really took you back to the 1700-1800's when things in New Orleans were a lot different than they are now. Walking through the city, you could see the way the water was stuck in the streets because of the way that the city is built there is nowhere for the water to truly drain. The streets are home to many of the homeless, and on our way back to the hotel on this first night my roommate Marybeth and I encountered a homeless man who took a swing at us from slightly across the sidewalk, which in turn made me hang onto my pepper spray tighter. Today was a good life experience type of day with a slight safety concern, and I look forward to tomorrow.

Departure (Inner Journey)

Getting Comfortable Outside Your Comfort Zone

I learned a lot while traveling to the train station, boarding the train, sleeping on the train, and moving about the train. I have learned that I do in fact rely a lot on gps navigation on my iPhone to get me to places that I am unsure where they are. I have learned that when boarding the train you want to bring wipes to wipe down the railings because this is in fact a form of public transportation. When sleeping on the train, it is okay to have a normal sized pillow for comfort and I wish that I had something slightly bigger than what I brought, but I made it work. Make sure that you wear layers because it can get hot and cold depending on the airflow inside and outside, and depending your proximity to the outside doors that open and shut with every stop, especially in the winter time. When you move about the train, make sure you are holding onto the handles that are provided for your safety to prevent falls, because even being young and somewhat "graceful" it is still difficult to walk around especially when carrying a hot beverage in your hand at the same time as walking while the train is moving. I learned that the conductors and other train employees ask for your tickets frequently after every major stop they make to pick up and drop off passengers, so you want to make sure when traveling by train that you keep your tickets somewhere easily accessible. Bring snacks, because the train does offer a food cart with a decent amount of items as well as beverages, you still may want something specific, especially if you are on a certain type of diet your options may be more limited. I have learned how to make myself more comfortable in closer proximity to others which is something that I struggle with in general. I have learned that Mississippi looks run down, especially near the Amtrak stop at Yazoo City. 

Departure (Outer Journey)

It's Train Time!

I drove my car with Marybeth to the train station in Champaign where we were getting on to travel to New Orleans, and I was grateful to have a companion with me in case of any emergency. I experienced a sort of pit in my stomach feeling when we passed cops that had multiple cars pulled over on the road here because I was also speeding slightly because I was nervous and excited to get to the train station in Champaign. I regained that nervous "pit of my stomach" feeling when weighing my travel bags to make sure they did not exceed the weight limit of fifty pounds because I packed everything I brought with me up to the brim. When we stepped foot on the train we had to climb these stairs that were incredibly narrow and I became disgusted because I had to touch the handrails, and with it being winter time and public transportation proved to be as gross and germ riddled as you can imagine. Next, we get to our seats and I was delighted because they were more spacious than I remembered them being from previous train trips I have been on. The seats reclined back more than you would think which was also nice because I had difficulty sleeping without the slight recline. At night, they do dim the lights but in the sort of "passing zone" where you are moving literally right between two of the Amtrak cars, there is a bigger and brighter light that of course was shining directly in my eyes most of the night as we picked up and dropped off passengers. In my opinion, all of the lights need to still be slightly more dimmed, so people get the chance to get better sleep. When I woke up in the morning, I went down to the restroom which was inconvenient in placement because we were sleeping and lounging in an upper level car instead of lower level, so I had to yet again use those narrow stairs with nasty germ infested railings. However, once I reached the bathroom, it was much bigger than I expected which gave me more room to get dressed and ready for the day. The restroom was not foul-smelling as I assumed it would be, but the lever to flush is located up by the sink and not by the toilet which in my opinion is weird and inconvenient. I do not suggest any sort of make up on the train due to the movement of the train for your own safety do not attempt mascara or it will end up in your eyes instead of on your lashes. On the train, there are other travelers aside from my class group I am with on this trip, and they are mostly nice but somewhat noisy. I was grateful that there weren't any crying babies aboard last night, so we could all "sleep" peacefully. Looking at the sights from inside the train sitting on this what can only be described as a more updated version of a seat in a car with more cushion for comfort is exciting because it makes your brain spin with anticipation to get to your destination. It rained overnight, and there are lots of water puddles and the grass looks greener and the plants look happy. We are traveling through the country currently and it is flat still, no rolling hills. There are smaller and more run down buildings and houses on either side of us. There is a two lane road parallel with us and there aren't any cars on it which makes you think you're more or less alone, but really your with an entire train full of people. All in all, experiencing the train has been exciting and disgusting all at the same time, and the anticipation to be in New Orleans only keeps growing.