"I'm from N'awlins," said the young woman across from us.
"Oh, that explains your accent" said the girl from Alabama. "We were wondering."
The woman had a little son. He was the age where, not yet able to talk, he communicated by throwing things and making outrageous facial expressions. He was black but with light hair and blue eyes. His mother was white.
"How is it there now?" asked the girl.
"About the same as eleven months ago. St. Jean's parish isn't half as bad as the Ninth Ward, but it's still mostly empty. Nothing's really been rebuilt."
The India House Hostel is in the mostly empty Mid City Neighbourhood. It, however is full of travellers, young construction workers and locals who get a bed for working a few hours per week.
The city might still be mostly rubble, but Capitalism don't stop for nothing. Brand new billboards are everywhere, advertising liquor and lottery tickets to a meagre bunch of returning residents, those poor few who never left, and Mexican construction workers.
2 comments:
Hey AL,
Great photos. What a bizarre contrast between the shiny billboards and the rubble. It's a bit like going to an earthquake zone and handing out flyers for a rave. A beer and lottery rave!
On the other hand, it was also odd in Cuba to see poverty without any advertising.
Keep posting!
Time for a new post young man... my writing lecturer said I should read travel blogs and I said I do... prove me right ;)
Post a Comment