Welcome to the South Y'all

I love this City. Nawlins might just be the coolest place I’ve been to in a while. It may be the 25 degree weather and the bright sun but this place takes the (King) Cake.
We’ve done a fair amount so far and we still have quite a bit to do.

Day 1 – Monday we wondered around, while we waited for check in and soaked up the sun. Zachary our local waiter at lunch was fantastic although it did take me a while to catch on to his accent. It is now my favourite accent ever.

Day 2 – We took the Charles Street Streetcar to the Garden District and checked out the Giant homes and wandered down Magazine Street. Then we went to the Louisiana State Museum. The Museum had two exhibits….Katrina Before (During) and After, and MARDI GRAS!! Two very different yet very well connected exhibits.

I have to admit I didn’t want to do a lot of Katrina things while I was here, but it’s pretty hard to miss. I find disaster tourism a little odd but the two things we’ve done and seen about Katrina have not been what I expected. The Museum is owned and run by the State of Louisiana and to my surprise, the exhibit did not paint the State or Country in a very nice light. It talked about the history of New Orleans and past hurricanes. Then you turned a corner and were faced with three giant screens of footage from Katrina. The next room described personal accounts and opinions about the days prior to the hurricane and the desperation afterward. It was pretty ridiculous. Other rooms talked about the reasons for the hurricanes and geography and why it's considered a man made disaster, but the last room discussed rebuilding and how New Orleans is coming back. At first I thought it was sort of weird to house a Katrina and Mardi Gras exhibit in the same building but the transition worked well. The last Katrina exhibit ended with the idea that New Orleans isn’t the land but rather to culture and tradition of the past which lead directly into the Mardi Gras exhibit.
Mardi Gras is crazy y’all. I can’t really imagine what it was like last week here.
For dinner we went out to Antoine's....whoa. I can even describe this place but it has 15 dining rooms and if you've ever been to the French Quarter you'd understand why this is confusing. Everything is really small and close together so it's a little crazy to think of a place having 15 dinning rooms. The wine cellar is an entire city block long....

Day 3 – My sister and I are pretty nerdy when it comes to history and activities so the four of us went on a City Tour that included the Ninth Ward and Lakeview, the two areas the worst hit by Katrina. I can't even imagine being here during that time. It was pretty intense just to see the destruction on the tour. The tour guide was the most amazing guide I think I’ve ever had! Sorry Keating! Sylvester was pretty exactly what you think of when you think of New Orleans.

Day 4 - Today we just wandered the city after our Jazz Brunch at The Court of Two Sisters. I'll post some photos once I get home but the courtyard has a wisteria canopy and white table clothes....pretty great and incredibly beautiful. Then we headed out for our tour of the Treme area, clearly I need to watch the show on HBO now,


Things I love about Nawlins so far....
1) Accents - By far the coolest accents I've heard. But it's not just accents but also the vocabulary.

2) Everyone is so friendly! and not that fake, you're a tourist friendly. They are genuinely friendly and laid back. It's great. They use words like sweetie, sweetheart, hun, babe with total strangers, they wave and ask you how you're doing on the street, they work on their own time and I fully support it. Now I'm sure if you did enough to piss them off it would be a little different but I don't really plan on finding out.

3) HEAT - It's hot here and not gross humid Toronto hotm but pleasant nice hot, I may never leave. I'm dreading coming back to coats and mittens.

There are a lot more things that I love about this town but we still have a few days here, so I'll update a little later.
I'm also not sure how long my internet will last!!

Have a great day team!

Kate

2011 International Olympic Academy Application!

I eat and breathe Canada every day!


I am extremely personable, cheerful team player! I have a natural ability to take the lead, but being very adaptable, I will fulfil any role needed in order to be successful. I love to learn and I’m constantly striving to soak up new things and expand my understanding of new places, people and experiences!



My bilingualism has proven to be my biggest asset and skill; allowing me to communicate with people across our nation and the world as well as being extremely useful in my day-to-day business interactions. Strong communication skills have been vital to my success in building strong, trusting relationships.

I thrive off passion.


I am extremely passionate about the things I love and I am in love with Canada and it’s people. My love affair for Canada and the Olympics has always been present...
but during my trip to the Vancouver Olympics I was able to connect my love of sports and competition with my passion for my home! Being able to partake in and experience the power of passion and sport and how it can take hold and unite a nation was the most incredible thing I’ve ever experienced.


It was then that I realized I needed to be involved in creating this experience for everyone.


This drive and need has led me on a Cross Canada train trip, stopping in every province, as well as a trip to Halifax to volunteer for the Canada Games.
While volunteering I was able to chat with a variety of people but it was the dedication, professionalism and enthusiasm displayed by our young athletes that solidified my need to be a part of Canada’s Olympic Movement and made me excited to begin my trip down this path.

K.A.C Is Mixin' It Up.

That's right team....
I'm putting my passport to good use and crossin' the boarder to the land of stars and stripes.

I've been to the States several times before, but I've pretty much stuck to the North East. I've done Nevada and Florida too but this new destination is pretty different.

I'm not going to tell you where it is yet but I will give you some hints this week and I'll see if you can guess.

1) It has Canadian connections

Happy guessing!

Have a great day!
Kate