Becoming the Big Easy

So, here I am, 32 years old, & for the first time, I've strayed off the conventional path.  Completely terrified, unsure of myself & what lies ahead, but also just a touch excited about a new more fulfilling life.  Ironically, I was first propelled into this new phase of my life by two very inconvenient car accidents (both caused by the other drivers), ultimately losing my full time job at UNO library (which I'd held for nearly 7 years), & a complete & utter emotional breakdown.  Needless to say, I never imagined myself ending up with a tour guide license & a whole new world at my finger tips just 2 years later.  After the car accidents, I was left with some very painful deep tissue injuries which still require regular physical therapy.  Unfortunately, one can't go to physical therapy at night or on the weekends, making it very difficult to maintain a full time, 9-5, job (which is all I've ever known since graduating from college).  I have a BA in Art History (we all know that doesn't mean much in the way of obtaining a job), I've worked in an academic library for over 10 years, & once upon a time, all thought I would end up a pre-school teacher.  So, art, history, books, & kids…what shall I do with this skill set?  One very important fact that I have neglected to mention up until this point, I am a new orleans native; I'm in a love affair with my hometown & can NOT imagine living anywhere else (at least not anywhere else in the states)!!!  Every time I travelled abroad, I'd be on these amazing tours in Europe & think, "I wanna do what this guide does, wish I lived in a place like this".   Then it finally occurred to me that I do live in a place as charming & intriguing as a beautiful old European town!  Since that realization years ago, the idea of being a tour guide has always appealed to me, but was never a realistic option while working a full time job at the library.  It takes a lot of chutzpah to quit a job with good health insurance, a great benefits package, & plenty of paid vacation time (especially Post-K).  Besides, I had no idea how to go about becoming a tour guide; how does one break into the business?!  

Fortunately, I have 2 great friends (neither of which are originally from nola) that are weekend tour guides.  I find it quite interesting that the majority of my close friends now are not originally from nola, but are all what I like to call, "nola converts"…people that were always meant to be New Orleanians.  And, because they all love the town so much, they generally know more about it than those of us that grew up here because they've sought it out.  I'm constantly learning from my friends & always being reminded that, although I love what I know, I still know very little about what really makes this town so unique & enchanting.  Now, we come to my quest to rectify the situation by diving in head first (of course, not literally, my physical therapist would strongly advise against that) to the real New Orleans…the history, the architecture, the music, the food, what it means to love New Orleans.  So, a few months ago, I applied, interviewed & got a coveted spot in the Friends of the Cabildo's Walking Tour Guide training course; an extremely intensive one month course on nola history, architecture, culture, tour guide techniques, field trips to lots of charming little museums & historic sites in the French Quarter & bonding with a lot of other classic nola characters that all share my passion for the Crescent City.  By the end, I'd passed the city's tour guide test, acquired my New Orleans tour guide license, & made some great new friends to join me on my Big Easy adventures.  The Friends of the Cabildo, a non-profit group organized to support the Louisiana State Museum, offers French Quarter walking tours twice a day Tues-Sun; The FOC's tour guides are all volunteers so all of the tour proceeds go straight back to the FOC.  The FOC has been a great support in my pursuits as a new tour guide & opened many doors to exciting opportunities in nola, especially in the French Quarter, excuse me, the "Vieux Carre".  

At the moment, I'm volunteering for FOC, guiding walking tours of the French Quarter & I'll soon be a docent in the 1850 House.  The 1850 House is one of the Louisiana State Museum's 11 sites; the first floor is a commercial space (which is now the location for FOC's gift & book shop), while the 2 upper stories are preserved as a time capsule of life in mid-19th century New Orleans within the prestigious lower Pontalba Apartment Building located in Jackson Square.  I'm practicing my french quarter tour with any friend that's willing to subject themselves to my rambling on about nola history, etc. & tagging along on tours guided by older, wiser, veteran tour guides.  Every day I change my tour a little, but the tours will constantly evolve, which is a good thing.  No one wants to go on a 2 hour stale walking tour.  I hope to begin doing commercial tours soon so that I can actually put a little money in my pocket…something I never really believed would be possible while doing something that I love.  

In an effort to expand my knowledge of all things nola, I've banded together with my closest friends from the tour guide training course & we've created our own continuing education series with weekly visits to other museums, historic sites, etc., followed by lunch where we all pow-wow, share ideas, complain about the latest obstacle that city hall has created for tour guides, & add to our growing list of places to visit over a great meal.  One of my tour guide friends in this continuing ed group has taken the lead coordinating guided tours for us at most of the museums that we've visited so far, generally by the director of the museum.  As it turns out, a New Orleans tour guide license is actually a key to the city…making all my dreams come true one week at a time!  Besides getting free entry & personally guided tours in the museums, another new tour guide friend recently told me about an additional perk.  He stopped into Johnny's, a little joint in the quarter, the other day for a fried shrimp po'boy after his tour.  He'd left his tour guide license clipped to his shirt & when he paid the bill, he was sure they'd given him too much change back.  When he inquired, he was told that as a tour guide, he gets a discount on the po'boy & a free drink!!  What's not to love about that?!

Although I've already taken the first few baby steps on my new path as a tour guide before beginning this blog, I've got plenty of pictures to catch you up on what you've missed so far.  Honestly, I generally look more like the tourist than the tour guide with the amount of pictures I take of EVERYTHING…I just can't resist.  I even take a few pictures while guiding a tour.  I think the photos capture my experiences a hell of a lot better than I can in words.  So, much of the time, I'll rely on the photos to tell the story & just flavor it with a bit of spicy commentary. 

Finally, I now feel it's time to share with you a few disclaimers…the rules of English grammar have never been good friends of mine, I am the reigning queen of run-on sentences & comma splices. I tend to make a short story longer.  I'm ridiculously sentimental; I do sometimes rely on cliches, no matter how cliche they are.  And, I have a foul mouth (although I've managed to keep this first post pretty tame).  That said, again, I'm taking the leap…several friends have told me that I should just give this blog thing a go, instead of wasting all my time (& theirs) posting all of this on facebook.  Here's hoping I can find a new receptive audience out there on the interwebs…