January 3, 2011

My parents and I arrived in Who Dat Nation, more formally known as the city of New Orleans, on Saturday, January 1st in preparation for me to embark upon my winterim journey. During the next few weeks, I will intern at the Times Picayune, the New Orleans newspaper, and volunteer at New Orleans Outreach, an organization that works to improve the quality of public education in New Orleans. I plan on staying with my aunt and uncle, Dorothy and Jim Creely, who reside in Kenner, a suburb of New Orleans. As a little girl, I loved staying with Aunt Dorothy and Uncle Jim during the summer, exploring the city, and spending time with them. I am very grateful for the opportunity to stay with them again and embark upon such an enriching, memorable, and exciting experience.

Today, to officially begin my adventures, my family and I joined Gregory and Suzanne Rusovich and Frank Donze for lunch at Cafe Adelaide in the Loews hotel in downtown New Orleans. Mr. Rusovich serves as the CEO of TransOceanic Shipping Co., and the couple, previously our neighbors when we lived in New Orleans, assisted with facilitating my relationship with Mr. Donze, a reporter for the Times Picayune. Mr. Donze has graciously agreed to direct my internship at the newspaper. Cafe Adelaide, as most other restaurants in New Orleans, has an interesting story. As a part of the Commander's Palace Family of Restaurants, the cafe was inspired by the Brennan family's Aunt Adelaide, renowned for her 1950s style and personification of all that is good about New Orleans. After planning my week with Mr. Donze, we proceeded to our next destination - New Orleans Outreach Center, located on Canal Street. 

I became interested in New Orleans Outreach Center through Mrs. Paige Breaux, my former nanny in New Orleans. Ms. Paige, as I have called her for over 13 years, works at the center and helped me coordinate plans with the organization. This afternoon we visited both Ms. Paige and Ms. Claudia Barker, who has known my father since high school. Ms. Barker is the Executive Director of New Orleans Outreach. 

Overall, it was a successful day, and I begin work tomorrow morning with Mr. Donze at the Times Picayune. More tomorrow!

To view the Times Picayune online, click here: http://www.nola.com/
To learn more about New Orleans Outreach, click here: http://www.educationpartnership.org/donate/new-orleans-outreach

Below is a picture of my parents and me on my first day in New Orleans.