Oh, just the thought of you…

So we just got back from Baton Rouge 30 minutes ago and I am so tired! During the last interview of the day, I was giggly because I was tired. You know the type of giggling where your mind just starts wandering and you find yourself having trouble controlling the giggles rising in your throat. And it’s not like I was giggling about seriously funny things. It was stuff like the way somebody held their head when he/she was writing or a comment that I remembered from the day before. Maybe it wasn’t because I was tired; now that I think about it, I’ve been giggling and laughing ’til I cry all day. I just love to laugh, especially when it’s too funny. At one point, I laughed so hard I almost regurgitated my lunch. Not cool. Not cool at all.

Baton Rouge reminded me of my hometown, but with more morning traffic and the most beautiful homes. We stayed at Kelly’s home and it was so nice to be in a real family setting; I think everybody misses that at some point, especially when you’re in college. Kelly’s parents are just so nice and inviting. I totally loved it. And the shower had water pressure. In Le Cirque, there isn’t any and we miss that a lot. I don’t think any of us wanted to get out of bed this morning. I mean, it was perfect. It was raining, we were all cozy in bed in our pj’s, and we could smell the breakfast downstairs. Oh! I wanted to just stay there and be lazy all day! Today was just like a 9 to 5 job with a 20 minute break for lunch, which we were surprised we had. I think today was the first day I’ve eaten all 3 meals on time. We have begun to appreciate the tiniest things in life like water pressure and lunch, which is quite comical.

None of us want to leave. Coming here, I didn’t think I’d love New Orleans as much as I do. There’s so much to do here and the city has so much to offer. I just love that I can go out for beignets in the morning, shop in the Garden District in the afternoon, experience a little bit of culture in between, and then go out for a drink at night after having fried alligator for dinner. And then go back for beignets. I just love that idea…

This kind of work is exhausting. And it’s not like these stories are necessarily fun to listen to. I’m glad that people are telling their stories and for some, this is the first time they’ve been able to share their experience but goodness! I don’t think anybody could’ve prepared me for this. I don’t say this lightly. For those of you who are reading this and wondering how one can get tired from just listening, try listening to multiple recollections of one of the largest tragedies in US history that you experienced from the couch in your living room. The exhausting part comes from trying to fully wrap your mind around it and still not understanding the magnitude. All in a day’s work, I tell you.

Fabulous.