Spring Break!

So when I was high school I always imagined myself going on one of those MTV worthy spring breaks when I finally made it to college. Going crazy on the beach with all of my friends, listening to great music and getting a tan. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately actually, I haven't done that. The past 2 years I have gone to my Grandmother's condo in Pensacola, FL - which is a 3 hour drive from New Orleans.

This year I decided to do something a little different. My best friend goes to the University of Florida and I have yet to visit her during college so I decided to drive down there! It was a 7 and half hour drive (which i did by myself - however not that bad because I listened to my IPOD and a book on tape). It was such a cool experience to be there! Obviously I loved seeing Sarah, but it was my first time at a big southern state school.

First of all, it literally is GATOR CITY! We did go to a bar called Gator City one night, but everywhere all you see is Blue, Orange and Aligators (not real ones, just the mascot). And Gainesville, nicknamed the swamp, really is a SWAMP! It is nothing like any other place I have been in Florida before. Sarah took me around her campus (which she loves) and I must say it is extremely beautiful, we such a new experience for me. She drives to class everyday, while here at Tulane students walk everywhere. She eats off campus everyday, where students here either make it home to get their lunch or they eat on campus and she only goes to campus for class, where students here spend tons of time on campus for many different reasons. It was just some of these little differences that made me appreciate Tulane, and the size of the school.

She took me down Fraternity and Sorority rows, which were hugely different than here. They literally have MANSIONS that the Greek students live in, all secluded and segregated from where other students live. Greek housing at Tulane is integrated with all of the homes where other students live, not secluded at all. I did ask her to drive me by the Pi Phi house at Florida, and ironically it was set on Fraternity row instead of Sorority row! Weird huh?

Because Sarah wasn't on spring break when i was, I was only there Friday - Tuesday. It was a great weekend though and I was so glad to see her! I spend the rest of my time back in New Orleans doing some school work and just laying out at the Levee. I actually got a darker tan in New Orleans than I got in Florida!

Unfortunately, I didn't take ANY pictures while I was there but I will post some more stuff later!

GO GATORS! (I had to say it)
Kelly

FINALLY ITS WARM AGAIN!

So New Orleans has been upsetting me a little lately. It actually isn't New Orleans fault at all really, its the weather! The entire country has been having a very very cold winter, and we haven't been left out of that. But in my senior year spring semester, the cold can't stop me! As we were preparing for Mardi Gras I realized that I forgot to bring back any of my winter jackets to New Orleans after Christmas break. In a desperate text to my mother I said... "Mom, If you love me, you will 2 day ship my ski jacket." Needless to say, My mother does love me, and the jacket was here 2 days later.

This Mardi Gras was a great time. For the first time in my Tulane Career, I walked from Campus to Downtown. We decided to do it starting in the early afternoon and it took us 2 hours. The walk we took was 4 miles down, straight down St. Charles. It was so fun to be with friends and just enjoy the excitement of Mardi Gras during the day. We did take a few pit stops on our way down, but we made it happily!

Since recovering from Mardi Gras, I've done a ton of fun things! We had two sorority events which were great and I just had the BEST WEEKEND!

So as I have told you before, people from New Orleans go to the "Levee" or as the locals call it, the "Fly" on nice days. This weekend, to say the least, WAS BEAUTIFUL! Both Saturday and Sunday were 70+ and Sunny! On Saturday my friends and I went to the Levee to both lay out and enjoy the sun, but also to support a great cause! At the Levee on Saturday there was a fundraising event for pediatric brain cancer. A local young boy died recently from Brain Cancer, so his family and friends organized this event to raise money and awareness for a cure. The event got together some of the best chef's in the city to donate their time and food to the cause. There were tons of tents set up outside where you could get free food and drinks (and encouraged to provide a donation for the cause!). The event was a Pork based event so most of the dishes somehow incorporated pork! Although I am a vegetarian, my friends all enjoyed the food and said it was fantastic! After the festival we just hung out by the river and got a little color. It couldn't have been a better day.

Lucky for us, today was just as beautiful! I decided to go to the Tulane Baseball game. The boys were in their 3rd game in a series against Ole Miss. They had lost the first two games of the series, but I brought some luck because they won today! They actually played a great game and won by more than 6 runs.

All in all, it was an amazing weekend and I hope New Orleans decides to stay this warm!!!