A tiny taste of Mardi Gras

Coming to New Orleans and talking with locals, all we heard was how excited they were for us to be here during Mardi Gras. "Oh, you all are going to have so much fun. Mardi Gras...it just transforms you; you can be anyone you want." What are you really supposed to take from hearing that a hundred times? Haha. Naturally, we had some doubts about how wild this Carnival thing really is. I think the group mindset we all fell into was to let Mardi Gras happen and see if it really lived up to the hype. Well, did it?

This year was the first time I've experienced Mardi Gras (aside from king cake in my high school French class, but that was more like an excuse not to have class).  Turns out, there's more to the celebration than beads and breasts. There’s a whole 'nother, much larger and family friendly side to Mardi Gras. Far from and completely overshadowed by the festive debauchery that is Bourbon Street, are the parades; the magnificent, omnipresent, exhausting, parades down St. Charles and Canal. Literally, next to that thread you know you shouldn’t be pulling out of your favourite sweater, I would say the Mardi Gras parades are the next best definition of ‘endless.’ Imagine, standing in one spot, for at least an hour—for the smallest parades—watching a series of floats pass. There were 25+ of these parades, and somehow Sintha and Jacque caught every single one. It’s definitely not a sport for the weak, but they did it, collecting a plastic cup from nearly every parade.

 I can already tell this is going to be a huge post, even as I’m leaving out so much. 

Anyway, the essence of these parades is to collect as much of the nonsense the floaters throw your way. It literally brings out the best and the worst of people. I saw one man toss a stuffed animal to a little girl, but when it slipped out of her hands and fell on the ground next to her, there waited an older kid with his foot crushing it for himself. Then again, I never liked the beads myself, so as I caught them I handed them to the girls or the nearest little kid. Yesterday, one little boy saw I didn’t have any beads and offered me his. He was so cute. 

After the parades, the streets are an absolute mess. It looks like a mini hurricane has destroyed the streets and the area in between known as the neutral ground. A lot of people stick around to grill out, toss their new Krewe d’Etat football or just hang out. After the Endymion parade finished, we somehow ended up jump roping with these little kids.  No one knows for sure how it happened, but it was a lot of fun. This picture captures the scene perfectly. 

Sadly, I'm cutting this analysis short for the sake of me getting any sleep. I've got so much to say about these topics, so more on the parades, the rest of Mardi Gras and New Orleans hotspots later. I will say that Mardi Gras was ... an experience. Not as crazy as everyone made it out to be, yet somehow, it still was. I made an effort to avoid being "transformed," and simply watch the parades from the outside. Well, until today when I saw someone getting a prized Zulu coconut. Then I just had to get one for myself and everyone around me. Carnival in New Orleans really is impossible to put into words. To get the best sense, you'll just have to come down and experience it for yourself. 

p.s. tonight in the Quarter, Sintha found and convinced this self-proclaimed redneck from Williamston, NC to give her (and then directly to me) his Confederate flag beads. I’ve had my eye on those since we got to New Orleans, and finally got a free pair on the last night. Nice! I owe you one, haha.

Currently watching: Firecracker prank

Currently listening to: T.I. Paper Trail