Cafe Reconcile

After class on Friday we (the four of us, both our teachers and our TA) went to Cafe Reconcile for lunch. Joining us was a relief group from UNC who was down in New Orleans volunteering for the week. The cafe employs youth from the Mid-City area and places them in workforce development programs. They teach their participants skills viable in the restaurant business and also gives them a sense of entrepreneurship. Cafe Reconcile gives youth a chance to gain work experience and skills that they might otherwise not have the opportunity to learn and gives them marketable skills in the workforce. Not should you go to this cafe to show your support for this great cause, the food is delicious!

"Crawfest, yeah you right"

Some of my best friends (Tosh, Katie, and Rory) from UNC are here in town during their spring break and I was able to share my first crawfish tasting experience with them. After trying crawfish in some random Chinese buffet we went to a few weeks ago, I’m relieved finding out that the Chinese version of crawfish is no where near the taste of native-made crawfish. Today, Tosh (a local New Orleanian) and his delightfully adorable family had us over for a craw boil. Not only did I get to try some crawfish, I also got to watch the process in making. I’m going to try and break down the boil in picture book style as best I can.

Alright, first, buy pounds and pounds of crawfish. The rate right now is around $2.25/lb and each bag can carry anywhere from 15 to 20 lbs. Apparently, crawfish is best between the middle of March and early May, with you being lucky if you get crawfish the size we were fortunate enough to get this early in the season.

Next, fill the bucket with water to wash and remove mud from the crawfish. Drain and repeat the process again for better results. Any crawfish that are noticeably dead, separate and throw away because you never know how long they've been TKO'ed and this will change the taste of the meat.

Third, pour salt into the bucket and stir. This is done to make the crawfish throw up in order to clean and wash their insides out.

While I wasn’t much help in picking up the runaway crawfish after draining, I at least helped clean them off.

Next, pick a crawfish and have a race, or a crawfight. We chose to crawfight. A circle was drawn using chalk and the bad boys were carefully picked up and placed in the arena. Yeah, it took me a long time to finally attempt the crawfish pick up. It's crucial that you grab them at the center of the body, away from the tail or claws so that they won't snap at you, although they will still try.

Whichever crawfish steps outside of the circle loses. Ours kind of cowered and avoided each other, or played dead so it wasn’t much of a fight.

Then after enjoying the sport of crawfish battling, boil the crawfish in a pot. It’s recommended that you add sausage, corn and potato into the boil…or at least I would because Tosh’s dad did and it tasted ridiculously awesome. The crawfish will turn from a black color to a vibrant, lobster red.

Set up a table, cover it with newspapers and spread the final product across the table. Call family over, and after mention of crawfish, they will immediately drop whatever they are doing to appear on your doorsteps. Oh yeah, it’s that good.

Now the process of eating crawfish is also an art. Most people prefer the tail meat, if you’re like Rory, you can take your time with the claws.

If you’re native, you also suck the juice from the body after tearing the tail off. After hearing that the yellow squishy-looking part in the body is actually crawfish intestines, I was a little hesitant to try it at first. After gathering the balls to do it, I have to admit that it’s an essential compliment that adds to the taste of the tail meat. Mmm succulent. I loved the kick of the spices!

The time difference in stripping the crawfish down to the meat becomes apparent when compared with someone who has already mastered the art of crawfish-ing. You can tell by the crawfish piles who’s the native, but Katie ate herself a fine share too so props. You’d be surprised how fast the pounds of crawfish go by.

Finally, place your crawfish scraps on a huge plate to throw away and get ready for another set! Oh yeah, believe it. There were three sets boiled tonight! I must’ve eaten at least “17 lbs of crawfish….that’s like a little baby.” Haha.

Really, beyond the awesome taste of spicy crawfish, it’s really the family environment surrounding the tradition that makes it such a warm and neighbor friendly event. It’s the conversation and the company you keep that really make it what it is. I have Tosh and his family and my friends to thank for making this experience an unforgettable one. I can’t wait for Crawfest 09 baby!

Currently listening to: "Now You're Gone" Basshunter.

Currently viewing: http://www.geocities.com/thefirethread/ (a site Cassandra stumbled upon)

Sample sign:

If you spot terrorism, blow your anti-terrorism whistle. If you are Vin Diesel, yell really loud

Savantism

I guess it's only natural that working with kids ASD four days a week would eventually lead my interest to savant syndrome. As I've come to understand it, a person suffering from savantism seriously struggles with developmental disorder. Often these individuals are completely unable to learn to read, write, and cannot understand their incredible talents in areas like math, music, language, etc. 

Society has become most familiar with autistic savantism through Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise's 1988 Rain Man, based on Kim Peek. Though he is not actually autistic, Peek apparently has a "photographic" (eidetic) memory and thus, his mind seems an endless capacity for information. I've not actually seen the movie yet, but I'm looking forward to checking it out now that I have a little background on the syndrome. 

This article, though its credibility is questionable, has fed my interest to reading more about highly radical theories on the concept of intelligence. Like the string theory (if you have plenty of time on your hands, you should probably watch those videos, they are awesome) in physics, these theories are highly abstract and characterize intelligence as a capacity not contained within the dimensions of space and time. Whaaaat? Yeah, I know. I'm still reading about all of this and trying to grasp the concept too.

One of the students at the Chartwell Center, I believe, may have a modest savantistic ability. On the way to City Park last Thursday, Mr. Adam told me about Sami's familiarity with the calendar. If asked what the date the Thursday two weeks from now would fall on, he would tell you with no problem, other than understanding the question, that it's April 3rd. I found it strikingly similar to the amazing calendar calculation abilities described in several articles. We didn't test him on dates that were too difficult, like what day Mardi Gras would be on 2029, but I am interested in finding out how well he knows or can calculate the calendar. 

In addition to but unrelated to savantism, several different people have told me about a story called The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, a story written by British writer Mark Haddon from the perspective of a boy suffering from Asperger's Syndrome. Asperger's falls on the autism spectrum and is characterized by empathetic social interaction, language acquisition and use abnormalities and often things like obsessive or compulsion movements or preoccupations. A lady I met on the street car one day and a friend back at UNC both recommended I read this story, and I plan to as I finish writing this. The link above is to an online copy of the book if anyone else is interested in reading it. 

There is soo much to learn about so many things in life. It's unsettling to think about how much there is to know. Here is just another topic that will obviously open doors to even more,like physics theories  and philosophies on intelligence, haha. Just something to think about.

p.s. forgive all the wikipedia links. Though they're often less credible, I think they are good places to form a basic understanding and start research on a topic. Here are some additional links:

http://encefalus.com/cognitive/amazing-brain-autistic-savant/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Tammet

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=savants-cognition-thinking

Currently watching: Segen Max, the two-year-old drumming phenom

Currently listening to: The Beatles Let it Be

"COLD DRINK"

Has someone recently tried to treat you to a "cold drink"? Were you confused as to what this was?

This week my supervisor at the Advocacy Center explained to me what exactly a cold drink in New Orleans is. This is what some of us would call a soft drink, soda, or pop (if you're in Chicago!)... It really doesn't make sense since most drinks are cold, but that's neither here nor there...


Just the other day I finally got to hear this term used in real life! I was at the Popeye's on St. Charles Avenue (grabbing lunch as usual) when a man told his girlfriend that their son had spilled COLD DRINK on himself.

Next time someone in New Orleans asks you if you want a COLD DRINK... you'll know what they mean. :-)


Currently listening to: the Lupe Fiasco radio station on Pandora.com (getting ready for the concert on Thursday, Shadoe!)