What you should know before visiting New Orleans, LA

The South is a mysterious thing to me, a girl from California. Spending a week in Louisiana was not only a culture shock, but an entirely new experience that made me question everything I’ve ever thought about the South.

Here’s what you should know before you plan your own trip.

Gumbo is not just a pile of seafood in a broth

Before going to Louisiana, I had this image of different types of seafood – lobster, crab, oysters, shrimp, crawfish, etc. – soaking in a broth of some sort. To my surprise, in the gumbo I ordered the first night, you couldn’t even see the seafood. It resembled gravy over rice. To add to that, it tasted nothing like seafood, but instead tasted something like beef broth.

Drinking on the street is fine

Louisiana has an open container law that basically allows you to walk around on the street, in public, with an alcoholic beverage. This means people are walking around with beer and daiquiris pretty much everywhere you go, at any time of the day.

It seems strange to me that it’s OK to carry around an open container of alcohol, but the police don’t have a problem with it. It also seems strange that with all that freedom with alcohol, there aren’t many fights breaking out from drunken behavior. I guess nobody wants the law revoked, so everyone tries to behave.

Boiled crawfish look like they’re still alive

Coming to the South, Louisiana especially, I knew I’d have to try boiled crawfish. You order them by the pound and they’re supposed to taste delicious. I can certainly vouch for the taste.

That being said, in order to enjoy their taste, you have to get over the idea that they still look like they’re alive. I knew they were going to be whole, but I definitely wasn’t ready to see their legs and eyes and claws. It took me about 10 minutes to even pick one up, let alone tear it apart and eat it. It still give me chills just thinking about it.

Cajun is not just a type of food

From what I experienced, Cajun people generally live in the swamplands of Louisiana and in the French Quarter. They are loud, fast-talking people with lots of personality. My family and I took a swamp tour and our guide was Cajun.

He was hilarious and talked about the different species of fish living in the swamp and the different types of alligators. From what I could tell, family dinner in a Cajun household would be a blast.

When it rains, it pours

Being from California, I have seen about 1/8 inch of rain in the past year. In the last week, I have seen more rain than I could ever imagine was possible. It goes from completely sunny with no clouds in the sky to pouring rain in 60 seconds flat.

It’s rare that we get anything more than a sprinkle in California, let alone thunderstorms with lightning. During my stay in Louisiana, I experienced four thunderstorms with lightning and about four inches of rain. To say I was a little unprepared was an understatement.