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| Photo courtesy of KRISTEN JEHL Senior Genna Stargell and junior Megan Parris enjoy the view of the Mississippi River. |
While most students who were enrolled in the typical Winter Session program where listening to lectures a few hours a day and doing tedious homework, those taking Travel Writing were planning for an adventure in the Deep South.
Taught by English Professor Dr. Kimberly Drake, these students were assigned the task of organizing a trip and relating it to Jack Kerouac's “On the Road” and Bill Bryson's “The Lost Continent,” both of which are based on the idea of picking up everything and leaving without a set plan. The students first read the books before leaving for New Orleans in order to have a better grasp of what Drake wanted them to get out of the course.
"I wanted them to understand the different reasons why the authors we read made their cross-country trips," Drake said. "I wanted them to meet different people and to do things that they usually wouldn't when they were on vacation." The group unanimously chose New Orleans, Louisiana, a warm destination, to help break up the anxieties of a long winter. It is home of numerous historical sites, jazz clubs and strip joints, and of course, Bourbon Street, the infamous main drag. "Bourbon Street might smell worse than Chinatown in New York," said senior Genna Stargell.
New Orleans is also considered one of the most diverse cultures in America, because of Spanish and French settlement. According to junior Megan Parris, "It is a melting pot of hookers, homeless and rich people of all different backgrounds."Based on the philosophy of picking up everything and leaving with a limited budget, the students assigned themselves to different responsibilities. They included transportation, food, lodging and financial duties. Drake wanted the students to research and organize the trip because it would be more exciting and valuable to the overall understanding of the class.
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| Photo courtesy of KIM DRAKE The students who didn’t get the opportunity to drive to New Orleans tried sleeping during the 14-hour ride. |
"I wanted them to do whatever they wanted to so they could have these experiences," she said. She also felt that this group was responsible enough because they were all upperclassmen and acted in a mature and adult manner. "This particular group of students was good and I liked them all," Drake said. After proper planning, the trip began with the eight of them piling into a rented minivan and a Dodge Neon. Some loaded up with small bags of clothes and the necessary products along with blankets and pillows for the 14-hour trip, while senior Clifton Rogers was brave enough to take only what was on him.
Rogers described the drive, which he and Drake split in the minivan: "The road kind of hypnotizes you, playing tricks on your sense of time. Hours turn into minutes, so the whole 14 hour drive felt like 35 minutes." Rogers equated it to "a connect-the-dots game between gas stations." Their first destination was Biloxi, Miss., home of Sweets Lounge, a stereotypical southern redneck bar. The parking lot was a thick layer of beer bottle caps from at least a decade of drinking, where Rogers said he wanted to make a snow angel but feared tetanus.
Inside they met "Travis," one of the locals who spent the majority of his day hanging out at Sweets. Stargell described him as being somewhere between the drunken village idiot and the aspiring mayor. Drake assumed that Travis was just acting in the manner that he did to draw attention from some city people. The first night was spent at The Suntan Motel, a $40-a-night accommodation well suited to the style of the class. Their first taste of the South was Cajun's Fabulous Fried Chicken. This was a buffet-style restaurant that served deep-fried everything.
That night they went to Treasure Bay, a giant ship anchored in the Mississippi used as a hotel and casino. It was the first time that several of them had been to a casino. The following morning came too soon and they were back on the road toward New Orleans. When they finally got there they came across a few problems. That night they were supposed to stay at the Ramada on Bourbon St. but apparently hotels.com had a slip-up with the reservation. So Parris went to work and got on the phone immediately. "She did everything right, polite then exaggerated," Drake said. For the remainder of the trip they stayed in a $275-a-night room for $65. While in New Orleans the group split up into groups and did their own thing. This was also part of Drake's plan.
"She knew as long as we were not alone we were safe. It benefited us more by having a less structured trip," Stargell said. "We learned two times more on our own." Rogers and junior Paul Pavon spent a majority of the time skateboarding around the nicest areas to the slums of the town in search of interesting people and stories. They also experienced jumping on trains for the first time. The girls went shopping and enjoyed the sprit of the town. They did, however, spend some time together doing the "tourist thing." This included meals, vampire tours, trolley rides and the exciting nightlife.
At times they were put out of their comfort zone, having to do things that they usually wouldn't do. This included talking to prostitutes, homeless people and random individuals of all flavors. All of this was the focus of the course, in hopes that by the end they all would have a better understanding of different cultures and why people do the things they do. "New Orleans is very different from what I am used to," Parris said. "It was a circus. I have a better understanding of people, and I have never been more cultured."
Going out on a limb, doing what one usually wouldn't do and meeting new people is what the class was all about. One person brought that idea back to Virginia. Recently Pavon was on his way home at 3 a.m. when he saw a man trying to hitchhike. At first he was hesitant but decided to help him out. When the man got in the car he said that he didn't have a gun or a knife and didn't want to rob him, all he wanted was a ride down the street. Pavon said that if it wasn't for the books and the experience in New Orleans, he wouldn't have done what he did. Pavon said, "It is what it means to be an American."
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