Hurricane-Proof

Hey guys! The last time I wrote was pre-Gustav... Don't worry, the storm passed us without doing much harm to my house (or Tulane!) Amber (my roommate) and I were able to come back to the dorms on Saturday, which happened to be our friend Michael's 20th birthday! You know we had to celebrate... On the right is a picture of Amber and I with Michael and his roommate Greg at The Palms.

Getting back into the swing of classes wasn't as much fun as celebrating Michael's birthday, but it was good re-reuniting with everyone again and asking about their "Hurrication" stories. GWA (Green Wave Ambassadors) also hosted Louisiana Week for all the Louisiana high school seniors interested in coming to Tulane, so I had fun leading a tour, eating at Bruff, and sitting on a Q&A panel for some of y'all!

For those of you that have heard lots of talk in the news about hurricanes lately, here's a little bit of info for you guys. Hurricane season officially lasts until November, so you'll probably see a few more named storms on tv. I know some people still associate hurricanes with New Orleans and Katrina, but you should know that not every hurricane attacks New Orleans with such impact or has such terrible effects as Katrina. I think the most Gustav did to New Orleans was knock out power for a little while and shake a few tree branches loose - minimal damage. And since Ike went to Texas, all New Orleans felt from the storm was some very gusty wind and a little bit of rain for the past few days. Basically, though hurricanes can be very dangerous, they're not all "out to get" New Orleans and Tulane. And a really good thing about these types of storms is that hurricane trackers give you warnings days in advance, so it's easy to get out of the projected path. Tulane takes care of its students really well in hurricane situations, giving you plenty of time to book flights or find rides out of the city (and they don't allow ANYONE to stay in the dorms, just in case!).

Well that's my little weekly update and hurricane blurb... I'm going to hunker down and get some work done before making plans for tonight! As always, let me know if you have any questions or comments. I love hearing from you guys! ahollier@tulane.edu

Love from breezy NOLA!

Go Away, Gustav!

So I had started this blog entry earlier this week, and I'll just tell you - it had a TOTALLY different tone on Tuesday. My first draft of this entry - the first blog of my sophomore year - was all about how excited I was to return to campus, reunite with all my friends, start classes, meet lots of new freshmen faces, and to be back in New Orleans in general.

I'm writing now from my house in Youngsville, LA (outside Lafayette) instead of from my dorm room, because Tulane called for a mandatory evacuation of campus Friday due to Tropical Storm (now Hurricane) Gustav. My roommate and I have been hanging out in Lafayette with my family, anxiously waiting to see what this storm will do. Despite my anxiety about all this, I have to say that so far Tulane has done a really good job handling the situation - watching the storm as it brewed, evacuating all of us early, and keeping us informed via text message and email. It's really sad being away from school (especially since we left campus on the third anniversary of Katrina), and we're all praying that Gustav won't have too bad of an effect so that we can return to New Orleans soon.

Now, rewind to a few days ago, when I wasn't worried about any storms... it was SO exciting getting back to Tulane as a sophomore! This summer felt like the longest one of my life, because it was really hard being away from all my friends and the school I've grown to love so much. I was so happy to see everyone around campus and to meet some of our new (huge) freshman class - especially on Greek Move In Day, where I helped some of our new students settle into their rooms in Sharp. The days before classes start were so fun, because we knew we didn't have homework yet; my friends and I got to catch up and do lots of fun things together. On the left is a picture of me rebonding with my friends Kate and Anne ... we look a little messy because we had just TACKLED each other!

So this has really been a bittersweet week... to New Orleans and back, running away from a storm that might just follow me home. Hopefully I'll be able to move back soon. I'll keep you posted, Readers.

Until next time...

Tulane changes over the summer..

I mentioned in my last entry that Tulane's campus seems very different during the summer session(s)... I thought I would describe that in a little more detail for you guys, since I don't have much else to report this week! So here are some things I've noticed: \

• Dorms are emptier, and a lot of the residents are at Tulane for special programs, Orientation, or summer workouts (for athletes).
• There's a very different crowd at both Reily and Bruff - a lot of this is due to the summer camps going on right now ... there are so many!
• It's much easier to find a parking space.. yay!
• Um, it's hotter. I'm glad it's not THIS hot/humid all year, because it would make walking to class every day a miserable experience. (I'm just glad my summer classes are in the morning!)
• I miss eating in Bruff, and I miss a lot of my friends.

You'll notice that over the summer, you'll really miss Tulane, New Orleans, your friends, etc. I felt that "homesickness" earlier this summer, and I know my friends are too - some of the lucky ones actually make a trip back over the summer. Actually, two of my friends (one from Maine and one from Connecticut) made it back to NOLA for the weekend, so I was excited to have visitors!

Alright, I'm going to get back to studying; I have a test tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Home Sweet Home away from Home

That's right, readers -- I'm back in NOLA! I moved into Mayer, a sophomore residence hall, on Sunday afternoon and I started my classes Monday morning. I'm taking two really interesting classes - "Music in New Orleans" and "Sociology of the Family." Summer classes work at a totally different pace than fall- and spring semester classes. Tulane has two five-week sessions, May-June and July-August (there are certain six-week classes offered, like lab sciences, that start at the same time as the five-week classes but just end a week later). There aren't too many people on campus right now - just summer school students and athletes - so it's strange being back at Tulane without a lot of my Tulane friends. However, those of us that are here decided to go out together Tuesday night to celebrate being back in New Orleans. On the left is a picture of me with my friends Tim and Jessica at Bruno's.

Since I'm a sophomore now, I can buy a parking pass to have my car on campus - that changes things a lot too! Even though I've only been away from home less than a week, my family misses me already (I guess they just got used to seeing me every day), so I'm driving back to Lafayette tomorrow for a visit. You bet I'll let my parents help with laundry and take me grocery shopping while I'm there!

Feel free to email me with questions or comments... I love hearing from you! ahollier@tulane.edu

Summer Fun / New Orleans in the News

Hey y'all! Here's another summer update...

After spending a week on the beach in Florida with my family, I took a little trip back to New Orleans to visit Amber. We headed over to the House of Blues on Decatur Street (something you should check out) for the Rooney concert. I've had a crush on the lead singer, Robert, for awhile... if you guys have seen the movie The Princess Diaries, he's the one who played Michael Moscovitz! Anyway, all three bands that played (The Bridges, Locksley, and Rooney) were fun, and all the performers were really nice after the show. Amber and I took pictures with almost all of the band members, including my crush, so I was really excited! There's my picture with Robert on the right.

The next morning, I went over to campus to help out with Orientation. I was on a panel that answered parents' questions about freshman year and Tulane in general... so feel free to ask me any questions you might have!

Not much else has been going on here... I've been working pretty much, but I went out with my friends from high school to celebrate my friend Kate's birthday Monday night. I also got to hang out with my friend Jacque that went with me from STM (our high school) to Tulane... he's missing it too!

Oh, also -- I found this USA Today headline on the Tulane New Wave, and I thought y'all might be interested: Freshmen flock to New Orleans Enjoy!