Spouting Cave

I have met many Americans, both at home and in the US, who have expressed surprise or confusion at my interest in American history and culture. Some have even joked, "What history?" Most Americans can trace their families back to the "homeland" on another continent, to a time when the United States was very much in its infancy, or even still a collection ragtag rebel colonies. In comparison to Old World nations, whose often romanticised histories seem to stretch back through endless centuries into distant, otherwordly eras, the US is sometimes seen as lacking the same cultural richness in its past, and by extension, often its present. Indeed, America has always been a composite of various other, older national cultures and peoples, and in a sense it is the nation's very modernity which characterises it in an international historical context. However, in relative American terms, the next leg of my trip felt steeped in history and heritage. It included the monumen...

"If there were no New Orleans, America would just be a bunch of free people dying of boredom" -- Judy Deck, New Orleans resident The above quote is telling for two reasons. Firstly because it reveals an important characteristic of New Orleanians: they really adore their city. And secondly, while it is obviously hyperbolic, after immersing yourself there, you kind of understand where Judy Deck is coming from. The city's one-off hybrid of African American, European American, Cajun, Creole, and Native American culture has forged a heritage and atmosphere unlike any other. While most of the other cities I've visited in the US have felt in many ways similar to each other, New Orleans is truly distinctive, and pulses with energy. At any given time in "the most unqiue city in America", the streets ring out with music day and night, bars in the 18th century French Quarter stay open til dawn, people drink freely in t...