Author Archives: WD

Around Town

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I’ve now been down in New Orleans for roughly two months. Some interesting things:

Visits: Yes, I love to see a familiar face or two. Rick made the trek all the way from CT, to attend an important conference on health care with Dianne. Who’d of thought? We had a temporary setback when the restaurant that had been recommended was inexplicably closed, but managed to find some okay grub (with a great view) on Burbon St. Rick, if you are reading this, next time I’m taking you to the Upperline (more on that below.) Later that night we visited the Polo Club, a fittingly named establishment, for some upscale entertainment and cocktails. It was a lovely night that I hope to repeat. // Kate and Nate also have come by casa lui Barison. While in town visiting Nate’s brother, who is working hard with Habitat, they all found some time to enjoy the culinary delights of the city. We visited Upperline restaurant, which I had been salivating over since visiting their website and perusing the menu. It wasn’t cheap, but it was all New Orleans. During the course of our meal we were greeted by the owner and the chef. Dishes included: turtle soup, gumbo, fried green tomatoes, lamb shank, seared tuna, etc… We topped off our evening of culinary delight with Blue Bell brand “Butter Pecan” ice cream, a sumptuous and fatty indulgence.

Parties: Tulane is a bit of a party school, and since law school is often equated with high school, there is lots to be done. I’ve been to a few birthday parties, quite a few happy hours, bar reviews, religious themed parties, pool parties, some seriously odd bars and one desert competition. As a poor student I’ve discovered two things: 1) if you look hard enough, you will find a drink special on whatever night of the week you may be craving libation, and 2) when one holds a party in one’s own house, all leftover goods become the property of said householder. Should you require any further details, feel free to contact me…

Trips: Not including my trip to Athens during the hurricane, I’ve gotten around a bit. A bike trip with the Environmental Law Society brought me and a handful of schoolmates to Lake Pontchartrain. The trip was leisurely and the only disappointment was the the amount of litter strewn about the lake-shore and the rather unpleasant condition of the water itself – there’s work to be done yet! Next week I may be going on a canoe trip, and there is a chance that I will soon visit the state’s notorious prison.

Improvement: I always feel the need to improve wherever it is I am. This tendency is currently being manifest in our house’s backyard. It seems as if the previous tenants decided to go with the “total neglect” theme, thus resulting in a wild lawn, trees overrun by vines and a pathetic remnant of a garden. It’s still a work in progress, but I’ve taken great satisfaction cleaning up this area. My great goal is to restore an old brick grill that is built into the ground out back. If I get that baby going, I’ll be sure to post some pictures of the resulting feast.

Cool Peeps: I won’t go into too much detail, for fear of not mentioning someone, but suffice to say that I have some pretty cool classmates – and by cool of course I mean interesting, articulate, funny and with lots of perspective from which I can learn. It’s re-assuring to know that not all future lawyers spent the majority of their college days in frat-house basements conceiving ways to torture one another… it’ll be a fight, but there may be some justice ahead. And to my former cool peeps, a blanket apology if I have not been great about being in touch. You see, while all this great stuff is going down, I still have to go shopping, pay the bills and, oh yeah, study. Best way to get my attention is to buy a plane ticket down here, you won’t regret it 😉

Central Asian Cotton

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The New York Times has an article about the corrupt cotton system in Tajikistan. Reading the article reminded me of how, in Uzbekistan, school children are called from classes for one two two months each fall during the harvest to pick cotton. Although from an outside perspective this seems like blatant forced labor, the Uzbeks with whom I spoke viewed this labor as more or less “the usual.” The Environmental Justice Foundation has a good primer on the Uzbek cotton issue.

The sad part of this story is that the wealth obtained from the cotton is not distributed among those who cultivated it. Instead, corrupt officials and businessmen rip-off the local farmer at every step of the way, thus establishing a sharecropper system. Farmers are left with little choice but to acquiesce to the demands of the corrupt kleptocracy. In a country with such good people, it’s a shame that the wealth created by cotton is not used to modernize villages and invest in education. This system is just one of many used to keep the people powerless and constantly on the edge.

Happiness

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How do you cultivate happiness in your life? I ask because I have not been terribly happy of late. A lot of things have me stressed out: law school, new environment, new people, social pressures, lack of funds and a broken computer… I have been thinking about when the last time was that I was truly happy. In answering this, I am reminded of the reactions I got to some pictures of me with my host family in Uzbekistan. People commented that I looked really happy; I guess that a genuine smile is really quite different than a staged one. I don’t walk around with a sour face, but I’m not the smiley chatty type – I find that very difficult. Am I driving myself nuts trying to be someone I’m not? Am I too worried about how others perceive me or am I right to focus on improving my outward demeanor? At what point does the effort become counterproductive? All these things have me a little topsy turvy. I miss the familiar, both places and people. I like to be on my own but need a network to keep me going. I feel insular despite my grand travels. I am contradiction, hesitation. So tell me, do you relate?