Music, Treme, and Pharmacy

Music is one of the first things, other than food of course, that comes to mind when you think of New Orleans. After being here only a short time I have already been exposed to a variety of music and art. Typically people think of jazz music when they think of this city, but I have heard everything from jazz, gospel, rap, and country. That's one of the great things about this place is there is no specific "type" of music you have to listen to. New Orleans offers a little bit of everything when it comes to music, so no matter you're interested in you're sure to find it here. I was raised in a musical home and was exposed early on to all different types of music. I think that might be why I like this city so much, because it has all the music I like, not just one specific trend like most other cities. I am a horrible decision maker so the fact that I don't have to chose what kind of music I want to listen to, that I can walk one block and listen to something new every ten minutes, is pretty amazing to me. Without music, New Orleans would just not be the same, not even close. The people would be different, the atmosphere would be different, and I think the tourists would be different as well. Music defines this city like a dictionary defines words. When we went on our music tour we learned that New Orleans is the home of many "firsts" when it came to music.
On our music tour we got to walk through Treme. This place is really special for a lot of different reasons, but mostly because it was the home for many musical influences of this city. Congo square is what comes to mind when I think of music and Treme. For those who do not know about Congo square, it was the place where the slaves would gather on Sundays and play their music. The music that was played in Congo square by the enslaved people surprisingly had a big impact on the city back then and still plays an important part today. The people of New Orleans still gather in Treme and have a Mardi Gras celebration of their own, similar to that of the enslaved people. Tradition is a big deal in this city and is something a person realizes very quickly after being here.
The last tour of the day was the pharmacy museum tour. While I can't say it was my favorite tour, it was definitely top of the list. The pharmacy, like many other places, had a lot of history to offer. For those who don't know, New Orleans is home to the first licensed pharmacy in the country. That means the first ever pharmacy opened up right here in this city and we got to tour it. There were several original artifacts and the tour guide vividly described the history for us. We learned that because New Orleans had a high rate of diseases like yellow fever, malaria, and cholera that they needed to do something to help the people. Now, the medications that were given back then we learned were actually very potent and dangerous. Some medications even contained harsh metals such as lead. Even though the medications given back when the pharmacy first opened weren't the most helpful, the fact that this city was so far advanced is really incredible. I've enjoyed every minute of the trip so far and can't wait to see what awaits us!