In an average year, spring break in New Orleans brings to mind community service projects and building houses. But this wasn’t an average year, and spending last week in NOLA meant one thing to Penn students — Mardi Gras.
The Mardi Gras celebrations — which span the weekend through Tuesday night before Ash Wednesday — transforms the city of New Orleans into a carnival. This year marked the first time in over a decade that Penn’s spring break has coincided with the festivities.
Penn’s Alternate Spring Break — which sends groups of 14 students to nine locations throughout the country for community service work — has frequently traveled to New Orleans during the spring to work with Habitat for Humanity. This year, because of Mardi Gras and the price of flights, ASB’s trip to New Orleans was rescheduled to winter break. Students who flocked to New Orleans this past week went with partying — not service — on their minds.
“ASB is committed to providing volunteers with a defining service-learning experience and a drug- and alcohol-free adventure,” Engineering junior and ASB Site Development Coordinator Gurnimrat Sidhu wrote in an e-mail.
ASB offers “a step back” from the typical spring break, which can involve a lot of partying and drinking, College junior and ASB Site Development Coordinator Katie McCabe said.
“Mardi Gras festivities wouldn’t apply to our organization regardless of which Tuesday the holiday falls upon,” College senior and ASB Co-Director Jessie Spellman added.
But for many students, having this particular Tuesday fall during spring break made for an unforgettable experience.
College sophomore Sally Bronston, originally from New Orleans, brought several friends home with her to experience the festivities. “It was really special and cool for me to be able to show off my hometown at one of the most fun times of the year,” she wrote in an e-mail.
While showing her friends around the parades and bars on Bourbon Street, Bronston ran into so many fellow students that she “legitimately felt that half of Penn” was there for the holiday.
“We ran into about 10 kids every day,” added College sophomore Casey Shannon, who is also from New Orleans.
Though “some people are drawn more to the wild night activities” associated with Mardi Gras, “there are a lot of things to see, experience and especially to taste,” Shannon said, adding that she tried an amazing turtle soup.
New Orleans during Mardi Gras was “a very interesting cultural experience,” College freshman Lana Andoni said. The holiday is a time “when everyone can relax and open up, and there was a lot of alcohol.”
“There aren’t exactly your typical parties at Mardi Gras,” Bronston wrote. “Everyone usually goes to the parades during the day, so the party is really on the street.”
On Tuesday, as part of the Mardi Gras tradition, the streets were filled with people in costume. “Some of the costumes were insane and I’d like to block them from my memory, but it was still awesome,” said College junior Nick Rapport, who dressed up as a gladiator.
Given the nonstop nature of Mardi Gras, “at the end, everyone needed a break from the break,” College sophomore Chris Carroll said. “There was so much traveling, so much commotion, so much partying.”
After getting home and sleeping for 15 hours, though, he decided that he “wouldn’t take it back for the world.”
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