How Marisa Got Into This Thing

Like many New Orleanians, I've spent many a St. Patrick's Day at the parades, catching cabbages and watching the trees get blanketed with plastic beads.

We lived within walking distance of the parade route, so my neighbor would open the doors to his garage and have a party.  It was converted to a sports bar type of thing, complete with all the New Orleans paraphernalia, Elvis accessories, mismatched couches, and various other things a proper garage sports bar ought to have. But anyway, he'd invite all sorts of people: neighbors, family, friends, and business friends, and every St. Patrick's Day was a great big pot luck with a brisket going all day and tailgating-style food, with beer and whiskey drinks available for the grown-ups. We neighborhood kids were stuck with the kiddie cooler, filled with as many flavors of Capri Sun as were available at Rouses. 

The soundtrack always began with whatever Party City had deemed Irish that year, and ended with Texas roadhouse karaoke, in the true American way.

And that was my introduction to the Republic of Ireland.

***

So, fast-forward a couple years, I'm now in high school.

My school's college counselor regularly forwards emails to everybody about random scholarships, college visits, summer program opportunities, etc. One day, an email caught my eye: this one promised a full scholarship to a two-week summer program at UCD in Dublin. The only requirements were a 3.0 GPA and a well-thought-out 500 word essay on why Ireland and New Orleans should be friends.

All I knew about Ireland was what I'd absorbed from the parade culture (mostly about alcohol and the color green), and that the people had been fighting among themselves for nearly a century (I had no idea why, but I did know the country was split in two because of it).

Nevertheless, of course I decided to apply, because two weeks in a new place with new people sounds exciting! Especially overseas. Plus I could be one less American who doesn't know what's going on outside the states.

***

And so, I opened the email.

I remember looking at the application, immediately filling out the easy part (name, contact information, GPA, the usual), and then waiting til nearly the last minute to write the essay. There were two different dates listed as the deadline, which confused me, and I know I panic-emailed Ms. Caruso (my school's college counselor) a bunch of times. I wrote my essay a couple days before the due date and made sure to edit it so that it didn't compromise my nervous mind.

Thankfully, she was patient, and the gods of fortune and eloquence were kind, and so here I am!

Image sources: wwltv.com, tripadvisor.ie, respectively

Marisa's Essay

Why is the connection between New Orleans and Ireland important in 2013?

If you ask a New Orleanian what they immediately associate with Ireland, they will probably say St. Patrick’s Day parades. In New Orleans, that means beads, kisses on the cheek in return for plastic flowers, green outfits to avoid being pinched, and American-brewed whiskey and celebration of questionable genetic ties to some fellow who immigrated here in the mid-1800s and happened to be from Ireland. A person’s knowledge of St. Patrick’s Day and the entire Republic of Ireland can be boiled down to alcoholism, short angry pugilistic folk, and even the Fighting Irish mascot for Notre Dame... Nothing to do with Ireland, really, or even St. Patrick for that matter.

This is terrible, because both Ireland and New Orleans are so much more than that.

Ireland is a land of rich culture and history- something truly ancient, a quality which New Orleans and America in general do not possess. Ours is a young nation, not even 300 years old, and although the Republic of Ireland doesn’t reach before World War II, the people’s historical legacy goes back millennia. The oldest buildings in New Orleans go back to the mid-1700s, which is nothing compared to Ireland: old monasteries go back a thousand years, not to mention the tombs and forts which go back more than 5000 years. Five thousand years ago, Orleans back in France would not exist for several millennia, let alone New Orleans.

Mark Twain once said that travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness. Along the same line, through a partnership of any kind, we can learn from each other. Each of our local music has a selective affinity for the fiddle: in New Orleanian Cajun music and in Irish traditional folk music. New Orleans even has an entire accent which evolved over a few short generations from the children of Irish immigrants: the Yat dialect. This connection between is important to teach each other on levels both superficial and profound. By learning about each other’s current culture and lifestyles, we establish a bond and develop a better respect for each other as humans.

In conclusion, we can teach each other about ourselves and to look past any preconceived notions based on stereotypes or political rubbish. Because Ireland and New Orleans both have rich traditions far beyond the craziness of Mardi Gras and Bourbon Street and beyond St. Patrick’s Day shenanigans, both have more value than the associations with alcohol we both carry. Our lands have more substantial things in common than fiddles, Catholicism, and revelry. The connection between Ireland and New Orleans is important so we can learn those things we have in common and bridge the gap between our cultures, not so that we are the same, but so that we know and respect each other.

Marisa Thomassie, 2013