The Land of Many Tongues: Experiencing the Living Culture of New Orleans
Looking for a prolific cultural experience without needing a passport? Consider New Orleans in Southeast Louisiana, also known as Bulbancha, the Crescent City, the birthplace of Jazz, the ‘northernmost Caribbean City’; the names go on.
New Orleans is a place that conjures up different visions of itself in the minds of many. For some, it might be the beads around necks, Bourbon Street and the haunted stories with the ironwork balcony backdrops. For others it is the rich culinary landscape, filling up bellies with meals made with love and deep historical roots. Many people visit New Orleans, each with their own idea of what this place is. The real magic of New Orleans is its people who have built roots in such a unique environment.
The land below sea level, first known as Bulbancha, meaning the Land of Many Tongues, and now often called New Orleans, is an ideal place to experience culture living and breathing in the streets. It is a place that honors and recognizes the past, its impact in our present, while simultaneously building a creative future.
It is a city of diverse languages, cultures, styles of dance, genres of music, mediums for all creatives, craftsmanship, resourcefulness, joy and laughter- all amidst struggle.
To know this place is to know of beadwork and feathers, of brass bands and drum circles, of a history you can dance with at Congo Square on a Sunday afternoon, of pho and chicory, of enslavement and mass incarceration, of night jasmine and satsuma, of resistance and rebuilding, of red beans and rice on Mondays mixed with the fresh scent of laundry in the air.
Our Global Works program is built on the principle of Sankofa. The wisdom gem from the Akan people of Ghana in West Africa meaning “it is not taboo to go back and fetch what you forgot”; encouraging us to reflect and learn from the past so that we can build stronger futures together.
This program is built on authentic relationships with local indigenous New Orleanians. Those who have weathered the storms. Those who are the Culture Bearers. Those who know this place deeply and hold it in their hearts.
We intentionally support local economies, prioritize Black owned businesses, and provide immersive experiences into the ancient cultural and societal traditions of the Southeastern Louisiana Bayou region.
Our New Orleans programming is customized based on a group’s educational focus. However, each trip will always weave together history, culture, and environmental connections through a social justice lens. There will always be opportunities for inspiration from both local community members and the natural environment. Trips are designed by an educator with over 15 years of experience in curriculum building through unique, experiential education programming in Bulbancha/New Orleans.
This is a program for people who want to slow down, loosen up, learn from community members and the environment in a wide range of ways, gain an understanding of how we got to where we are now and what we might envision for the future, share meals from a variety of foodways, and dance in the streets!
Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans? If you don’t, you will after you experience this bold, beautiful and complex city below sea level with Global Works.
Written By Odessa Armstrong
