Since childhood, New Orleans has always held special place in my heart, but it would take almost 16 years before we finally met in person. I was 16 when I first came to NOLA. I was on my way to visit a high school friend whose family was stationed in Biloxi, MS. I remember getting off the plane and being greeted by the warm hug of high humidity and the smell of chicory coffee. I had spent my whole life in love with New Orleans, and hadn't even realized it till that moment. Everything from my favorite books, movies, Disneyland rides, and favorite historical tales all took place in New Orleans, and I had never made the connection! I was obsessed from that moment, and moved to New Orleans soon after college. Recently, I found out that some of my ancestors immigrated to the US through the port of New Orleans, and I can't help but feel I have completed the circle and landed right where I was meant to be! The photographs are from the excavation of the Brulatour house. The first is ceramics burnt by the 1794 fire, and the second is of me 10ft down an 1860 New Orleans well during the same excavations. 

– Gretchen

Relationship:  Im/migrant Im/migrant