Louisiana

Josh and I have moved all over the country for his medical school. For the first two years of medical school, we lived in Dominica, West Indies. And then we moved to and lived in Miami for almost a year. Now we are living in Houma, LA. It has been a year since we moved back in the south. We have 8 months left to move again for the residency. Who knows where. It has been quite a journey for us. While we are living in LA, we would like to tell you all about Louisiana. It's so good to be home for a little while.

As you know that Josh and I are from and have raised in Louisiana all of our lives. You have heard so much about our hometowns, but we have come to realize that we did talk about so many other places that we always go to. That got people confused about where we actually are from. So I thought that it would be neat to write a blog about each part of Louisiana so you would know better about us. This blog is just to introduce you the parts of town, but I am not going to tell you all about them in one blog. In the next few blogs, I will tell you about each of town and post the pictures in separate blogs.


Houma- it is actually where Josh and I are living right now for the clinical rotations. We already have been here for a year, and will be here for another 8 months. And then we will move again to who knows where for the residency. Houma is about an hour south from New Orleans and 20 minutes away from Thibodaux where I grew up. Houma is a small town, more of like a mix of Creole and Cajun. A lot of plantation homes, oak trees, bayous, sugar canefield, and good seafood. Very simple and laidback life. Sometimes it reminds me of Dominica. I will tell you more about Houma in its own blog.

Thibodaux- it is where I grew up, but I was born in New Orleans. Thibodaux is just like Houma, but more of friendly town. Everyone would wave at you as you drive by even though you don’t know the person or make a friendly conversation while waiting in the line. The town is very small where you always bump into someone you know. Thibodaux and Houma are also surrounding by a lot of hunting and fishing areas, too.

Grand Isle- it is about an hour and half southeast of Thibodaux and Houma. It is a great place to have a getaway trip on weekends. It is where my family and I usually go during the summer time. We have a beach camp right on the beachfront on the Gulf of Mexico. Grand Isle is a very small town and island where the locals and tourists go fishing in saltwater or deep sea, go sunbathing and relaxing on the beach, catch the crabs in the Gulf of Mexico, boiling the shrimp, or frying the fish. It is what my family and I always do when we go to Grand Isle. It is like a mini vacation to us. Grand Isle is very, very simple and slow. That is what I love about G.I.

New Orleans- it is about an hour north of Thibodaux and Houma. My family and I go there all the time. We have a lot of Harris relatives living there. New Orleans is very laidback city, more of a creole life than Cajun life. A lot of great jazz music, creole food, great people. Not to mention the festivals, Saints football games, Mardi Gras and St. Patrick’s parades!!! So much to do and explore around the city. I never get tired of visiting and hanging out in NOLA. It definitely should be on your “To-Do” list.

Slidell- it is about an half hour away from New Orleans. Slidell is where my dad’s relatives and my family share the camp and property. Very different than other places I mentioned above. It has a lot of bayous and moss trees. And also, a lake. The bayou is where we go water skiing and riding on the party barge. Houma and Thibodaux don’t really water-skiing down the bayou. We have stopped water-skiing because we came to find out that there are a lot of alligators in the bayou! Lots of fun to do on the water, relax, and spend time with my family.

Baton Rouge- it is about an hour and 20 mins north from Houma and an hour west from New Orleans. Baton rouge is a capital city of Louisiana. It is a very different city than New Orleans, more of a metropolitian city. There are so much to do such as LSU football games, Mardi Gras parades, shopping, etc. Josh and I don’t go there very much as we go to New Orleans and Lafayette. Baton Rouge is where Josh went to LSU (Louisiana State University). That is why Josh is a big fan of LSU football games.

Lafayette- it is about an hour and half northwest from Houma and an hour west from Baton Rouge. I heart Lafayette!!!! It is where I went to college at ULL there. Lafayette is very laidback mid-city. I said “mid-city” because it is not so big as Baton Rouge and New Orleans, but not so small as Houma and Thibodaux. Just between. I go there a lot to visit my college friends. And also, my in-laws. Josh has a family living in Breaux Bridge which is about 20 mins away from Lafayette. Lafayette is more of like a Cajun town. I love it because the people are so friendly. And the town is very laidback. There is so much to do! A lot of festivals, great music and food, and crawfish too!

Breaux Bridge- it is where Josh and his family grew up in. Breaux Bridge is a very small town, much smaller than Thibodaux and Houma. It is a very Cajun country. There are a lot of swamps, bayous, farms, and wide-open fields such as sugar canefields and a lot of crawfish!!!! This town is called the “Crawfish Capitol” because there is a swamp right by the town where they can catch a bunch of crawfish and boil them. A great town to go and have some crawfish. There is not much to do, but I love it there because the town is very quiet, peaceful, simple, and laidback. The people are so laidback and friendly. Don’t miss the Crawfish Festival in May.


All of these places are where Josh and I have grown up living and traveling. They all are so close by or right by each other. They are all about an hour, an hour and half, or two hours away from Houma. Houma is right in the middle of everywhere. That is what Josh and I love about Houma. It is easy to travel to and get into town. So much to do!