Alright, I do not care for cities at all. To me they are filthy and full of crime and despair wrapped up in a can. I need air, trees and space. The bad people seem to mightily outweigh the good in them. However, I do love the history associated with older large cities such as Rome and Istanbul. Paris, is a dirty city, they really doctor those images up on TV. The catacombs is a place I could wander for days though. Again, my impression of NOLA is not good. I had many friends in the Army who were there after Katrina and the stories they have of the locals is enough to make me never want to go, ever. I can put all this aside though and go and learn and have new experiences there. I do look forward to the food. I want real Jumbalaya, you can only get it there. You cannot get New York style pizza in LA, and I won't find real Jumbalaya here. I am the typical nerd, when I go to a new place I want to see the museums, shops, old city and local food. What can I find there that is not what I have here? When I go to the Bahamas, I go to scuba dive not swim in the hotel pool! I also want to see the local art! Again, something we really do not have locally. Being a port city also comes with a plethora of history from before we were one country. I am able to put aside all pre-conceived notions and ideas to make this a good learning experience and change my impressions of it.