A Guide to Mardi Gras

I lived in Lousisiana for two years in Grad school. Best thing about living in Louisiana is the food AND the fact we get a week off in February to celebrate Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday is a holiday that is derived from the French Carnivale. It happens on the eve before Ash Wednesday which is the beginning of Lent for all Catholics. Because Catholics must abstain from pleasures during Lent, Mardi Gras is an evening where one is supposed to revel in pleasure (because you're about to give something up.) A lot of people forget that Mardi Gras is a religous based holiday and it only has such as large base in New Orleans due to the fact that a large population of New Orleans is still Catholic.

Mardi Gras is some form or another is also celebrated in Belgium, Amsterdam and Italy with their traditional Carnivales which happen at a similar time. There is also gay Mardi Gras in Sydney, Australia where they take the day of Mardi Gras and use it as a venue for their yearly Gay Pride festival. 

TRADITIONS- AND WHAT THEY MEAN

5 Things That Defined Growing Up McGurgan

I love my family. My mother was an incredible woman with amazing strength, patience and love to be able to raise three girls the way she did under the odds she did. My Mom is tough and made me like and respect being the presence of strong women. Growing up in the McGurgan house is something I look back fondly to. I was never lonely as a child because I always had my sisters around. I never felt unloved by my mom and therefore never felt that desire to rage against the machine as so many teenagers like to do so. We are not your typical Southern American home by any standards. Not a single one of us played soccer (the closest we got to sports in our house was my little sister doing competitive gymnastics and my older sister being a JV cheerleader. I never even got close to anything competitive other than public speaking and debate. I'm probably one of the least coordinated, least sports enthused people in the universe! Our house was a place of art and international culture. And in a tiny town like Griffin: it made growing up McGurgan a pretty unique thing.

5 Things I Miss About America

Cue the music from West Side story! It's true I am one of those crazy Americans who admits that some countries are superior to us in some ways. But I do love my home nation, and some times I miss things about it! Mainly, I miss my mother but she's only a phone call a way. Here is a list of things that this expat misses about the "home of the free and home of the brave".