Well, here is what I have learned about Louisiana in the past 36 hours. The number one hobby here in Louisiana seems to be . . . eating. And while people in Louisiana eat, they talk about what they ate yesterday and what they will eat tomorrow.

I find this very appealing, since I like to eat.

For breakfast this morning I had a crawfish omelette. The crawfish (inside the omelette) was smothered in brown sauce and cheese. I can see why brown sauce is a Big Deal around here; it is absolutely to die for. (Which, Keith points out, is exactly what many people do, alas.) I've never had crawfish before today, but after two bites I had warmed right up to them. We also had beignets . . . incredibly light, fluffy donut-things that were buried in powdered sugar. (I do mean buried, too.) I've never had those before, either, and I can assure you that I'll be dreaming about them for the next three months.

Then at lunch we went to this positively charming little restaurant called Bonnie Bell's Bistro, where I had a bowl of duck and smoked sausage gumbo, a salad of baby spinach, eggs, roasted peanuts and - get this - fresh eggplant croutons, which were little breaded eggplant cubes. (I got the salad because I had to try those.) I can't even begin to describe the gumbo. I've never had gumbo before, either, and the blend of spices just goes back and forth across your palate about 7 times before you swallow. Not hot spices, mind you - just a combination that positively sings. And the small crisps of bacon on top? To die for. (Have I mentioned that already?)

So then Clancy, who's pregnant, ordered Bananas Foster Bread Pudding and dragged the rest of us along for the ride . . . the pudding was covered in custard sauce - and buried in powdered sugar.

The lunchtime conversation wandered back and forth between crawfish, Katrina (a very real, continued presence even here, 2 hours from New Orleans), and the finer liturgical points of Lent. (I didn't know, for instance, that people used to fast during Lent, except on Sundays, which are feast days . . . from which some people extrapolated that when you give something up for Lent, you don't have to abstain on Sundays. There apparently are theological arguments on both sides of that one. I also didn't realize that one of the original incentives for Lent was to stretch out the food supply so that it would last through the winter.)

Yeah, and then we had dinner at a Cuban restaurant, where I had a steak marinated in wonderful stuff, new potatoes with a sour cream sauce drizzled on top, a salad with one of those creamy sorta-sweet but unique and largely indescribable dressings, and fried plantains (which I have also never had before).

Keith asked me if I wanted to go out for breakfast tomorrow and I told him, "You know, I think I need to skip a meal, here." I have never, ever had three absolutely astounding meals in the same day before. One, lotsa times. Two, maybe. But three? I simply cannot keep up this pace. (Perhaps I'll sneak out for beignets and coffee in the morning . . . That would be a light breakfast, no? :)

And there's yet the possibility of a crawfish boil, alligator, poboys, jambalaya, more brown sauce . . . Gustatorially speaking, this is an incredible place. Just utterly off-the-scale amazing.

Oh, yeah, and I gave my symposium talk today and met with the grad students, all of which went very well. Tomorrow morning I meet with some undergrads, then it's off to see the sights, of which there are also plenty: Alligators, I'm told, and possibly Cajun music on Saturday night at a nearby town, and - get this - drive-thru daiquiri stands. (What are these people thinking??) I can't wait to delve further into Cajun culture (and music!!). I knew I'd have fun hanging out with Keith, but even so, I am having wa-aaaaay more fun than I ever imagined I'd have . . .

Tomorrow perhaps I'll actually get outside during the hours of 60+ degrees and relentless sunshine, and I'll be able to take some pictures. It's hard to believe that I'm still in the same country . . .