Happy Lundi Gras!

If you’ve never heard of Lundi Gras, don’t worry. Before moving to Louisiana, I thought of Mardi Gras as a one-day holiday. That’s just one of many things I was wrong about.

When I told my friends about the move from Chicago to Louisiana—and not to New Orleans, but Baton Rouge—to cover three rural parishes for the local paper, their reactions were telling. Some were excited to visit, others surprised, and a few downright negative.