Need Help in My Upcoming Trip To NYC/Philly

Some weeks ago, I decided to book a plane ticket out of New Orleans to New York from April 30th to May 4th. At that time, I had expected to get a number of hours and make more money at my job at Books-A-Million, being told that the company was doing quite well and that hours would be plentiful. However, the past two weeks have proven to be especially hard for our store, and hours have been cut. As a consequence, I have made less hours than expected and that is going to continue for the conceivable future. I have tried looking around for other jobs to supplement hours, but the (sad) fact is that there simply aren't that many opportunities available, no matter what Governor Bobby Jindal says.

The dilemma arises from the fact that the airfare (which was approximately 200 dollars) is non-refundable. To not go on this trip--which have fashioned not as a vacation but as a personal reawakening and and intellectual rejuvenation--seems to me a waste of the money which I did put down on the trip and seems a bad move for my personal growth and overall happiness over the course of the next few months.

The truth be told is that this trip is necessary for me. I have been living in rural Louisiana since the beginning of January, much to my chagrin. I would have moved to a big city straight out of my not withdrawal from Tulane on the basis of financial issues, but I did not have the resources to do so. When I found that my (now boy)friend was also moving out of New Orleans, I jumped on the opportunity to avoid the Old Man Winter's icy breath. And so I ended up in Houma, Louisiana, a small city of approximately 45,000 that is both deeply Catholic and conservative, filled with Southern hospitality and a quiet sensibility. Most of the people born here never really leave, and so culture seems stagnant, mirroring in many the ways the hot humid weather that lingers for more than half the year.

I thought I would be sticking around for just a few months, but in talking to my boyfriend, it seems he, born in Cuba and a transplant to Southern Louisiana at the age of 6, is more content to stay in smaller town. I agree with him in that respect, as I see he is more focused and diligent than he was in New Orleans, but this rural life is not for me. I have been studying gender and sexuality studies, am interested in environmental and LGBT activism, enjoy theatre, arts, and music, and find no greater passion than discovering new streets and sights by walking around. Houma, Lousiana affords me no such opportunities and I have grown to feel stagnant intellectually, lacking a sense of where I am headed. (And while I am not one for believing in modernist paths forward, favouring a meandering route that I am reminded me as I read any of Virginia Woolf's novels, I must move in some direction.)

That is why this trip is very important for me and I have placed very specific objectives of what I need to do myself:

First, I need connect with new activists on all different fronts, from LGBT folks such as @harveymilk on Twitter, to environmental activists, to radical political activists involved with Students for a Democratic Society. I want to be able to bring an activist project to the Houma area, but I need ideas and inspirations from others who gotten more opportunities to work hard. The hardest part of any project, in my opinion, is getting it started. Being able to do this on a face-to-face basis would speed up the process. Even if it more of an academic project, such as interviewing LGBT individual living in rural Louisiana and using that data for later use, then I can get tips and suggestions on this.

The second objective is to reawaken my muse. Though it is by no means burnt out right now, considering the poem I just wrote today, much of my writing is inspired by the sights and sounds of city life. In immersing myself in these cities, I will find new imagery and imaginings for poetry, expanding my depth of focus and capacity for figurative language. Part of this project entails checking out new art, drama, or cinema to gain a sense of what other artists are doing and build ideas off of them. The Houma area lacks any real organized art community as far as I am concerned.

The third and final objective is to be able to explore some colleges and universities in the NYC/Philly area to get a sense of options I may have for Spring 2010 or Fall 2010. (Fall 2009 options have already passed.) I don't know if I will actually end up at any of these colleges/universities, but want to have options above all else. I am considering CUNY schools like Hunter or Queens College, and places like UPenn and Swarthmore around Philly. It's one thing to research schools online but another entirely to visit and capture the esseence of a place--sight, sound, smell, taste, feeling.

So what can any of you do to help? Perhaps you can contribute a place for me to stay (piece of floor, couch, whatever) for some of the days of my trip, an occasional meal, a spare Metro card or bus fare, anything at all that you see appropriate, even if it is talking to friends and fellow crusaders of all-that-is-noble-and-just in this world. I am aware that this request is a bit unorthodox, but I want to be able to expand the boundaries of being as I put in my most recent poem. This trip will help me to do that.

Let me know what you would be willing to do.