Could you explain a bit about the differences between Cajun and Creole culture? As someone not intimately familiar with the area and history I must admit they kind of blend together in my mind.
So Cajuns are mostly descended from french settlers of the maritime provinces of Canada who were expelled by the British during The French and Indian War and then resettled in Louisiana, while the Creole are a mix of French, Spanish, african and others who settled the area around New Orleans? What are the major differences in culture today? I guess that while the Creole are strongly influenced by french and catholic culture they are more mixed, while the Cajun are more strongly influenced by french and a bit more rural?
That's approximately correct. Cajun ethnicity is based on French, but often including Mi'ikmaq, Atakapas, Chitimacha, Italian, and German components. Originally, the Acadiana area was populated by Colonial French people, and they composed the upper class when the Acadian exiles arrived. The two cultures have essentially merged since then, but you can still here remnants of the Colonial dialect in some areas. The definition of "Cajun" ethnicity (as well as Creole) is actually pretty flexible here, like the idea of "Hispanic," so some people have no French heritage at all. It would unusual, but possible I suppose, for people of Black or Native American ancestry to claim Cajun heritage as well.
Creole ethnicity has relatively less French influence, and was present in Louisiana already when the Acadians arrived. There's a much greater component of African descent, usually of Haitian and Yoruba origin, which contributed to the development of Voodoo. Creoles also have a higher portion of Italian and Canary Islander heritage. Creole culture is primarily focused just on New Orleans, but other Creole cultures exist in other parts of Louisiana as well.
Creoles actually have their own language, which is unintelligible to a generic Cajun French speaker. Creole culture on the whole has a more 'Caribbean' flavor, while Cajun culture is more 'Latin.'
Is the whole "Louisiana is a giant swamp filled with aligators and voodoo witches" rumour true? Or I should watch a whole lot less serials?
Nope. But please don't watch less of our wonderful new TV/movies, we're trying to kick off a media industry
About half of Acadiana is actually just prairie, with lots of sugar cane and rice/crawfish farms. Those who live in the swampy half of Acadiana live along levees or clustered on the occasional high ground, so they're not really in the swamp, per se, and they're not that isolated. North of Acadiana and in the Florida Parishes is mostly hills and forests, no swamps there. Our swamps are filled with alligators though, and ULL actually has a miniature swamp with alligators just behind the student union.
Voodoo is basically a Creole thing, but Cajuns can be superstitious too. It's not so much that we're more superstitious on the whole, just that the superstitions are different.
Thanks for the input. So where should I tell the company to get me a corporate flat? Downtown? Near ULL? Near the Mall of Acadiana?
Probably downtown, and ULL's close by. The Mall of Acadiana is way out there, I wouldn't stay near there. The southeast side is kind of ritzy in some areas, if that's your thing.
And how do the local girls look?
Pretty good! hehe. Cajuns naturally tend to be a bit darker complexioned than most white people; maybe about 10-15% of us are more olive-skinned than white, and natural blondes are pretty rare. Probably has something to do with Native American ancestry.
so you may actually be surprised at how liberal alcohol laws are there for a red state. Lafayette actually does have a little of the 'big city' vibe downtown, but it covers a small area. Also Johnston Street has tons of businesses, you can drive down it for 30+ minutes before getting out the 'city vibe' area. Getting to Broussard is a straight shot down HWY 90. The traffic usually isn't a problem, but sometimes there are events at the airport that can cause a back-up.
