In the 1700's, groups of French Catholics fled Nova Scotia, Canada, and the surrounding area to escape religious persecution by the British Protestants. These French people settled in the area that is now South Louisiana and came to be known as Cajuns. Nova Scotia was then called Acadia, and the French immigrants were Acadians, which is where the term Cajun originates. Many of the Cajuns also immigrated to America directly from France.

For the past 200 years, the Cajuns have maintained a culture of their own. My dad is a Cajun from Ville Platte, Louisiana, and he grew up speaking French in the home. Interestingly, his parents, although they were born and raised in the United States, sounded foreign when they spoke. When my mom spoke to my dad's mother for the first time, she was amazed at my grandmother's foreign accent.

The Cajun culture, unfortunately, has basically ended with my father's generation, who were essentially the last Cajuns to grow up speaking French. Today many people think that New Orleans is the place to go to get a taste of Cajun culture. However, in actuality, the remnants of the Cajun culture lie in the small towns of South Louisiana. Although much of the culture such as the French language is dying, other aspects, such as the cuisine, are still very unique.