no-la

today i had a truly unique new orleanian experience, and the type they don't tell you on the visitors' tour...

thunder and lightning woke me up about 2:30 am and it rained hard on and off all day. well apparently what happens in a city built below sea level when it rains really hard for several hours is that the roads begin to look like rivers. and so it was, when we tried to go back to work after lunch, we looked around and all we could see were cars trying to swim by, water coming up to the tops of the tires. it was craziness!!! it's a combination of being below sea level + sewers that are clogged (because the city is below sea level) + pumps that might not always be working at full force. i got even more of a taste when, in our attempt to drive home, we hit a low spot and (only by the grace of God) just barely made it through. however, not without some questionable effect to the engine--i'm getting that checked out tomorrow morning.

the weirdest part to me was how this was accepted as just a normal thing, the attitude of "this is just what happens." in my mind, coming from chicago where if the snow on your street doesnt get plowed within an hour of its landing there, you're ready to boot your representative from office, this just seemed ridiculous. as our friend from work said though, if it's 2007 and it's always been this way, what's gonna change it now? good point. and it also opened my eyes to what may have been going through the minds of some residents during the build-up to hurricane katrina. if spring and summer storms are a common occurrence, and people can normally just stay inside and shrug them off, then perhaps that is what kept so many people from taking the threats seriously...

and i realized something else, something bigger. if i was in africa, i would have far more compassion for the potentially slower pace of life and fewer modern conveniences. and thats because i am willing to embrace that culture for what it is, instead of trying to impose my standards on what i think it should be. now maybe it's harder for me to do that in relation to New Orleans because we are still in America, after all, but i think it's only fair that i extend grace to this city, as well as to its people...as well as to myself, trying to make sense of this crazy place. New Orleans has a culture all its own, as does every place on the map, and when i abandon my standards and expectations and particular cultural lens, i am freer to embrace what i see before me and celebrate the eccentricities all around. so that's what i want to try to do, flooded streets and all.




note: for the most part, i'm talking about convenience-related cultural quirks. there are clearly various cultural practices around the world that have serious moral failings. that's not what i'm addressing here.