Day Thirteen

Though not my first day in this new land, its strangeness was made evident. I have been here thirteen days and am still experiencing some culture shock. I awoke to a magnificent thunder and lightening storm before dawn; something I had not experienced while in the East but fairly common in Oklahoma. What made this occurrence unusual to me was the fact that not a drop of rain fell in the hour or so it lasted. The sun came out with the dawn, but retreated in the early afternoon before the daily rainshower.

The natives are also an interesting lot. I was completely dismayed with their behavior the first few days I was here. I was expecting the stereotypical deep south laziness, slowness, and/or complacency, but experienced instead downright rudeness, hostility, and meanness. However, in my most recent outings, I have seen that this behavior may not be typical.

Their driving customs also confound me. Drivers here use their horns liberally and it has gotten to the point that I don't know what I'm being honked at for, nor do I care. Red lights and stop signs are treated as suggestions and yield signs completely ignored. Just this morning while approaching a drawbridge, I saw that the light was red and stopped--I watched as everyone else flew by in the other lanes, so it did not take me long to do the same (after being honked at.)

I have met a couple of my neighbors and will tell of my encounter shortly.