a few differences between the north and the south

In New York, when it's hot in the sun, the shade offers a substantially cooler space. Move into the shade and it may be as much as 10 degrees cooler. I don't really remember this being the case in Louisiana; it was as hot and sticky in the shade as it was in the sun. Sure, the beams weren't beating on your skin, but it didn't seem to offer much relief, that's for sure. The differences in the ways of life and the patterns of behavior are also striking, but now that I've been here almost 2 years, its harder to distinguish them.

Something that I have noticed is waving. Now, in Louisiana, people wave. People also dance (two-step) and they always hug, but that's perhaps for another post. So the waving - when you are driving down the street, you wave at people and they wave at you. If you don't wave, it could be construed as odd. When I moved back to the north, there were a couple things I had to get used to again: not hearing y'all as a solid discourse mechanism, not hugging people when we met or bid farewell, and not waving to strangers. As I mentioned, these things gradually fade, and though I noticed them as they phased themselves out of my realm of expectation and experience, something has been making my brain catch on this idea of waving.

photo c/o TheGirlsNY on flickr.com

The bus drivers wave to each other. There are two bus outfits that service the off-campus area, Caz Limo and the Centro. I'm not sure if all the drivers know each other, but it seems pretty unlikely. Still, they wave.

In fact, since I started paying attention, I have not yet seen two busses pass each other without the drivers exchanging a wave. I really like it.

I miss Louisiana, but I have to say that the spring blooming up here in central New York is quite beautiful. Everything is flowering, from little grasses to trees to neighborhood gardens. After the starkness of the winter, I have an intense appreciation for the tender emerging color. I was always of the opinion that springtime was overrated, but this season change, I find myself welcoming it gratefully.

Another thing that's different: the bugs. Don't get me wrong, bugs are bothersome wherever you are, but its striking just how much smaller and more fragile the insect life is up here. Little baby ants. Tiny mosquitoes. New hatchlings making their way in the post-frost climate. Nothing like the hearty cockroaches and dragonflies of the deep south, bet your fur. Sweaters and layers in late April; perhaps only one can of Raid per season, if that. Contrasting social orthodoxies are boundless, existing alongside each other as we spin, breathe, dream, live together in the separate spheres we inhabit: Worldviews Incorporated.