Ketch-Up. [for my sweet potato fries, and for you]

Sweet potatoes are on every menu down here. I love it. I will engorge myself on sweet potato fries until I can't stand them anymore. And then I will eat them mashed, steamed, and roasted with olive oil and rosemary.

I didn't like the idea of grits, I just didn't. And someone told me I should try before I judge. I eventually did, and admitted I was wrong. Learning experience.

I am going to catch-up on all that I have done before I began werkin' it this week. The 11-hour drive really wasn't bad, if I block out the part of the drive that occurred in Tex-ass. I took it as an opportunity to call people. And call them back to talk some more.

Louisiana is considered to be a different culture than the rest of the South, and along the same line, Lafayette is an enigma, wrapped in bacon (I say bacon because firstly, in my biased-opinion, I would say that there is only a very small percentage of the population that either doesn't enjoy bacon or is ignorant of it's deliciousness; a good comparison for Lafayette. Secondly, bacon makes everything better. Remember, my biased-opinion, formed without any real evidence.)

Lafayette is in the heart of the real Cajun country.

The people down here are soooo nice. Almost everyone looks you in the eye and asks "how you doin?". They move a little slower, and like to talk; most introductory conversations are, "Hi, how you doin? Who's your mama?" and then proceed to talk about family, jobs, vacation, family, friends.... It is about who you know down here. I'm pitifully referencing my cousin's family who live here, because I think people experience glitches as their brains try to process that I'm not originally from here.... I appreciate the slower pace and the interest in conversing most of the time, but sometimes my German/Swiss efficiency and coldness takes over. They're slowly winning me over. Dammit, they're nice.

They drink down here. While in Orientation this week, we had to do mock-documentation with the program they use at the hospital. While taking our patient's History, we assessed if he consumed alcohol, and the instructor said, "This is Southern Louisiana, everyone drinks down here."Once again, a general statment, and in my biased-opinion, I think is accurate. I don't think "binge-drinking" applies down here. Having 4 or 5 drinks at the end of the day is normal. There is no such thing as binge-drinking; it's just a good time. And they have drive-thru Daquiri places. You can have open containers in the car (consume wisely, unless you're the driver), and on the street. Awesome. They drink down here.

Some words and sayings that I have heard that I an associating with the culture:

• Kool-aid. Meaning business, or meaning someone is being influenced. Depends on the context. Example: "You all up in my Kool-aid." Or, "She's all up in my Kool-aid and she don't even know the flavor." OOORR "She's drinking that Kool-aid."
• Baby, Boo, Shaw. Terms of endearment. I can't help but giggle a little when someone calls me these. I love it.
• You "make" your age. I won't turn 24, I will make 24. Eww. 24. I still feel like I'm 17.
• Getting down. As in reference to going somewhere. "Are you getting down at the club?" Or "I'm getting down at the [insert place here]." Not the same meaning as in the Midwest.

I can gurantee that I will update the cultural interpretations as I hear them. I just sit back and listen. Sometimes I have to ask.

Almost 4 weeks in the area, and I'm still using my GPS. Why? Because the French engineered the layout of Lafayette. After drinking too much vino. "Fuck ze greeeed systum, juhst zeeeg-zag a stuhreet ere, et ere. Eh, dun. Breeng ze vin." Also, the speed limit is a loose suggestion. Road rage. I'm learning patience. Everything is a learning experience. Dammit! They're nice here.

I think I'm going to like it here. I have plans. Including going to the swamp and riding on a fan-boat. And Mardi Gras. And the beach. And digging in the sand for crabs. Oh, and working. BUT I'm not staying. There's too much world out there.