Some friends I met years ago in Central Asia very very generously decided they wanted to pick me up from New Orleans and take me back to their place in Rayne (just next to Lafayette, Louisiana). What a cool journey!!
It turns out Louisiana is incredibly flat. With a lot of short trees (including heaps of cypress trees which have all sorts of incredible properties which I was told about but totally forgot!) and swamps and bayous. And real live alligators in the wild. I saw my first alligator (admittedly a tiny one) on this car trip. And I saw an amazing red bird (all red) which was my immediate favourite. Forgot what its called. Again.
Really, in New Zealand we are totally lucky with our scenery... wow. Here I missed home a bit. No mountain, no sea for ages. A big Palmy, but with swamps and short trees ; ) hahaha
My friends were so generous. They took me around and showed me rice fields and Crawfish fields - the general scenery, up a few bridges to see across the country, oil wells in the making, major trading rivers, etc. Once I got there they took me to see touristy things, and made sure I got me to a bible study on Wednesday night- we had to check out whether there was singing!! (church experience blogged seperately). All round, it was really cool. And I felt overwhelmed about the generosity I was shown.
I found the swaps amazing. They are moss green, with still, quiet water. Sun reflecting on water, on clouds on trees, creating cool shadows. Trees with lichen-looking tufts of fluff hanging from them creating an eerie kind of feel. In Lafayette I went on a swamp tour and ABSOLUTELY LOVED it!! It was really fun.
Here's my best Alligator pic. Yep, I got quite excited about the Alligators...
Observations from Rayne- I figured out why shops look so different: their doors are all closed because of the air conditioning. I figured out why you need a car in America. Because it is gigantic, and because things are so spread out. And people drive everywhere. Shopping centres are huge, and most have false frontages so you can't see the roofs. There is so much land. Everything is big, and way away from other things. It is a really different kind of layout when you are not smack bang in the middle of a city. Veerrryyy different. And they drive on the wrong side of the road!! And there are not many footpaths - people don't seem to use them - cars really ar the thing!
My most significant memory in Rayne was the company. And home cooked meals, and Louisianan delicacies. But it was amazing to catch up with two girls, well young women now - my age, who were my best mates for a year, yonks ago. It was great that we still got on really well. It was so fun!! And getting to know their parents as an adult and having grown-up relationships. And meeting their siblings and grandparents, and hanging with their kids and enjoying some adventures and meals together. It was totally priceless. And completely unbloggable. It was just friendship in the making. Thanks y'all.
It turns out Louisiana is incredibly flat. With a lot of short trees (including heaps of cypress trees which have all sorts of incredible properties which I was told about but totally forgot!) and swamps and bayous. And real live alligators in the wild. I saw my first alligator (admittedly a tiny one) on this car trip. And I saw an amazing red bird (all red) which was my immediate favourite. Forgot what its called. Again.
Really, in New Zealand we are totally lucky with our scenery... wow. Here I missed home a bit. No mountain, no sea for ages. A big Palmy, but with swamps and short trees ; ) hahaha
My friends were so generous. They took me around and showed me rice fields and Crawfish fields - the general scenery, up a few bridges to see across the country, oil wells in the making, major trading rivers, etc. Once I got there they took me to see touristy things, and made sure I got me to a bible study on Wednesday night- we had to check out whether there was singing!! (church experience blogged seperately). All round, it was really cool. And I felt overwhelmed about the generosity I was shown.
I found the swaps amazing. They are moss green, with still, quiet water. Sun reflecting on water, on clouds on trees, creating cool shadows. Trees with lichen-looking tufts of fluff hanging from them creating an eerie kind of feel. In Lafayette I went on a swamp tour and ABSOLUTELY LOVED it!! It was really fun.
Here's my best Alligator pic. Yep, I got quite excited about the Alligators...
Observations from Rayne- I figured out why shops look so different: their doors are all closed because of the air conditioning. I figured out why you need a car in America. Because it is gigantic, and because things are so spread out. And people drive everywhere. Shopping centres are huge, and most have false frontages so you can't see the roofs. There is so much land. Everything is big, and way away from other things. It is a really different kind of layout when you are not smack bang in the middle of a city. Veerrryyy different. And they drive on the wrong side of the road!! And there are not many footpaths - people don't seem to use them - cars really ar the thing!
My most significant memory in Rayne was the company. And home cooked meals, and Louisianan delicacies. But it was amazing to catch up with two girls, well young women now - my age, who were my best mates for a year, yonks ago. It was great that we still got on really well. It was so fun!! And getting to know their parents as an adult and having grown-up relationships. And meeting their siblings and grandparents, and hanging with their kids and enjoying some adventures and meals together. It was totally priceless. And completely unbloggable. It was just friendship in the making. Thanks y'all.
