Hurricane Isaac

  I had considered doing a light hearted piece about the cultural experience I had today of learning how to make guacamole to go with the tacos we were having for dinner, however, considering events happening in this part of the world, that didn't seem too appropriate.

  It has rained here in Atlanta for most of today.  I attach a picture taken from my bedroom window during the afternoon.  Unfortunately, it was difficult to capture how much it was raining.  Now, being British, I am quite used to it raining in August - especially so close to the Bank Holiday Weekend.  In addition, due to my nationality, there is nothing I like more than to moan about the weather.  However, this is different.

  It is very difficult to moan about the little bit of rain we have had knowing how some people are being battered by wind and rain right as I type.  So often we can grumble when the weather isn't quite as we would hope, forgetting that there are often people in other parts of the world suffering so much worse - and sometimes they aren't even that far away from us.

  This leads on to the fact that it is very different actually being present, experiencing the full force of it in a way that TV screens can't do justice.  I remember watching the scenes from Hurricane Katrina exactly 7 years ago and my heart went out to them, but in a way that is different to watching the scenes whilst living in the same country.  I feel the same way about the floods in Thatcham in 2007.  I was in New Zealand at the time and although I heard all about them, although I saw the pictures and film clips, it was different to actually living through it.  There is something about saying 'I was there' rather than 'I watched it.'

  This also made me think that it doesn't matter if it is large swathes of America being buffeted by Hurricane Isaac, or a small town like Thatcham being flooded, when something like this happens it is real people; their homes and lives that can be devastated.  This is not something that can be compared based on the surface area or the number of people affected - a person's home is their home, whether 1 million other people's homes were affected or they were the only one.  The strength of a community is demonstrated by how they react in these moments of crises - regardless of how many people were involved.

  The final thought from this is it reminds me again of the size of this country.  I look at the weather charts and the distance between where I am in Atlanta and where the hurricane is hitting in Louisiana seems not much different to the distance between Thatcham and the Isle of Wight on a British weather map, and the thought that the hurricane was that close was quite alarming.  However, looking on Google I have discovered that it is 472 miles from Atlanta to New Orleans which is the about the same (again according to Google) as going from Thatcham to Dundee!  This creates a very different atmosphere in the country.  When I first heard the news that a hurricane was coming it was alarming - it all seemed quite close and very real.  But people here who aren't from the area currently affected by it seem more relaxed, probably due to the vastness of the country. In Britain I would imagine that something of this magnitude (even if it were hitting Dundee) would still be big news in Thatcham.  We often think in Britain that the various parts of the islands that make up our country are quite separated, and in some ways they are, but coming here has made me realise that we are closer than we think, and maybe that unity is something in need of protection.

  So all that is left to say is God bless all those enduring the hurricane, and may He be with those in the USA and Caribbean who are struggling to come to terms with the destruction that Hurricane Isaac has left behind.