Day 2: Baton Rouge

My next day started out wonderfully as I played and relaxed on the fluff mash potato-like Panama City Beach. After packing my stuff up, I cruised for a while and then stopped and spent some time in the charming city of Mobile Alabama where I felt like I slipped back into the 50’s when I found the historic Three Georges candy shop, which provided an inspirational setting for my first blog post.
Upon completing my second couch surfing adventure, I am beginning to wonder if the ghost of Christmas past has come to teach me some sort of lesson. Obviously my first lesson was an internal one and it appears that my second is external. This leads me to day two: Baton Rouge …or should I say, “Little India meets the Bronks!”
My first impression upon pulling into the town was shaped by beautiful green foliage, adorning rolling hill-like roads, which accompanied a lake where people happily exercised around it in various ways. I smiled as a drove by thinking that I had found my new cardio spot! That smile slowly faded as I made my way to my next nights stay, that I was conveniently able to find, thanks to the cops that were so comfortably staked out around it. “Interesting”, I thought. “Well at least I’ll be safe!” My host was already waiting for me outside so it was sort of difficult to back out without explanation now. Anyways, I really liked my host and wanted to gather the facts before I decided one way or the other.
So, I went into her apartment and felt like I entered little India. Concrete walls were sparsely decorated with some Asian rice paper paintings. Everything was on the floor, even the mattresses. Windows were open, to allow a nice breeze and some noise pollution to flow through, and the doorways emphasized this breeze with there use of curtains instead of standard doors. Even though I long for American ways when in Indian, this little reminder sparked something in my heart that convinced me to stay. So I did.
Little did I know I was going to be accompanied by more than just my host. As I settled in and my host headed to bed, I met the first co-host …a creepy little German cockroach. “Lovely”, I thought. Luckily that was the only one I “saw” before going to bed. In the morning I awoke to many more German encounters. I will spare you the details but paint you the visual of me moving a light speed holding stead fast to this awareness of being the soul who’s protected by this body, as I scoured every article I brought with me to assure I wasn’t taking along a pet. I bolted by 8 am and hit a local coffee shopped where I unleashed the creepiness of that stay into this article that I bring you.