As some of you know, I’ve been settling in Baton Rouge, and Friday marked three weeks on the job. It’s been a whirlwind of things. I’ve written an A1 sports story, tracked the whereabouts of a notorious pirate/slave smuggler, reviewed a series of ten minute plays, and visited a sushi chef at his new restaurant.
I expected the job to be difficult in terms of identity. I knew going in that there wasn’t much diversity in my newsroom. As you might expect, there aren’t a ton of Asian people in Louisiana. But I didn’t expect the Black-White binary to be stark here. I’ve personally never lived in a place where I feel so racially othered, and I’ve been fielding some truly bold permutations of the question, “Where are you really from?”
I don’t love that, but I can tell that I’m not the same girl who wrote a lot of my more angsty personal essays about race and identity anymore because it doesn’t throw me in the same way. I am not from here, and I’m okay with that. It will just take some getting used to.
Let’s talk about the cockroaches
One big adjustment is the presence of cockroaches. When I saw my first one, I thought I was going to have to have an exterminator come in and tent my house. But as I talked to my coworkers and neighbors, I found out that this is normal. And actually, seeing a big one is a good sign.
In Louisiana, big cockroaches come in from outside, usually because of rain. The little ones are the real problem because if you see one of those, there’s likely a nest hiding somewhere. If it’s not little, then it’s fine. “Welcome to Louisiana,” my coworkers tell me.
I still scream when I see cockroaches. They really sneak up on you. But I’ve gotten smart. I bought roach spray. I have googled it enough times to influence my algorithmic ads. I am mentally prepared to see them (sort of) and emotionally prepared to kill them (you get used to it). It is part of growth to push yourself to do hard things, I tell myself. It’s part of life to grow. I’m happy to report that I’m currently doing that from a (mostly) cockroach free home.
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