Not much happening in my world, except for the daily going to work & going to school grind. However, given recent events in the world, some of them closer to home (Cable Car Accident in the Alps), I am more than happy to be at work, go about daily routines. Today I am thankful, in no particular order, for the sun, this indian summer, my red floral dress, my daughter’s new school bag, my job, the roof over our heads, and grapes…

Browsing the blog world the other day I found many inspirational messages. I am not saying anything new, but the internet has brought humanity so much closer together, I think. There are women out there whom I don’t know, but I enjoy reading about their lives, their thoughts and feelings, it gives me strength and inspiration to move my world.

One of these talented women has done a wonderful thing. She is auctioning one of her paintings on ebay, and will donate 100% of the proceeds to the hurricane victims. What an original idea! I wish all artists would do something like that. Give it up for French Toast Girl!

It is very strange, I don’t know anyone in the New Orleans area, or the entire southern states for that matter, but my mind has been constantly there for the past few days. I have read the news, watched the news, searched for blogs who would present the other side of the story (as there is always another side). Granted, some of what the media reports is bound to be exaggerated, but it still doesn’t look good out there, that is a fact we can believe, I think. Incidentally, here is a very good link that lists all hurricane related blogs, good for getting that other perspective.

What has surprised me here in Europe is the total indifference that the European German media is demonstrating towards the Katrina events. I was here when the tsunami waves hit Asia. You should have seen then the outpoor of concern and feelings towards the tsunami victims! I am not saying that all Europeans should now run to the bank and donate for the flood victims, New Orleans is in one of the richest countries in the world, at least that’s what the statistics tell us. The tsunami victims needed all the help they could get, from the entire world. Louisiana, and all the other affected states, should be able to tap into the quite large ressources of the federal US government, and that is the job of the government in times like these, show some decency for a change.

But what I was expecting to see, here in Austria, was some expression of sympathy, like I saw in the tsunami times. However, I can sadly report that there was none of that. Just a detached reporting of facts, with a “serves you right” hidden just under the surface. I can still see the smirk on the achorman’s face this morning, when he turned to his collegue and said “So what is Claudia Schiffer up to lately?”, right after the devastating images were shown on TV. It has become clear to me that the American nation has lost the sympathy and admiration it once had in Europe…

A huge part of me is European by birth, upbringing and culture, but I find that a significant part of me is American. I have not felt such pain and sorrow since September 11. I don’t expect any of my Austrian co-workers to understand my feelings. I wonder if this hurts me more because I am living overseas….I wonder if some day I will feel the same for Austria, after having lived here long enough….They say that home is where your heart is, and I have certainly realized where my heart is these days.

Even though I am thousands of miles away, I have been following the monster that is Katrina. My heart goes out to the people of Louisiana and Mississippi. I thank God that he spared the Big Easy one more time. If you don’t believe in miracles, now would be the time to rethink that. How was it possible that a giant storm headed straight for the big city was diverted in the last minute so that it merely brushed it? Would you call that luck? I do not think so.

Still, it gives me a heartache just imagining what it would be like to stand before what’s left of your home, or to sit somewhere in a shelter, with your 4 kids around you, not even being able to find out for an undetermined period of time if you still have a home to go to. Yet people like that go back every time (see Hurricane Andrew stories) and rebuild it, and start over again. In my mind, they are the true American Pioneers of our times. God bless them all!