Don't Mess With Texas

After 3 years “out of the game” in my personal waiting room (Bolivia – with scattered travel, mainly in the developing world), my first few weeks back in the US were tough. Mainly it was just strange to be dealing with reason and accountability. The roads are big and scary and well marked! Everybody seems to be abiding by the law! People are on time! To further confuse me, I suddenly found myself being treated like a local, because I sound (am?) American. So the expectations were that I know local politics, understand directions, say hi to the postman, understand credit card lingo, can fill out a W-4, navigate the myriad of brands at the grocery sore, work the lawn mower, and enjoy early-evening beers over a bacce game (...maybe I'm stereotyping suburbia here but you get the picture). In actual fact though, it’s been about 15 years since I’ve lived in the US of A – so by now I’m kind of a stranger in my own land. I’ve gotten used to being the different one, gotten used to people cutting me slack. Used to navigating my way around by asking lots of questions, often with hand movements. After all, in the UK I was American; in Japan I was a gaijin; in Bolivia I was a gringuita; in France I was one of many foreign French wannabes. So I guess being different is just a prereq for my comfort zone…

…I digress. So I’ve been in Houston for about a month now, and I’m starting to ask myself if my experience is unusual: so yeah, my family is pretty well-connected, and by nature has its fingers in many cultural pies - with its remaining finger firmly on society’s pulse. So I know I have that to thank for all the eclectic stuff I’ve been exposed to since arriving. But something tells me this town has more stuff on offer than it’s typically given credit for.

In general, the US is a place that, to me, excels in abundance and variety: the amount of resources for the individual – whether cultural, physical, community spirit or plain old continual learning (personal finance classes! sewing!creative writing! self-defense! classes at the zoo!) – is just astounding. Everything about it is to further progress, and extend personal empowerment. And then, there is the whole convenience thing. It’s easy to see how people got carried away with credit. You can’t drive a mile without coming across a super store with all these bargain deals on pretty, but unnecessary, crap. Self-storage units are all over the place. People just don’t have room anymore in their homes for said pretty, unnecessary crap. Extreme fitness (polar opposite of the obesity levels everyone loves to criticize the US for) is also rampant - at the gym this morning, I overheard a (very buff, very hot) soccer mom talking about how she's "comin' up on her 50s, so she's doin' 50 reps of everything - pullups, pushups, walkin' lunges - gotta mix it up, anything to mix it up". Yeah. A 50 year old with a washboard stomach...

Convenience with food is another topic I love to talk/think about. Man is it easy to whip up a gourmet meal here (because your local supermarket – the normal one, not the Whole Foods one – will have organic kale, herbed feta and peanut oil – and sell it in all the exact quantities you could possibly need – for the recipe you just downloaded with your iPhone application). Food of all shapes, denominations and sizes is on offer, pretty much around the clock. For many people, cooking at home means buying some pre-prepared ingredients (e.g. cooked vegetables, grilled boneless-skinless chicken breast, dips and spreads and soups and herbed grains) from a deli or grocery store, and then throwing it together at home – perhaps with some fancy bottled sauce or one left over from another takeaway (on that, I gave up sugar for Lent –which has proven a real challenge – nearly everything is jacked up with the stuff, even bread and hot sauce). Another thing I've noticed is this general need to have a beverage in your hand. Everyone always seems to have one. Hot ones, cold ones, decaffeinated ones, Styrofoam ones, with or without recycled sleeves, straws, reusable containers, big gulps, smoothies, protein boosts, vitamin water, plain old water, expensive glacier water, lots of ice, no ice at all...it's like the national security blanket. Sip and talk, sip and drive, sip and work...sippy McSip!

(Disclaimer: I know I'm being really judgmental and don't mean to offend. I have my adolescence in snooty but classy Europe to thank for that. Part of it is also because I’m way out of touch with all things Americana, so it's easier to observe and critique than it is to understand and appreciate. God bless America - and I really DO mean that. This is the only place I've been where I feel people are constantly, perhaps relentlessly, trying to innovate.) My point is that things are about as seamless and efficient as possible. You have every possible choice – not just in dressing, but also in lifestyle and hobbies and interests – that your little heart could ever desire. And actually, it’s pretty cool. At times, it still feels indulgent and wasteful en masse (don’t get me started on the packaging and portion sizes), but I’m rolling with it.

Now back to Houston.

Houston has no defining characteristic. It doesn’t have the charm of San Francisco, the retro beach culture of Miami, or the historical bent that the East coast states have going on. But (and it would seem we have the energy sector to thank for this), Houston can pretty much anything you want it to be. The population is diverse – not just in terms of the different nationalities living here (again, thanks to the multinational companies; for instance, my gym is full of Brits, French, Indians and Hispanics – all raising young families here; my brothers' rugby team HARC is from all over) but also in terms of lifestyles. Contrary to popular belief, not everyone is an obese, barbecue-eating, country-music-listening, gun-toting religious zealot and/or so-called bubba with a gas-guzzling pickup (although I have to admit some of those things do have their charm). There are yogis, zen Buddhists, libertarians, vegetarians! Running clubs and serious wine bars (like Block 7 - where I can be found Thurs-Sat as the hostess with the mostest) and some serious retro clothing/antique stores! All the things you were raised thinking Texas was – well, make room, because there’s a lot more to it these days. When I was little, my family (who got started here) would joke about the Texas expression: “If you don’t like it here, highway 6 runs both ways”. Well, yeah. These days, it seems like the place is slightly more accommodating.

Upon arrival, one of the first interesting tidbits of local culture I heard about is a theater piece called The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (which I still need to check out). Marvin Zindler, the man who made that story happen, was apparently the best friend of a good family friend – who also so happens to be Texas’ #1 plastic surgeon (who does pro-bono work in Bolivia). Said doctor just wrote Zindler’s biography, and is holding a launch party at his house (which illustrates another point I was going to make, that the socialite scene is big here). I wonder how hard it would be to get on that guest list??

I also had the great fortune of arriving just before the Houston rodeo (organized by said surgeon’s wife) began. This is a huge deal –HUGE, not just for Texans, but also abroad. It even generates a fair share of tourism from the Middle East, apparently due to the horses on show. It starts with 3 days of "cook-offs" – i.e. pretty much the best barbecue you can imagine, and I heard a rumor you can even get deep-fried oreos, too. Once the rodeo has begun, you can you go see (or buy - like my brother is going to do this weekend with a cow - there's grade-A beef for ya) all kinds of livestock at the auctions. You can also have a peek at the most ridiculous, ostentatious Western wear and home furnishings that new oil money can buy (check out King Ranch), because there are stalls galore of just this (we’re talking diamond-studded jean jackets, exotic leather boots, platinum belt buckles, etc). I also seemed to arrive in time for crawfish boils - a tradition seemingly borrowed from neighboring Louisiana (sort of the southern US' version of Latin America's parrillada; i.e., let's eat, drink, and make merry en masse, outside).

I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the amount of mom & pop shops here. Alas, Houston shopping is no longer just about the Galleria mall and big-name brands (that would be more like Dallas – I hear they’re all about the vanity there). I really enjoyed hitting The Guild (a thrift store where all the wealthy River Oaks crowd drop off their unwanted items – including furniture and Gucci bags) and 19th St here in the Heights (dear Lord do to they take their vintage seriously here - there is some hardcore zoning going on in these boutiques: each seller has his/her own section, in which each piece has carefully been assigned an era - and in so doing makes a name for themselves in the vintage world). Then there is the student-ridden, wealthier pub-filled Rice Village (mainly populated by Rice University students). Finally, and this would be my favorite area so far, around Westheimer and Dunlavy St.: it's mostly antique stores, but also loads of great hipster (...the palatable kind), book stores, and cafes with creative menus. Check out Cafe Brasil and it's sister business, Domy books (wherethe employees' book knowledge can only rival that of a sommelier's). On the whole, there are so many independent and delicious joints in Houston that there’s no need to ever repeat or eat at a chain (unless it’s a taqueria – and it’s 3 a.m. The tex-mex doesn’t get more unapologetically unhealthy, disgustingly, finger-lickingly good than it is here). If you have time for a road trip, pick up foodie John Demers' book Follow the Smoke, which is basically a Lonely Planet guide to Texas barbecue (complete with anecdotes and histories of each joint - he drove 15,000 miles across the great state in the name of research). Another place I loved discovering was the farmer’s market over on Airline Road – everything was half the price, and just as fresh and organic, as at Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. Most of the vendors are hispanic, so I felt right at home, just like shopping in Bolivia (the driving there is similar, too – yay for breaking rules!). On the whole, a nice way to spend your Saturday morning – certainly more authentic than a trip to, say, Bed, Bath and Beyond…

I’m also really impressed at how cultured the social elite here seem to be. Often new money (…especially oil money) just leads to fancy cars and the latest bling. But when I visited the Faberge collection at the Natural Science Museum, this really hit home. A certain (clearly very wealthy) Houston couple has been buying these exquisite historical pieces for the past 5 years, simply out of a piqued interest. By now they have one of the best collections in the world of Peter Carl’s (because that’s what I like to call him) work. I was flabbergasted (check out this tiara) and very happy to see that capitalism has not entirely killed culture! The theater district is also booming – I was lucky enough to catch a Broadway production of Miss Saigon last week – so there is no shortage of cultural movement there (even La Boheme is on at our local theater here in the Heights). In the one month that I’ve been here, I’ve witnessed a great music circuit: Black Eyed Peas, Dave Matthews, John Mayer, Beach Boys, the Jonas Brothers, country singers both big and small…not to mention the Houston symphony. I guess Austin wins in the independent/undiscovered artist category, but let’s just say the musical agenda is not too shabby here (and here I would like to make a special mention of Andrew Karanavas, fellow waiter and singer/songwriter extraordinaire).

A final word about the green spaces. I’ve noticed a big fitness and "mindful living" (the latest, greatest buzzwords) culture, fostered by an abundance of parks, running clubs and free sport events (check out Brian O’Neills running club – mostly recent grads from Rice or University of Houston; the more hardcore running club, the Kenyan Way; the Community Gardens Program at Urban Harvest; and finally, Discovery Green, where you can try free tai-chi or hear live blues, any day of the week). Memorial Park's 3 mile loop seems to be The Place to see and be seen for fitness-oriented people (I honestly run there just to people-watch; there are some long-standing characters, dare I call them institutions?). Just today I saw some brand reps jogging in sweatsuits, advertising a local business (that's ambient media for you). Whatever kind of self-help/spiritual support you may need, that’s also there too: the Jung center, the Houston Zen Center, churches of all denominations, en masse motivational seminars (which take place in, um, stadiums), the list goes on.

In brief: I’m impressed. Houston’s got it going on. I just wish it weren’t so GD muggy.