Reilee > Recent Status Updates

Pages 131-138. The most beautiful thing I have ever read.

I sense a romance blooming!

The third person narration almost feels like first person because of how descriptive Casiopea’s perspective is. It feels like I’m a sassy maiden girl on an adventure through the rich cultural states of Mexico with a Mayan god! So cute so far.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the chapter I read today (Tragic City) was about climate gentrification in Little Haiti and Overtown, as today is Juneteenth. Ariza writes very descriptively the story of apartheid in Miami, its racist history, redlining, and gentrification. This is the most anecdotal reality featured in the book thus far.

The book has become much more engaging as Ariza starts to involve more socioeconomic aspects of SLR and CC in Miami. My favorite chapter so far is 6 “Come Heat and High Water” where he discusses the threat of scorching heat on Black communities as a result of segregation into higher less valuable geography of Miami. Now said communities face gentrification as rich people seek higher ground in the face of SLR.

I just finished part 1 of the book and have learned what financial losses look like in the Miami real estate market when factoring in sea level rise and flooding as well as the failure of the NFIP. Between 2006 and 2016, the market lost $465 million. This coupled with the fact that developers do not take climate change into consideration and so risks are not factored into market prices.

I just finished the first chapter and it was very scientifically heavy, which is necessary for understanding sea level rise and climate adaptation. Ariza discusses the greenhouse effect, the earths albedo, RCP scenarios, and different resilience proposals from professionals in Miami (including RSMAS!)
Ariza also discusses the racial exploitation which I am interested in learning more about anecdotally.

Characters have been born/introduced and died. For the first time I am grieving one of the family members deaths, Colonel Aureliano Buendía, even though he was a leader of war/ blood shed of the liberal party. But I came to realize that he is just a lonely man like the rest of us and it took a lifetime of war to realize he missed the joy of nostalgia and the joy of joy.

So far, this books reminds me of East of Eden by John Steinbeck. It is very biblical with crazy themes of incest/oedipus complex, the cyclical list for war, and familiar behaviors such as mothers always embracing their sons regardless of their evil nature.