My Aunt Nancy warned me, "It's an entirely different culture down there Hannah." She is indeed correct! I am not going to make any sweeping generalizations about the south, that would be of poor ethic, but since I've arrived here about a week ago I have acquired some stories that do fit the typical southern mold. I also will include stories that oppose the stereotypical traits of the south, as I have a pocket full of examples of those as well!
Living on Farms:
One of the other interns at City Roots (who wishes to remain nameless) described a story to us on my first day. It all started when Eric was discussing the possibility of getting some male goats for the farm. The nameless volunteer proceeds to contribute a wealth of knowledge about goats, and why it is so much less work having male goats rather than females goats. She added "This one time, one of our female goats was minutes away from giving birth and there were some complications, so I had to stick my hand up a goat's butt to check if her birth cavity had burst..." "You did WHAT?" I asked. "You heard me" she said, "My family told me I had to do it since I had the smallest hands." We all giggled.
NPR:
They listen to it down here too, and not just the academics I'm living with or the students I'm working with. I've already had some great discussions about politics, the environment and more.
Brain Injuries:
As I shared with Greg and Karen (the relatives I am staying with), that my brother is recovering from a traumatic brain injury, Greg offered a comment about his students. "Ya know Hannah", he started "I've encountered a bunch of students throughout the years who have suffered from a brain injury and are in the recovery process. The interesting thing I observed was, many of the students from the north had their accidents doing sports while the students from the south had their accidents because they fell out of their friends pick-up truck."
Work Style:
They work just as hard as anyone in the north, the only difference is they are smart enough to take a real lunch break rather than sneaking solitaire on their computers throughout the day. Two different approaches, one not better than the other, just different.
Pesky Critters:
Up north their are mosquitoes, down south there are fire ants. I got my first bite yesterday. Their bite is a very concentrated piercing pain that lasts a couple seconds. The day after they itch like heck, and there's nothing you can do about it.
Today I'm a free bird so I'm really going to try to look for a job. Wish me luck!
Thanks for reading :)
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