"Sweet Southern Comfort"

When I think of the south, I think of sweet tea, country music, and southern hospitality, just to name a few. Hospitality is one of the many great aspects of the south and it is highly praised. I once heard on an NPR newscast that Japanese and Southern people smile the most compared to the rest of the world. Every time I travel outside the south, I immediately notice the difference in how people act and treat a stranger. The youtube video exaggerates how many southerners act, but people do go out of the way to acknowledge or smile at a stranger on the street. When I walk into a restaurant in the south, I usually get a smile and "Hey, how are y'all doing today." I do not feel the same when I travel to another region like the north, but maybe I have a biased view, since I have lived in the south all my life. Just look at Buddy the Elf in his visit to New York City and how the people ignore his friendly nature.

Generally, the south has a laid back culture and I believe it translates into how we treat one another. The north has more of a blunt and quick paced culture which translates into how they converse with people and how they drive their cars. Since the south has a warmer climate year round, I think that translates into warmer and more friendly people. I work at a coffee shop back home and over winter break I served a lady from Akron, Ohio. While I was making her drink, she asked me a few questions. When I answered them, I responded with a yes ma'am or no ma'am before every question. She stopped after one question and said, "I enjoy coming to the south because I love hearing ma'am, sir, and y'all. Up in Ohio, you never hear any of that." Since I serve many northerners every year, I enjoy showing them some true southern charm.

Three years ago I moved from Davidson, NC (about 45 minutes north of Charlotte) to a community thirty minutes outside of Charleston called Seabrook Island. Seabrook is a hot bed for retirees, especially those from northern states like Ohio and New York. When we moved into our neighborhood in Davidson, our neighbors came over to introduce themselves and they usually brought a baked good with them as well. When we moved to Seabrook, the exact opposite occurred. Only one or two of our neighbors came to introduce themselves. Last year we met a neighbor who lives two houses down and they had not realized that we had been in our house for two years. That shows the effort she made in knowing the people around her. I believe that not knowing your neighbors takes away from the community feel and makes you feel isolated. If Seabrook was a typical southern community, I would know all the neighbors around me and their names. I enjoy traveling to other regions of the United States, but I always look forward to coming back home to the south. I love southern hospitality and I hope it continues to improve.