You Know You're in the South When

You know you're in the South when fall leaf clean-up runs November to January.

Last week we received a letter from the folks who pick up our garbage, telling us that now that we have hit the season when leaves are falling, they will begin picking up leaves more frequently.  This schedule began November 17 and will run through January 9.  This blows my mind!  First of all, the fact that the height of leaf removal begins in November.  Where I come from, leaves have to be picked up by October or you run the risk of them being covered by snow.  And here they will still be picking up leaves in January?!  January is WINTER!  I am used to January being the height of snow removal season, not leaf removal! Things are definitely different here.  My mom and dad recently bought a house, and have hired someone to come and do leaf removal at their house.  He is scheduled to be there in December. December.  A guy is coming to do fall leaf clean-up in December.  That just seems wrong.

Ass Myker

Staying at a D.C. hotel for the weekend, I came out of the pool and was waiting for the elevator with another guest when around the corner comes a boy and man in swim trunks.  The man says "ya'll know where I can find an ass myker?"  I stared at him for a heartbeat, saw the bucket of beer in his arm and realized this was not a man who was asking for something weird I had never hear of, but a southerner asking for an ice maker.  The other guest and I both said some version of "sorry, no" about the time the elevator arrived.  As we got on the elevator and the door closed I heard the boy ask about going swimming.  The man replied "I gotta find some ice, son.  Daddy can't swim on warm beer."

You Know You're in the South When...

You attend a potluck where five people have brought fried chicken and three people have brought pans of homemade macaroni and cheese.  Three whole pans.  Of homemade (from scratch!) macaroni and cheese.  Also, there were a ton of other dishes and I have to say (sorry Minnesotans), this was the best potluck I have ever attended.  The food was so good, and (chicken and macaroni and cheese aside) there was such a great variety of main dishes, I don't know how it could have been any better.  On the potluck front, the southerners have scored some points with me!  What else?  Not a Jello dessert in sight!  Nothing on that table had Jello in the ingredients!  Where I come from, a Jello dish (or Jello "salad" as they are sometimes called) is a requirement for potlucks! 

You Know You're in the South When...

There is a Confederate Cemetery in town and on Memorial Day you can find a field of Confederate flags honoring the Civil War soldiers buried there.



It was a disconcerting feeling going into this cemetery
with all of these Confederate flags flying, a symbol I
associate with racism and bigotry.  As Jason and I
walked into the cemetery a woman was leaving and
she said "look at all those flags, isn't it just beautiful."
Beautiful is definitely not the word I would have used.
Frightening is the word I would have used.
 

I have often driven past the Confederate Cemetery in town, and have wanted to go wander around, but it is usually locked when I've been past.  However, this weekend, for Memorial Day, it was open and Memorial Day was being observed there in a way I have never experienced, with Confederate flags marking many graves.

I learned something on this trip through the Confederate Cemetery (thanks to Google on a smart phone :) ).  I had thought the "Stars and Bars" was the name of the flag for the Confederate government, and was this flag:

Not true!  This flag was never the official flag of the Confederate government, it was the battle flag of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, and was square, like this:

The "Stars and Bars" was the name of the official flag of the Confederate government, but it looked like this:

You Know You are in the South When...

Civil War cannon are used as lawn ornaments...



As seen in front of a house in historic Fredericksburg, Virginia

Halloween

Elise as a vampire bat girl, Anja as a ninja.

Our first Halloween in Virginia.  This was the most pleasant Halloween I have ever experienced.  I spent most of my life in Minnesota and by October we usually had snow on the ground.  You know those lists of "You Know You Are From (enter state name here) If..."?  The Minnesota list says "you know you are from Minnesota if, as a kid,  you bought Halloween costumes one size too large so you could fit your snowsuit underneath."  That is the truth!  Many Halloweens as a child, it was so cold and snowy that I wore my snowsuit underneath my costume so I wouldn't freeze my tail off.  Tonight was a totally different experience.  It was 70 degrees out!  At 7:00 p.m.!  Elise wore her costume without any extra tights, leggings, or shirts underneath and she didn't get cold.  That is totally unheard of where I come from. I wore a jacket over my t-shirt and was hot by the time we got back. 

Most memorable experience from this Halloween:  man sitting at the end of his driveway handing out candy, who, when we departed, said "Happy Halloween, y'all."  Sometimes I forget I live in the south, and then things like that remind me that it is different here.   And that has been a pretty fun experience so far!

Southern Things I've Learned

Last week my computer broke and I still don't have it back, so I am making due using public computers at the library (yay! for public libraries) and borrowing computer time from Jason and my parents.

Until I get my computer back, I will add some quick posts.  Last week I started job training with the public library and have come into contact with lots of people from this area.  Some things I've learned:

• GRIN = Girl Raised in the North
• GRITS = Girl Raised in the South
• Yankee = someone from the North
• Damn Yankee = someone from the North who comes to the south and stays
• Anyone who is offended by being called "honey," or "sweetheart" should not live in the South

Up until last week, most of the people I had chatted with or been friendly with here have been Jason's colleagues, who are Damn Yankees who moved to Virginia to teach at the university and, though delightful, have not given me the same introduction to Fredericksburg and Virginia that I have been getting working with locals at the library.  I'm not sure if I will ever feel completely at home here, but it sure is entertaining and enlightening!