Well, after being in both areas, I can see where these stereotypes come from. And here's my take on them. People in Boston, as a collective, are not as "open" as people in the south. Privacy is a big deal here, which I think comes from having sooo many people living in close proximity to each other. Here, it would be weird to strike up a conversation with the server at the restaurant. Not because they'd be rude to you, but..it's just not expected. This goes for strangers and acquaintances. People you get to know is a whole other story. The people I work with are just as nice and caring and selfless as any southern stereotype...but the difference is that they are people you know. I think people in the south are just more accustomed to warming up to strangers.
Kyle and I had many laughs at the difference between here and Arkansas this last week. The first experience was at Chick-fil-A (which is over the top nice anyway) We drive up and get our breakfast and the people are saying things like "Thank you so much for joining us today, it is our pleasure to serve you. Have a blessed and lovely day!" We felt like we were in Disney. It was just funny to us...Really nice, but funny. We laughed about walking into any restaurant in Conway and knowing somebody. I couldn't breathe for about 10 mins after hearing our server at Red Lobster ask somebody if they'd like "fried taters, mashed taters, baked taters, or no taters" Taters! It made me very happy. The accents are so stark when visiting, and there's nothing in the world wrong with them...they're just different.
Anyway, we soaked up all the sweet tea, mexican food, cheese dip, free parking, humidity, Sonic and company we could soak. It was great being back. Very refreshing for me. It makes me realize how southern I am. How much I feel like I 'belong' there sometimes. I mean, we love Boston, it's great...but the south is just so comfortable. :-)
1 comment:
That's how I feel about the South, too. I've never lived away from it really, but the changes are always so striking when I travel somewhere else for any longer than a day or two. Can you imagine how different the T would be in Little Rock, even with about as many people on it? It'd be all, "How y'all doin' today?" and "Where on earth did you get that bag? That is too precious! Verlene, look at this bag! How much didja pay for it?" and "Shoooiiee. It's hot in here today, Lord Jesus!" everywhere you turned.
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