Rachel and the South-Autobiography 2

Southern hospitality is a notion that I am beginning to become much more accomstomed to. When I first came here, I wasn't aware of perhaps how impersonal the North can be at times. After meeting a few people, I was not aware that if I did not say hello to them, especially in a overly friendly manner in passing that I was being rude. Where I'm from, you just don't don't really say hello to somebody you may have met once, or had a brief conversation with if you see them in passing. It's just.....awkward, and most people don't do it. Those who do are often considered really considerate and nice people, but definently out of the norm. Down here however, I had people act as though I was extremely rude and had no manners....it's not that I'm incapable of being polite or am rude, it was just something I wasn't used to. Along the same lines of saying hello to people in passing that I barely know, I was completely unaware of how friendly some people are down here to people that they do not know at all. Often times on buses, bus stops, or in stores, i will have random people ask me me my name, where I go to school...just strike up conversation. The first couple times that this happened to me, I was startled and felt incredibly uncomfortable. At home, people rarely did that, and when they did, they received an odd look, a look of like...why are you talking to me. It was really difficult for me to try and speak to those strangers without seeming really awkward and uncomfortable.

However, the longer I am down here, the more I have come to appreciate those certain customs. I have had a couple days where I was just in a terrible mood, and having a pleasant conversation with someone who, even though I didn't know them and probably didn't care about who I was, asked me my name and how was I doing. I can definently appreciate the sincerity in southern hospitatlity.