South Carolina

I have been in the part of America known as the South. Pretty deep in the south. South Carolina where there are deer processing plants (rather, trailers that have signs for "deer processing HERE!") around.
Where 1 out of 2 vehicles are pickups...
Where you don't have to jump around too much before the sweat starts pouring out because of a hellish thing called HUMIDITY.
Where the Confederate flag flies high on some people's houses/trailers.
Where car insurance companies have to think about the deer.
Where the drink of choice is SWEET tea.
Where Waffle House and Cracker Barrel are great places to eat according to some.
Where Waffle House is a disgusting trucker's stop and really just a great place to do people watching.
Where you see more cows than people.
Where going to Wal-Mart is the social thing to do...it's the meeting place for many.
Where there are churches on every corner and most people go to some church.
Where people smile and wave when you let them in your lane or let them turn.
Where people smile and say hi when you pass them on the street or in a store.
Where you worry about droughts or the slightest bit of freezing rain/snow/ice. --Schools will shut down, roads close, people will complain about driving in bad weather, and the news stations urge you to: "Stock up on your milk and bread! it's gettin' down tonight!"
Where everything sounds sweeter...there is a kind of warm tone in that southern accent.
Where people know about hospitality.
Where you get to choose "a meat and 3." 3 meaning, 3 side dishes!
Where biscuits and gravy, oatmeal cream pies, moon pies, twinkies, cornbread, grits, turnip greens, okra, boiled peanuts, and fried chicken (among others) are in great abundance.
Where bug spray is something you just get used to applying... and you get used to stinking from it.


There is a lot I like about the South. Some things on that list, but some things not on the list. I am in a part of SC called "Due West." Yes, that's the town's name. They have their own zip code even. Everyone always wonders yeah but due West of WHAT? It's just Due West. In the middle of no where. In the boonies. In the sticks. Where they have "Dixie High School" and Erskine College (where my sister graduated from). It's a TINY little town. Blink and you might just miss it! It takes an hour to get to Greenville. About 30 mins to get to Anderson, like 45mins to get to Easley, and 20ish minutes to Greenwood (the nearest WalMart and mall)... You get used to driving a good distance.
I have been here for 2 weeks though it feels longer.... yeah my semester at Gordon finished and it finished WONDERFULLY. Very happy because something very very unexpected happened. I have a boyfriend! That is talk for another post, but I will say it was a difficult but good semester and grades went up yesterday.... and I can't complain too much.
I am staying with my sister who graduated til Saturday when she takes me up to Flat Rock, NC to go to Camp Greystone. I'll be working there/staying there until Aug. 14, and then I fly back to MA on the 15! It seems like Aug. is very far away, but I'm hoping that once camp starts and i get busy again, time will speed up a little.
Why am I so desperate to get through this summer and why don't I want it to go by slowly? There's someone I miss and really want to see at the end of the summer. :-) But I'll make it. I'm pretty excited to be a counselor.... I've never done it but have always wanted to. I can remember when I was 11 and 12 going to Camp Bonclarken (about 15mins from Greystone) saying I wanted to be a counselor one day. And I didn't think I'd ever get old enough to be one, but here I am. 20 years old, almost a junior in COLLEGE! Holy Cow, how did that happen?!!!
Greystone is a Christian all-girls camp that's been running for 90 years. It'll be a good experience for me since i'll not only be a counselor but I'll be instructing KAYAKING. I'm pretty excited about that part even though I haven't done THAT much kayaking myself. I will learn, as soon as I get to camp, all that I need to know about how to teach the basics. And I'll be on the water pretty much every day.
While I've been waiting for camp to start, I have been going to the gym a LOT and sitting around journaling, organizing my stuff for camp, looking for scholarships, reading, watching Heroes, Lost, and the Office, watching a few movies....sleeping in LOTS (often til 12 or 1pm!), staying up late, talking on the phone, and lying out in the sun a little. Colleen has been working a lot from 3-12am so that's why I've been sitting around so much. I'm a little lonely while she's not here, but I only have one more day of this. When she has had days off we've gone shopping and apartment hunting, working out, lying out, etc. So it's been fun.

That was my random post about the South and my recent happenings. Not sure when I'll post next but stay tuned for word about Greystone.