South Carolina
South Carolina
is definitely “the south”. The plantations, the confederate flag, civil war
monuments, the southern accent and being called “darling” by everyone. It’s been a fun place to
get to know. There are a few significant things about South Carolina that have
stuck out to me.
Let me tell you about a few:
First let’s talk
about the weather. Can you say humidity? The heat and humidity is just as I had
expected. When my sister came to visit, she joked people in South Carolina must
have to change clothes three times a day because of the humidity. She was
right.
Your clothes clinging to your sweaty body is a state of being here. The
upside is, I never needed lotion or chap stick. I don’t sunburn here like I do at higher
elevation (only we fair-skinned people would notice this little bonus). Also, because
of the hot, humid weather, mother nature is thriving here. It is so green, lush
and beautiful. I love the swampy landscape with the tropical trees everywhere.
The downside to
all the humidity is, everyone is sweaty all the time. My hair has never been so
frizzy.
Everything rusts and anything made of wood just rots apart. The mold
and moss have taken over.
Careful where you built a house in these parts
because of the flooding and yearly hurricane season.
But most of the time, mother
nature around these parts is awesome. I loved the ferns, the bamboo, the exotic
flower and my favorite is the Spanish Moss (which isn’t actually moss or
Spanish… go figure).
However, like everything in the east, there is no getting
away from it all for all of it is owned by someone. I come from a place where
one can literally get lost in the wilderness. Here, if one gets lost, just keep
walking because you are probably trespassing on someone’s property and
eventually will end up at their house.
Every inch of land, water, and beach is
owned.
Did I also mention it was all flat? I was getting
directions from a man in Charleston who instructed me to take my next right and
the restaurant I was looking for would be at the top of the hill. I found the restaurant
but totally missed “the hill” until I turned around, stooped down and did note
a slight incline to the sidewalk which apparently was “a hill” via South Carolina
standards.
But the water, be it the ocean, a pond or a lake is warm. It is wonderful. The
Atlantic is not as pretty as the Pacific but it is definitely warmer.
One of my
favorite things about the beaches in South Carolina is not only do you find
seashells in the sand but pine cones as well. This is the only place I’ve seen
palm trees and pines trees growing together.
The wildlife here
is also different. I’m use to elk, moose, bears and eagles. Here they have what
I call Bambi deer (cute little spotted fawns), coyotes, foxes, possums, red and
blue jay birds, and buzzards. Let’s not forget the dolphins, the crabs, the
turtles, the Copperhead snake, the Water Moccasins and the alligators.
I’m
going to throw cockroaches in here as well because they are the size of
hamsters around these parts. Oh and South Carolina cockroaches can fly. That
was a terrifying surprise.
Another surprising
element I didn’t expect was the variety of accents and different ways of
speaking. The African American population has their own accents with colorful
nicknames, slang and attitude I found most entertaining. I had to listen
closely when I first arrived to get what they were saying to me. They kind of
sling their words together with longer vowel pronunciations then my ear was used
to hearing. Trying to figure out how to spell their names wasn’t always the easiest
task either. D’Jhon, Jaleel, Tyrone, Darius, Shamira, Tangelina, Shyraese, and
so on.
At the other end
of the scale, there were the Southern Gentleman and Southern Belle with their
own twangs, vocabulary and slang.
One doesn’t “push”
the button, you “mash” the button.
One doesn’t “turn
off” the light, you “cut” the light.
One doesn’t say “I
think so”, you say “I wreckin”.
One isn’t “going
to do” something, you’re “fixin’ to do” something.
One doesn’t “go
get” someone, you “go fetch” someone.
They also have
what I like to call the two-fur first names. I met a Bonnie Lee, a Maribelle, a
Claudia Joy, a Mary Louis, a Barbara Ann and (my personal favorite) a Miss
Marigold May.
The social life here is different as well. I remember the first polo game I ever went to.
It was just like in the movies. It was a big-hat sporting, sundress wearing, cocktail drinking, high society event through and through. Don’t worry, I stepped it up and now own two big hats of my own.
There is an
amazing amount of money in this state and a lot of it is what I heard referred
to as "old money". When I say that I mean these million dollar plantation estates and
colonial style houses were bought with civil war and slave money.
The history
here is amazing and I have never enjoyed so many tours in my life but it has a
dark side to it.
“70% of all the
slaves entering America came through this port”
“These trees are
where they use to hang runaway slaves”
“They say 10-13
thousand prisoners died in this jail”
“At the end of the
trail you’ll find the slave cemetery”
“In this cotton
field is where civil war criminals and pirates were executed”
“This tour will
walk you through the terrible conditions the slaves had to endure while living
here on the plantation” and so on.
Because of this
deep history of slavery and civil war there is still a residual attitude
lingering here. I hate to say that but I was shocked when I arrived how often I
heard remarks about “being white” or “being black”. I’ve never heard the “N”
word used so much in my life. Even though it’s 2016 there is still a lot of “red-necks,
black people and poor folk” clichés here. I’d never lived in a place where this
attitude still lingers but it comes with the territory, literally. The history
of America’s past you see every day simply by walking down the street.
On a happier note,
I think Charleston is one of the coolest towns I’ve been too. I call it a
Designer City like Jackson Hole Wyoming or Las Vegas Nevada. Definitely a destination
place to see in one’s life time.
Overall, South
Carolina was a beautifully memorable place.
I’m glad I came. It was a lovely 4
months and I’m made some really good friends here.
Alas, the time has come to
move on.
Next, I’m headed to the
southern most state in America.
Florida here I
come.
