South Carolina

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.