The South, Take 1

This is my first of a few posts on my first trip to the South. Last week, I had the privilege to travel down to North Carolina for a Habitat for Humanity build in the town of Lenoir.

After a 12 hour drive last Sunday, our group (all NYU students) was greeted with warm, welcoming arms to the church in which we were staying. Not that I've seen many churches, but this church was unlike any other. We were brought down into the massive youth lounge, which had a large stove-less kitchen, full pool table, foosball table, air hockey table, as well as couches galore and a big screen TV. We were greeted by our hosts, Aaron, the youth pastor of the church, Pete, the Executive Director of Caldwell County Habitat, and Amy, our organizer from Habitat.

Before this, I had only heard references to Southern hospitality and didn't really know what that meant. In those first introductions, I learned hospitality first hand. Our three hosts were so incredibly welcoming. Beyond that, they seemed genuinely happy to have us there, and were glad to fill us in on little tidbits about the town. They understood our Yankee ways, telling us to keep "cussing" at a minimum during our stay. Amy took pride in the fact that even though the groups came down here worked hard (and were given gym passes), each group ate so much that they gained weight.

We ate so much because people seemed to constantly want to feed us. NYU had planned a large food budget for us, but so much of that was unnecessary. We were invited to have pizza with the youth group that night, and we were brought massive lunches on the worksite each day. Each night, someone from the community would take us out or open up their church to us.

After being in New York, all this hospitality came as culture shock. Why were people being so nice? Why did people say hi as we passed them on the street, instead of keeping their heads down? It may be just how things are done down South, but I have an inkling what they have is a true community.

And for more on community, stay tuned...