Can you say culture shock?
Seriously, though, this has been quite an experience so far. I feel like everything that could go wrong has gone wrong, yet we've survived and know beyond a shadow of a doubt this is where God wants us. The hardest thing is definitely the isolation. I'm used to seeing my friends countless times a week for Bible studies, mall excursions, lunches, church, and other random purposes. To go from that to spending days at a time only seeing Benjamin and Grant is....well, it's different.
I don't know another SAHM (stay at home mom) in the area, so that makes building friendships difficult. I know God will provide friends, but I also know they will probably be different friendships than I am used to. What's that old hymn say? "Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey." That's my mantra!
Some strange things about the South:
-I am constantly asked if I am from "up north" since I don't have a Southern accent. I usually say, "No, I'm from Oklahoma." They say, "Yeah, I can tell." I'm not quite sure how to take this...
-When we go to Wal-Mart we have seen entire families shopping barefoot. I guess the "No Shoes, No Shirt" thing hasn't reached Alabama yet.
-You have never experienced hospitality until you've experienced SOUTHERN hospitality. This is by far the most overwhelmingly friendly place that I have ever been. Everyone is so nice and eager to help us! I think if we had wanted it we would have had the entire church over helping us paint, clean, and unpack.
-News spreads FAST in the South. I told one person at Wal-Mart (my new home away from home since it's the only place in town to go) that Benjamin was sick and by the next day the ENTIRE church knew! Seriously, I am not exaggerating. We once got a phone call that said, "Hey, we heard you were headed to town and wanted to know if you needed anything!" Apparently a church member had passed us in their car and called various other people to let them know. Can you say fishbowl? :-)
Suffice it to say, life is different but it is fun and exciting to experience it. We miss our Piedmont family greatly, but are enjoying getting to know our Hamilton one.
