Wrap Up

After having a whole semester to talk about the American south and its culture, I have come across some interesting opinions. Two of the contributors to this blog are from northern cities and it has been interesting to see their view of the South. In Parker's blog "Polos, columns, boots, and the Southern Image," he talks about the differences in the architecture of frat houses and student dressing on the Virginia Tech campus and on the Georgia Tech campus. Since I have lived in the South throughout my tenure in the United States, I always thought that the frat houses everywhere were as big as the ones on the Georgia Tech campus. When Parker compared the frat houses on the Virginia Tech Campus to the ones on the Georgia Tech campus, I was surprised. One was large and had large columns in the front while the other was just plain and simple. A difference is also noticeable in the dressing of the students. The students at GT wear more formal looking clothes whereas the students at VT wear more casual clothes. I like how most of Parker's and DaNae's posts compared the North to the South.

In her post, "Transitioning from the North to the South," DaNae talks about the differences between the atmosphere in the South and in the North. Being from Baltimore, she claims to enjoy the warm, sunny weather in the South. Also, she says that Southerners visit the urban cities in the North, while Northerners like to visit the warm and natural settings in the South. Maybe the grass IS greener on the other side. While I have enjoyed the contributions from the Northerners, I have also enjoyed the contributions from the students who have lived in the South. Having said that, I want to give a shout out to the Braves and Jason Heyward for his walk-off hit in the bottom of the 9th with two outs. Go Braves!

-Rajeev

as the semester progressed...

After this semester in Dr Hoefers class, I realized that a lot of the images or inferences placed with the south are due to years of false assumptions by non-southerners or the attempt at playing that image by other southern. i realized that i too had developed some ideal image of the south that i believed was sill being played in modern life.
This seemed to be most obvious when studying southern living. it was quite interesting to see that people do look towads that magazine to portray this modern southern plantation. it was interesting to see how many times a magazine could use a plantation back ground as have it easily recognizable as a Southern Family. These family settings no longer exist today, but it is so easily used to referenced the south that it often is stereotyped with southern living.
This idea of old south still lives ensued in most southern upbringing from cotillions to the roles of women and men. Although it seems less common, there is still an obvious contrast between southern and northern personality characteristics. Which is more obvious when comparing colleges from recreational activities to greek life.
Although the south is no longer what it was before, there seems to still be a need to behave as a "southerner"

Taste of Atlanta

Although I am not from the South, an event that occurred while I have been here was Taste of Atlanta which happened in Tech Square. Taste of Atlanta is a two day festival that occurs outside. Not only is there food at the event, but there is also live music and numerous forms of entertainment. Foods from over 80 restaurants are showcased. In addition to food that is already prepared, there are chefs that cook onstage at the actual event. Some of the chefs featured are celebrity chefs which is an interesting attraction to Taste of Atlanta. Children are also included in the event by participating in cooking demonstrations that are made specifically for them. I found this event particularly interesting because it ensures that you will get a taste of traditional Southern food while also exposing you to various other cultures. Caribbean, Mexican and Asian cuisine is also served at Taste of Atlanta. Desserts are also showcased in addition. Taste of Atlanta is a great event for food lovers and it also exposes people to a lot of diverse foods that they would have not have tried otherwise. Taste of Atlanta also donates some of its proceeds to charity organizations. It is a great event that has numerous benefits and gives people a chance to experiment with different types of foods at one time.
Taste of Atlanta

--DaNae

Lee-Jackson-King Day?!?

While Martin Luther King (MLK) Day became a national holiday in 1983 when Ronald Reagan signed it into law, this holiday in mostly celebrated in the American South. Martin Luther King has become a Southern hero of sorts for his work during the Civil Right movement and nearly every town in the South has both a statue of MLK and and MLK drive... or boulevard... or circle.
However, nearly every city in the South also has a statue of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson displayed prominently somewhere in their town as well. Such passion for both figures in the South, pride both in the advances made during the Civil Rights Movement as well as pride in the leaders of the Civil War, has lead to a unique holiday in the state of Virginia, "Lee-Jackson-King" day.

When I first heard of this holiday I thought my parents were just pulling my leg, however after a little bit of wikipedia exploring I found that "Lee-Jackson-King" day was an official Virginia only holiday from 1983 to 2000. In 2000 the holiday was split back up into Lee-Jackson Day and MLK day, however, my family and much of the community still celebrates the holiday together. On this day federal workers get the day off from works, the students are out of school, and many parents take the day off to take the day with their children.

I feel that Lee-Jackson-King day is a very unique Southern holiday and represents uniquely Southern ideals... pride in our past and our progress. One of the best representations of this was a blog I found which discussed the controversy surrounding Lee-Jackson Day this year, yet the dedication with which Virginian's prepared for it and carried it out. This blog can be found here.

Parker


picture courteous of photohome.com

Vidalia Onion Festival

Every year in April there is a HUGE event that goes down in Vidalia, Georgia. Vidalia is known to be the home to Georgia's state vegetable, the Vidalia onion. People swear by this layered vegetable. They say it is the best tasting onion in the world. In honor of this beloved vegetable, the city of Vidalia hosts the Vidalia Onion Festival every year.

There are many activities that people can enjoy at the festival. These include:the Airshow, Little Miss and Miss Vidalia Onion Pageant, rodeo, safari through a ranch, etc. They also have many onion rings. Like I have said in my previous posts, Southern people like to fry everything and onion rings taste amazing; especially these ones.



Here is a link to a video from the show, "Georgia Traveler."

This is the official website of the Vidalia Onion Festival.

-Rajeev

Taste of Alpharetta

One of best known traditional events held in my hometown of Alpharetta is the Taste of Alpharetta, the largest "Taste of" festival in the South. Alpharetta is a rapidly developing surburban city situated roughly half an hour northeast of Atlanta. The town has been established since 1858 and thus is best known for preserving its historical and cultural values through its architecture, arts & crafts festivals, and other various events. Arts and craft festivals, such as the Juried Arts and the Arts Streetfest Festival are held once a year to observe unique artworks and enjoy musical performances. However, the Taste of Alpharetta tops them all, with +70 restaurants and +70,000 attendees. It is held once a year in the middle of May and hosts a variety of multicultural cuisines, ranging from Southern style cooking like Smokejack: A Southern Grill, to ice cream places such as Cold Stone Creamery, and even to exquisite fine dining like the Cabernet. You can sample delicious appetizers, desserts, and get FREE prizes. There are also exhibits such as the culinary competitions between top chefs competing for prizes, and additionally, there are musical performances, from Irish dancing and folk to top hit songs performed by localists. Because the festival attracts so many restaurants and people to the area, Alpharetta is one of the fastest growing cities in the South, and has become so diversified and culturally rich in all aspects.


--
Agnes

See Alpharetta, GA on map.
Source of picture: http://atlanta-restaurantblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/taste-of-pretzel.jpg
http://www.alpharetta.ga.us/

Transitioning from the North to the South

I have only been living in the South since arriving at Georgia Tech in the beginning of the school year. I definitely like living in the South and it is a different experience than living in the North. Atlanta is not too different from Baltimore in that they are both well known cities. I am used to the city life but living in the South is still different. Because I don't have my car here yet, I don't believe I have been able to gain the full Southern experience yet. The obvious factors that I have experienced are the Southern food and Southern hospitality. The friendliness and manners of several people in the South are more evident than what I would experience back home. The food is definitely an advantage of attending school in Atlanta. I love traditional Southern food. My friends and many of us are not from the South so we enjoy trying new places. In addition, I have noticed that some fast foods restaurants are cheaper here than they are back home. Another aspect that I like is the beauty of nature. There are so many beautiful beaches that are in the South, like Florida and there is also the countryside of many states down here. In the North, cities are more likely to be visited. People often go visit New York, Philly or Washington D.C. which are all extremely urban areas that are known for what their cities encompass instead of anything dealing with nature.

I would consider living here after college. I am honestly open to wherever my job takes me after I graduate but I wouldn't mind at all living in the South. While Georgia weather is quite bi-polar, I love how much warmer it is here. It also barely snows which is nice. This past winter in Baltimore, they received a foot and a half during one snowstorm and over 50 inches during another. Another reason I would like to live here is because cost of living is much cheaper. Real estate is much cheaper here than it is up north. The South is just a different experience from what I am used to but I really like it and I would love to further explore what the South has to offer.

Below are some pictures from all of the snow we got in Baltimore.

--DaNae