Good Ole Southern Soil : Part I

(From 1/29/14)

I apparently wasn't being honest when I said that my next blog would be written from India; but I'm almost as giddy to be able to share with you from the good ole Southern soil! ;) If you know me at all you most likely know that I am a lover of the South. I do not care what part of the South I am in; but if you put me in the South I am one happy girl! :)

In the past few days I have been to two Southern states that I had yet to step foot on: North Carolina & Georgia. A bit more has happened during the past 4 days as well, so I should probably start from the beginning...

Fore-warning, I have a feeling this is going to be just a bit scattered.
I warned you. ;)

Wednesday I left home to head to the Dayton Airport to begin my journey to North Carolina. This was my first time traveling alone, my first time flying, & my first time being away from home for so long (6months.) You can imagine the possible frantic state I could have been in; but to be honest, the only thing I was nervous about was learning how to navigate the airports - I was the person nervous that they would accuse me of having some sort of thing in my bag that wasn't really there at all & have to be searched - fortunately I worried for nothing. ;) I made my way through the Check In, went through security (which went a lot smoother than I had expected), found my gate & then had a good hour wait. That hour wait turned into two hours, but for someone who likes to people watch as much as I do, that flight delay from Dayton to Charlotte was heaven on earth. ;)

It can be interesting, the people that you meet, no matter where you are or what you are doing. I took my aisle seat on the plane & watched as everyone passed me by, I began to think that I was sitting alone when a young looking gentleman walked up to me & said, "I believe I'm sitting next to you Miss." I glanced at his name tag which read "Matthew Shultz: Pilot." I informed him that it was my first time flying & as we took off he looked over at me & said, "Are you sure it's your first time flying? Most people are clenching their seats, you look like you're at complete ease." My Mama has been telling me lately that I do a really good job at not showing fear or stress - apparently she may have been on to something! ;) But to be honest, I didn't only look to be at ease, I felt completely at ease flying in that plane. I was calm, I was at peace. :)

Pilot Matthew and I talked the entire flight, which was only 2 hours, but it felt good being able to share with him & learning about him as well. As we talked I learned that we live just 40minutes apart from each other, this young looking gentleman has been married for 11 years & has 3 adorable sons (who he was kind enough to show me pictures of.) He asked me where I was headed & I, of course, didn't hesitate to tell him that I was flying down to Georgia & would soon be going to Paris & India - which led into an amazing conversation about the Dalit people of India (which he knew about) & modern-day slavery. Before we knew it our flight was ending & I was repeatedly thanking him for being so kind; but by surprise he looked over at me & said, "There's no need for you to thank me, you have a gentle spirit - it was easy to get along with you. And, I need to thank you...Thank you for doing what you're doing in India, most people wouldn't do something like that, especially at your age. I'm impressed, I may not know you, but I'm proud of you." In response to that all I did was say, "Thank you, but no, there's no reason to be proud or impressed with me - all I am doing is what I feel has been on my heart to do. All I am doing is what I believe is God's will for me."

From there he helped me off the plane (I had gotten somewhat light-headed) & helped me navigate my way through the Charlotte, NC Airport to find the baggage claim. Our 3 hours together ended with a photo of Matthew, my constant repeat of "thank you" & a hug.

I was supposed to have a connecting flight from Charlotte to Atlanta - but that connecting flight was cancelled due to the fact that the South struggles with knowing how to handle snow & ice. ;) It's okay, I am not dissing you, you hospitable Southerners - because that very incident left me with several family members & old friends willing to let me to stay with them. I ended up staying with an old family friend, Tasha, who I probably haven't seen since my single-digit years! ;)

I spent Wednesday evening in Charlotte, NC, aside from driving through it - it was my first time to that state! From what I had seen, it was beautiful. I spent that evening with Tasha & her boyfriend Albert, who I am happy to say once played in the Minor Leagues! ... Which, incase you didn't know, is a huge deal for a Baseball fan like myself. Spending time with them talking about our individual past, present & future while eating Mexican food & watching our choice of television shows was a good way to spend the night. I believe that I thanked them well over 100 times for allowing me to be a part of their evening & for being as kind-hearted as they were! :)

I felt that the South was treating me well already...
This had all happened within 1 day and I hadn't even made my way into the state of Georgia.

Teresa :)