As soon as I got off the plane in the airport and met my host family I didn’t have a chance to think twice. 30 minutes after landing, I was eating at Dreamland BBQ. Around that time I would’ve loved to have some type of handbook to know how to act. After spending ten months in Alabama, I might not be able to understand why they do some stuff, but at least I know how to act when they do. So, here’s my “Spanish Girl’s guide to Alabama” with all the stuff that I may not fully understand yet but absolutely love!
The accent struggle is real.
I had heard about the southern accent before but I had never actually heard the accent itself before. Luckily, the younger people in my town didn’t really have a strong accent and they were easy to understand. The real toil was whenever I had a conversation with somebody older… I still remember the first time I heard my host grandpa say “maters” instead of tomatoes, I had a good laugh about it with my host sister later. Once you get used to it it’s really not that bad, and some of the accent will actually start sticking to you, I can say it did me and I looove it (even if I sound like I’m doing a bad cowboy impression).
High school Spirit Week + Pep Rallies.
People really go all out for these events, and they’re actually super fun. I especially loved seeing how everyone dressed up and got into it. If you tried to do something like this in Spain, it just wouldn’t work. Nobody would dress up or even try to have fun, because school isn’t really associated with fun there. And if someone did decide to dress up and try to have fun, they’d probably end up being made fun of. So, if you ever get the chance to experience a Spirit Week or Pep Rally in Alabama, go all out! Trust me, everyone else will be doing the same. If you don’t, you’ll actually be the one standing out (and not in a fun way).
Learn the art of “no ma’am” and “yes sir”.
It doesn’t matter if you’ve known the person you’re talking to forever, it’s a matter of respect. Plus, it’s the way to the older generation’s hearts. Just learn to say it every chance you get and all the older ladies at church will love you.
Everybody waves!
One day I was sitting on the front porch and when a car drove by, the people inside the car were waving at me. I was confused to say the least and thought they maybe had thought I was somebody else. Turns out they were just waving to be nice, like everybody else does in Alabama. So if a friendly stranger ever waves at you in Alabama, just smile and wave back!
Learning about hunting.
Turns out people really are into hunting, and it’s not only a grownup thing, (especially) teen boys will skip school to go deer hunting during the season. They’ll usually wake up while the sun’s still down and they will stand in their hunting stands for hours before they get a chance to shoot a deer. Even though the deer hunting season is only about 4 months of the year, it takes some dedication all year round, like setting cameras up or setting corn out for the deer during the off season. So, my advice, don’t freak out whenever somebody first shows you a picture of them holding a dead buck by the antlers on a truck bed. Just smile and congratulate them because it’s usually a big deal.
People will ask “how are you?” and sometimes not really mean it.
In Alabama, saying “how are you?” is really just a polite way of saying hi. Most of the time, people don’t actually expect a full answer. What I did was just learn to automatically say “good, how are you?” with a smile every time someone asked me, and honestly, it worked perfectly!
Drive through EVERYTHING.
If somebody had told me about this before, I would’ve thought they were talking about there being a bunch of fast food drive throughs, which is true, but that’s not where it ends. I wish somebody would’ve taken a picture of my face when I first had to use the drive through ATM, or whenever I was waiting in line at the pharmacy drive through. So, yeah, just get ready to stick your head out the car window for a bunch of stuff I guess.
Wearing school merch.
In Spain, having to wear a tshirt with your school’s logo is basically the worst thing that can happen to you. Usually, it’s just your gym uniform (the same one you’ve had since 3rd grade), so it’s definitely not cute and probably doesn’t even fit anymore. Meanwhile, in Alabama, high school merch is actually so cool. Everyone wears it proudly, and it feels more like a badge of school spirit than a punishment. I tried to collect as much as I could before I left, and I love wearing it now!
Prepare for small talk EVERYWHERE.
This is actually one of my favorite things. At first, it felt awkward, but as you learn how to make small talk, it’s actually pretty wholesome. You’ll find yourself having a full on conversation with a lady waiting to pay at the Walmart check out and it will leave your heart feeling so full! My recommendations for southern small talk: keep a smile on your face, be respectful, and don’t overthink it; compliment someone’s clothes, talk about the weather, and before you know it, you’ll feel like you’ve known each other forever!
Line dancing.
I’m not a good dancer, and after being in Alabama for a couple months I really thought I had successfully avoided line dancing. Until I got invited to a winter formal. After dinner, when I least expected it, all my friends stood up, went to the dance floor, got into lines and started line dancing perfectly. There was a different dance for every song, and somehow everybody knew every single move. So, what did I do? I took my heels off (which were 4 sizes too big btw) and started copying everybody as best as I could. To be honest, you can get the flow of it pretty easily and it was fun (I sure hope nobody got it on video tho). So, my advice? If you find yourself in a line dancing situation, just go for it. It’s fun and honestly, everybody’s too busy trying not to mess up their own steps to care about what you’re doing.
So, my final advice, if you ever find yourself in Alabama, don’t stress too much about the accent, or the line dancing. Just smile, say “y’all” (or try to) and be willing to try new things. Who knows? You might end up loving it as much as I did!
🤝🩷🌻
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