Life in the Dub for a Yankee

I am a Yankee, and proud of it! Why am I down here? No clue. At first, it was because I hated cold weather and wanted to be near the beach. Now, I have realized enjoying college and life in general has a lot more to do with culture and social life than temperature and geography. I have been here a little more than a year, and still haven’t figured out why I am not enjoying it fully. It is quite clear that I am different and don’t fit in with the typicals here. I don’t wear Rainbows or carry Coach bags. I don’t skateboard or surf. I didn’t even know who Jimmy Buffet was until I was gasped at by my freshman year room mates. After being introduced, and even going to a Margaritaville, I still don’t see what the craze is about.

Anyways. I thought living in a very diverse place would prepare me for anything, anywhere. Well, Wilmington NC has proven me wrong. I am not used to all the white. I like variety. And that is something that this small town still hasn’t discovered yet. There are two main types of people here. The white folk who smile and greet you even though you are strangers and come off too friendly. And then there are the white folk who are too rich and self-centered to even notice anything that looks different from their own kind.

I don’t want to neglect the Black community here, because there is a small one. They travel in small packs. I have noticed there are two main types of their race too. Blacks who try to act extra black to prove that they are black. And then blacks who try to blend in with the white, taking on the preppy lifestyle.

Don’t get me wrong, there are exceptions to both races. Some are open and free to new things and different colors, but it is a rare sight to see a black and a white walking together.

It seems that everytime I try to come up with the reason why I don’t have one real friend here, it always leads me to think about race. Maybe it is because I am used to mixed groups of people. I mean, look at my main girl crew up north = Albanian, Greek, White, Columbian/Irish, and Jamaican/Asian. I don’t mean to imply that good friendships are based on color of skin, because thats not true. But for some reason, the segregation that is claimed to be non-existent, intimidates me.