Although I spent part of my childhood in Metro Atlanta, I primarily grew up in the northeastern region of rural Georgia.  My area of residence can be described as both rural and suburban. The lives of people follow such an established routine that the time of day can be guessed from seeing who is walking down the street, porches are a prerequisite to building a house, and dogs are not owned solely by families but by the entire neighborhood. Sprawling fields occupied only by grazing cows and occasional bales of hay are commonplace.  The extremely warm lazy days are followed by cool idle nights.  All of these factors as well as the people of my town were somewhat overwhelming during my first week in my new home. Though it took time, I eventually became acquainted with both the positive and negative aspects of living in rural Georgia.

Living in the country is an experience like no other.   There is a deep sense of community and the hospitality of the people can be at times unbelievable. In addition to this, there are unwritten laws that are not explained but merely maintained by generations of residents.  It was in the city of Elberton, where I attended high school that I first came in contact with these laws.  For instance I discovered that everyone over a certain age expected to be addressed as either ma’am or sir, passing by someone without saying hello was considered to be rude, and the majority of my classmates were somehow related.  In addition to this, I came to expect certain occurrences, such as every conversation with an adult beginning with “Who is your mother”, and having people be astonished by the fact that I was born in a different country.  The dialect of northeast Georgia became less of a foreign language to me as I learned and eventually mastered the lingo of my high school town.  My confusion over being handed the wrong type of soda after asking for coke ceased to exist as I realized that the term “coca-cola” referred to all carbonated drinks.   I also caught onto the fact that being asked to “set a while” involved a chair, and acting “funny” was not a good characteristic.

Perhaps one of the most defining characteristics of northeast Georgia is the general love of football.  On Friday nights in Elberton, a visitor might believe the town to be deserted.  In truth, the residents congregate in the Granite Bowl, a stadium made entirely of granite where high-school football games take place. It is here that the bond shared by the people of Elberton is obvious; however, the racial division within the town is also apparent.  Though it is not enforced by any means, black families always sit on the left of the home side and white families on the right, with the band serving as the color line.  Only in a small middle section, where my family and others could be found, did both groups submerge.  Although there is no serious animosity between both races, this invisible line permeates the town, from the schools to the neighborhoods. 

Growing up in rural Georgia fostered in me a love of community, family, and oddly enough high-school football.  While I always longed for the diversity present in my old home, I learned to recognize the differences in people however subtle they may be, and treasure the lessons delivered to me throughout my childhood.

Wanjiku "Ciku" Mwangi