Tomorrow morning I fly out to Miami where we will then go on to drive up for Fort Lauderdale and spend the night in a hotel. The following day we board the Liberty of the Seas to spend 12 days at sea crossing over to Spain.
In my short time in Charlotte, North Carolina, I’ve observed a few things.
Fashion is very….conservative. I spent a good two days walking around malls and looking in different shops. Most of the items we saw were block colours, with only a few having prints or patterns on them. In Australia a lot of clothing stores have interesting t-shirts and tank tops. Bright patterns and prints across a lot of them. I found myself feeling a bit lost as I walked around trying to find something I was would usually buy.
Shop Assistants and general workers are always so happy and smiley. It’s a bit eery. Just thinking about standing in a store and folding clothes for hours on end makes me feel a bit cranky, but whenever I go somewhere, everyone is so happy and upbeat. I suppose that’s what they get paid for, but I can’t imagine anyone staying that happy all day.
The houses are massive around here. I’m accustom to seeing small houses that sit close to the kerb and are practically piled on top of each other. Here, the driveways are these long curving paths that cut through the perfectly manicured green lawns. Each house of course comes with the standard flowery shrubs under the windows, tall trees that match the neighbours, and window shutters that don’t work as window shutters. The doors are all bigger than needed and sitting in grand archways. Windows all looking roughly the same, varying in colour, and generally sitting in the same spots on the front of each house.
I have a theory that everyone is trying to make their house more grand and distinct than their neighbours but also trying to fit in with everyone else and not stand out too much. To conform.
Mailmen. I can’t tell if it’s genius or laziness. Probably a mixture of both. All the mail boxes are sitting up on the kerb alongside the driveways so it is accessible by road. The mailmen drive up in their trucks, simply lean out where the door would normally sit, and deliver the mail without having to get out of their seats. Lazy, but genius.
One thing that I was hoping would be different were the accents. It varies from person to person, but everyone pretty much sounds regular. Given the slight drawl and excruciatingly executed words, I didn’t have any trouble understanding anyone.
Next stop Miami and Fort Lauderdale. And then a ship.
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