I have to say the southern US fascinates the hell out of me. I went to a conference in North Carolina and if the women at the check in didn't ask "how did a fine Canadian boy like you get graced with the name Travis William". First time ever my first and middle name got hyphenated. My response "My father loves football and my Mother was a tad upwardly mobile." It has always interested me that my mother's reference for English gentry was the South.
After four days in North Carolina the closest thing in my mental associative rolodex was South Africa. I could not help the association: there seemed to be a colour bar at work in the social division of labour. It was kind of comedic to me. Although no one else seemed to find it funny nor did they appreciate the obvious being pointed out.
Outside of this superficial experience the South is just an x on my radar. Next summer I am going to take a road trip to the Southern US and see if I can begin to peel that mental onion.
Travis William