South of the Border.

This past weekend I visited UNC. I got to see quite a few friends, and I spent time with the American Studies and Folklore department meeting students and learning about the Folklore MA program that I will begin in August. On the road between Charleston and Chapel Hill is South of the Border, a "destination," gas station, and confusing interstate exit.

I didn't remember having ever stopped here, so I was excited to see what exactly this place as. I have since learned that as I child I begged my parents to stop here on our many trips from Virginia to Florida, but I have no memory of that. 

I knew that the stop included a statue (or really quite a few statues) of Pedro - a caricature of a man from Mexico. I did not expect just how embellished the stop was with stereotypical depictions of Mexican culture. In addition to the images at the stop, the interstate features billboards for miles advertising South of the Border. One of them stated simply SHALOM and had Pedro waving. I was riding with a friend who works for the Hillel at the College of Charleston. We found the billboard both confusing and amusing in its odd conflation of cultural references. 

And if you are wondering, #sobPedro is a refernece to South of the Border. Pedro is not crying.

The South Carolina Palmetto.

The South Carolina state flag features the palmetto tree and a crescent moon, but Charleston is the only place in the state where the palmetto grows. I have a complicated relationship with the palmetto. On one hand I like it because it is such a vacation-beach tree. On the other, I am not a big fan because I cannot understand that any season besides summer could exist in a location with palmettos. While Charleston is generally quite warm and I will argue did not have an autumn, it did have a winter. Palmetto trees covered in ice and snow are just confusing.

I was relatively sure that I remembered the significance of the palmetto, but I looked it up just to make sure. The walls of Fort Moultrie - a nearby fort on Sullivan's Island - were built of palmetto trees. During the Revolution, British cannons seemed to just bounce off of the rubbery palmettos, helping protect the Charleston area. The flag was later designed by war hero William Moultrie, and it pays homage to the tree that defended the land. 

On most days, I enjoy seeing palmetto trees scattered around downtown, along the battery, and randomly growing in my suburban neighborhood (like this one). They remind me that I am in Charleston and in the South. It just needs to be hot for me to fully accept their presence. But I will probably regret saying that in a few weeks time.