Mobile, Day 2

Today was an interesting day. It started off very positively in that I got more than 6 hours of sleep for the first time in over a week. Add to that a breakfast of cereal (which I don't eat often, but absolutely love), coffee and a fresh peach and things were looking bright indeed!

Evan and I shot over to Way of Life church. There we met Steve and J.D. (who is the bishop of the Good News Fellowship of Churches). J.D. introduced us to Thi, who was supposed to be our guide into the Vietnamese community for the week. But circumstances have prevented that from occurring. Instead, to day we we engaged some senior citizens from the Mobile area who meet daily at the church. It was very interesting to speak to them and hear their stories. Some have been in the area their whole lives, but most that I spoke with were transplants. Oddly enough, the conversation turned towards accents, and the folk there said that Evan and I had little to no accents! This either means that the Mobile accent is much less southern than, say, South Carolina or Evan and I have developed accents already. It is most likely the first as I have not noticed much of an accent here, except on certain words (like Mobile or Louisiana).

Interestingly, the perspective of these individuals that I spoke with (who, by their own admission, have little interaction with fisherman or those who make their living in oil) think that the majority of the issues regarding the Gulf oil spill stem from those who aren't actually involved (i.e. Washington). They relate some of this to Washington's perceived under-action during Katrina.

After the Senior center, Pheng took us to see a Laotian grocery store. Pheng spoke with the owners trying to find a good place to eat, while Evan and I sat in the background. We then to a Thai Restaurant, which was amazing food. Evan and I got to spend a lot of time talking with Pheng. we learned about some similarities between his culture in Laos and Thai culture. We also learned about his family and his fiancee, who he has not seen in many months! (An interesting side note, the teen children of both the shop and restaurant owners dressed and spoke like "normal" Americans. How different even one generation can make!!)

OK, I'll need to post more later, as I am nodding off and we have to get up early to be in Gulfport, MS by 7:30am.