You never know which one you're gonna get

Greetings from the Deep South, where your correspondent has been having an unusual amount of fun, and has seen fistfuls of universities. Last time I wrote I believe I was in Louisiana, famous for seafood, corrupt politicians and jazz music. The person that I had thought would be hosting me wasn’t answering their phone, so through a weird series of links I ended up on the futon of the couchsurfing queens of New Orleans, Robin and her sister Lisa, to whom I am eternally grateful for taking me at the last moment.

They had some pretty cool stories about the millions of couchsurfers who had passed their way, and also of Hurricane Katrina. They also introduced me to some awesome local food, including the amazing novelty of crawfish – mini lobsters that require skill and practice to eat, but taste delicious. I explored the French Quarter at length, including classic conversations with disenfranchised musicians and watching incredible buskers by the river. The river, by the way, none other than the Mississippi itself, is a terrifying, swirling mass of evil-looking water, which lurks in a gargantuan expanse across the city, just waiting for the tiniest excuse to burst the totally inadequate-looking banks. Whoever decided to build a city next to that thing, 20 feet below sea-level, had had one mint julip too many.

Also in New Orleans I had a look at Tulane University, a really fun looking place to study right on the mansion-lined St Charles St.

Leaving such a fun city after only two days was tough, but I was very excited about my destination, so I was actually quite happy to turn up the Lynyrd Skynyrd and head into…Alabama! Specifically, my destination was Mobile (pronounced Mo-beel), site of a key Northern naval victory in the civil war, and the only city in the country to have been owned at various times by six different empires – the French, the Spanish, the British, the original thirteen colonies, the Confederacy and the USA.

Alabama was everything I hoped it would be and more. The town was so beautiful, especially the “sweet homes” built of wood complete with pillars, porches and “shotgun style” design, meaning the rooms are arranged in such a way that breezes, or alternatively a shotgun pellet, can pass through the entire house. The weather was warm and balmy, but not yet roasting. Delightful little squares and churches were dotted round the spacious tree-lined streets. Cool art galleries and coffee-shops had happy looking customers. People greeted you warmly on the pavement.

I was staying with Fuzzy, who was really nice and accommodating, and her house-mate Alicia. They took me to an awesome party where I met the assembled youth of Mobile, as fun a bunch as you could hope for. There were various local heavy-rock bands playing, a change from the mountains of (mostly British) classic-rock that I’d been hearing on radios and in shops. There were more yummy crawfish to be eaten, though apparently I missed the deer sausage. Actually my expectations of Mobile had been skewed by this video (entertainmentfans.com/16) that the folks in New Orleans had showed me, but fortunately magical Irish creatures were notable for their absence.

By the end of my scarcely-more-than-24-hours in Alabama I was deeply in love with the South and everyone I met there. But there were more places to see and people to meet, so it was on to the fine state of Florida, specifically the state capital, Tallahassee, which in my opinion has to be the coolest name for a town in the country. It wasn’t the biggest or most jaw-dropping city I’d been too, but I did enjoy myself with my supercool host Mckensie and her awesome friends. We went to eighties dance parties, very local folk concerts, interesting vegan coffee shops slash alternative culture centres of a kind that I hadn’t seen since Seattle, and also a horror movie which was…interesting.

Thence to Gainesville, another small college town, home of the University of Florida, which like Florida State University in Tallahassee is a huge public school with over 50,000 students. The University of Florida was also where they invented Gatorade, so named because the college sports teams are called the Gators. There was even a lake on campus which apparently has lots of reptilian monsters in it but I didn’t see any. I stayed with a really nice geography teacher, Nick, who was very hospitable and fun to talk to, though Gainesville isn’t the most “happening” place on the planet.

Luckily I’ve still got a few more days in the South. Next stop is Georgia, back on the Gone With The Wind trail. I’m expecting red soil and cotton fields, and preferably some belles wearing ball-gowns. Until next time, just remember that liiife is liiike a booohx of chooohc-laaahts.