Things i like about North Carolina

It's occurred to me that my last two posts about America have been more negative than positive. And i don't want to give the impression that i don't like it here, when i really, really do, so here are some things, in ascending order, that i really like about North Carolina:

The air smells so good. I don't know if that's because it's so clean, or if it's because it's mostly warm and comes up from the south, or just because to the south, east and north of Washington, NC there's a whole bunch of nothing to pollute it. But i've never smelled air like it. It's good.

The sunsets are amazing. Especially on a hot day, especially in the countryside where the air seems bigger. I've never seen such a collision of reds, blues, golds and greys in my life. I could stand and watch them for a very very long time.

Most children live lifestyle here unparalleled anywhere else in the world. People accuse the Bible Belt of being sheltered...well good. It it stops a bunch of sixteen year olds from become another statistic for sexual failure, then sheltering is good. You go to school, you go to football/volleyball/cheerleading practice, come home and do your homework and go to teen group. It's good. I'm not convinced by the school system here (but then i'm not convinced by large parts of the school system in England) but there's no arguing that kids are looked after. If they want to be.

High School sports. This is linked to the last point, but probably deserved one all of it's own. Last night i went to West Craven High to watch the Washington American Football team in the second round of the NC play-offs. We lost. It was like being at the Super Bowl. West Craven High is out in the middle of nowhere between Vanceboro and New Bern. There is literally nothing for miles, and then a huge sports complex with a school next to it. Washington's stadium, team, cheerleaders and marching band are pretty impressive in themselves but these guys were on a different scale. High School sports really mean something in an area where we're six hours drive from the nearest NFL team. College sports are huge in the south, but Friday nights are all about the High School action.

Rachel. Obviously.

My church feels like a home. In a way i'd never expected it to, it really does. Going it to work there every day feels right, this is where i should be. And that means more than everything else put together...