Living in the Bible Belt

Admittedly, there have been fewer major differences between living in Knoxville and San Diego than I pictured (the majority of people here drive cars, and not tractors, down the street... despite what I had imagined).

Some of the more foreign feeling things have come from the fact that this is the Bible Belt. It's strange... it's not so much that all of the people here are church-goers. A larger percentage of the population than I had expected do not go to church. It is more that the culture is different.

- You know how many Spanish radio stations there are in Southern California, on both AM and FM? Well, it's like that here with Christian radio stations. It seems like every other address is gospel music, modern Christian music, Bible verses, sermons, etc etc.

- At the UT football game... they prayed before the game. It was part of the opening ceremonies, just like the anthem. It wasn't a super generic prayer either; it was a pretty Christian specific prayer.

- Grocery stores and convenience stores don't sell liquor, only beer. You have to go to a liquor store for spirits. And... they're not open on Sundays. Hmph. Margarita Sunday was thwarted.

- There is a mile stretch on the main road through town, and I think at least 3/4 of the buildings are churches. There are SO MANY CHURCHES in Knoxville. Seriously. I can probably think of 4 times as many churches in Knoxville than Encinitas. I don't know who is going to all of these churches, but there they are. Mainly Baptist and Methodist... I can't think of a Baptist church in SoCal.