I'd always heard about southern hospitality, and it was something I discovered in Hot Coffee in a really wonderful way. People regularly invited me into their homes for dinner. They were kind, warm, and welcoming.
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The romantic notion I've had of the South is real except for one thing: In the spring and summer it can get unbelievably hot. I was sweating like crazy and completely soaked for most of my weeklong assignment.
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I certainly expected to see Southerners, white and black, in Hot Coffee, but seeing Old Order German Baptists with their straw hats and long white beards was pretty quirky. I had always assumed that was a northern thing. I also found out that German Baptist women have to stay covered from their neck to their feet. So, despite the heat, they always wore full-length dresses and socks. That made me feel bad about complaining about the weather.
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