u/Admirable-Meet-8348

Hey y'all!

I am from East TN and getting ready to move to Antwerp, Belgium. I feel like I don't see a lot of southerners- specifically Appalachians- making this move, and I would love to here from some Southern/Appalachian Expats on what your biggest culture shocks were and what you miss. Trying to prepare myself, but I have lived in Appalachia my whole life, so I am not sure what to expect to be the most shocking...

I am an international student planning on moving to Belgium in the next few months. Throughout the process of moving international, I have noticed that Belgians are not into responding to email quickly. Is this just my experience, or is this a cultural thing?

EDIT:

I want to reiterate that I am not trying to be disrespectful. In the work culture that I am around, email is checked religiously, and, quite frankly I feel that is a bit toxic. I know that different areas have prefered communication styles; calling, texting, in-person, email, etc. and I just want to match my future communications to the style of the place that I am moving to 😄

But, as I said initially, this could just be a 'me' experience, and not at all a work culture thing!

My mother grew up very poor in Memphis in the 90s. Her family was Catholic, and she always felt very closed in as a child. She was recently telling me about this one bookstore that she visited as a tween that opened up her mind to all the possibilities of life with their unique, extensive collection, radical posters, and provided a safe space for women and queer folks.

She told me this bookstore was in midtown Memphis and she first went there in 1996. I am not from Memphis, does anyone have any clues as to what this store was? She doesn't remember the name; I just want to see the place that helped my Mom see some light.