Maybe it was Memphis

 Having international friends is both a blessing and a curse.  It's a blessing because I think it's important to have people in my life who come from different backgrounds and have a different perspective than I do.  I think all my friends enrich my life in some way and my international friends are no exception.  The curse comes because I don't get to see them often, so I feel like I have parts of my heart literally scattered all across the darn world.  Going to visit gets expensive fast.  That being said, sometimes life aligns and things work out and I can actually see them, if only for a few hours.

That happened last week.  My friend J from Korea (you all remember J - she's the one who forces me to go OUT and DO things) had a stop-over in Memphis on her way to a new adventure.  Being that she was a mere 8 hour drive away, it was a no-brainer for me to take a day off to go spend some time with her.  As is the mark of a true friendship, once we were together it was as if no time had passed at all.  

So she was actually in this small suburb of Memphis, and I decided to kill some time at a coffee shop that I had googled.  It's called Pink's Coffee Shop.

As you can see, it lived up to it's name.

The drinks you could get either hot or cold.  I got an iced turtle coffee (light ice) and decided to have a breakfast sammich as well.

Waiting on my food and enjoying that my leggings matched the decor.

I like these kinds of paintings, and I did end up purchasing one for myself.

Cheeky bathroom sign.

I thought it was cute that they also give you a tiny bowl of cereal when you get a bfast sammich.

So. Much. Pink.

Then I went down the street to a cute little bakery.  Since I was meeting J, I wanted to get her something "aggressively American" and decided to get her the cookie that was made of 2 chocolate chip cookies with filling in the middle.  I also got her a snickerdoodle since those are my favorites and I didn't think she had had one before.

So after this, I checked into my hotel room and relaxed until it was time to go pick her up.  Not pictured: the reunion, and the trip to Wal-Mart so she could get cash.  Also, Wal-Mart is about as typically American as you can get, so she needed a pic of it.

Then we went to Central BBQ on the recommendation of the ladies at the coffee shop.

Very Southern BBQ.

The plate was as big as she is!  We had a lovely dinner (I got the pulled pork, the ribs were CRAZY expensive for a half-rack), then realized that we were across the street from the National Civil Rights Museum, which is built as an addition to the motel where MLK Jr was assassinated.

We had to take a picture of such a historic site.

A mural across the street from the museum.  We couldn't go in, because of course at this point the museum was closed for the day.

The sign for the hotel.

Then she wanted to go to Beale Street.  I was less excited about this, because the ladies at the coffee shop told me it was touristy and smelled bad.  This argument was beaten by J reminding me that she's a tourist and she also has issues smelling.  So, down to Beale street we went (reminded me a LOT of Burbon street, but it wasn't too busy at 630 on a Thursday.

We walked down and decided to get a drink at Ghost River.

The guy who poured my beer was CUTE.  This is their Heliades' Tears beer.  I was going to get the Bock Bock Chicken Chicken which was a doublebock, but I forgot by the time I got to the counter.

I love their logo.

And their window painting game is STRONG.

We started to leave as the sun went down and the neon came on.

We still CUUUUTE

J is a butterfly!

Legends have their own notes on the sidewalk.  (feet pictured are J, not me... as I'm sure you can tell due to lack of tattoos)

Took us FOREVER and Google to remember who it was who sold their soul at the crossroads for the blues and the ENTIRE rest of the time all I could think of was the Metalocolypse episode where they try to sell their souls but instead TEAR the wording of the contract APART... and we find out that Murderface is a notary.  LOL - love that show.

This was the first time that J has ever driven with me in a car.  For those of you who don't know, Australia is one of the few countries that drive on the WRONG side of the road (the left) which means our passenger side is their driver's side.  So poor J had to deal with the weirdness that comes from being on a side of the road that you aren't used to.  Now, J does not have an Aussie accent, even though she lives there.  Her dad is British, so she has one of the most POSH British accents I've ever heard in my life.  Because of this, I sometimes forget that she's never actually lived in the UK.  The following is a reconstruction of one of the most hilarious misunderstandings we've ever had.

J: What is the speed limit?  Me: It's 55.  J: Then why is no one going 55?!  Me: Well, we usually regard speed limits as being guidelines rather than actual rules.  Since no one is going 55, I'm keeping up with traffic at 70.  J: And the cops don't do anything?  Me: If there was someone around actually GOING 55 and being a hazard to traffic, then maybe they would, but if everyone is speeding they don't really do anything.  J: Oh wow, in Perth everyone is careful to obey the speed limit.  But why is the speed limit 55 on a highway?  I mean, everyone should be CRAWLING along, it doesn't make any sense!  In Perth it would be at least 100 on a highway! (Cue the lightbulb moment for Mandi as she tries to reconcile a 100 speed limit) Me: It's MILES per hour honey, not kilometers.  J: (realization dawning) OH!  That makes so much more sense!  (Laughter ensues.)  In the UK they still use MPH, so because of her accent I thought she was also thinking in MPH... I mean, 100 would be great but most highways top out at 85 and NO ONE would be doing that thru a city!  

Other moments of hilarity: J being happy to listen to my music as opposed to what she'd been listening to during orientation (huge deal as she's not a huge fan of my metal), and during a discussion of my dating life and comments regarding men having a certain fondness for my sitting area, J admitted that every now and then she thinks of that area and how nice it is.  Not gonna lie, that one had me in stitches for a while.  I mean, it's one thing knowing that men have a fondness for it, it's quite another to think of my sweet, hetero friend also being able to appreciate it.  Of course we have also decided that if the whole men thing doesn't work out, we'll just marry each other and enjoy Aussie/American citizenship.  

All in all, it was a wonderful visit, and it was so lovely to be able to spend some quality time with J in my home country and confirm that yes, there is an American stereotype for a reason (one such stereotype was working at the BBQ place).  I wish her all the best on her new adventure and I look forward to the next time we can conspire to get together again.  Hopefully we'll be able to enjoy a longer visit.  

In other news, my apartment complex is being taken over by a new management company, which is interesting.  Apparently I can now pay my rent with a check, which will be nice since I've had to pay a fee every OTHER time I've gone to pay.  Maybe now I'll get some closet doors... stay tuned.