Acupuncture in the Deep South
I like to say I was born and raised in the South. But the truth is I was born in New York, near Niagara Falls, three miles from the US and Canadian border. I moved to Austin, Texas with my mom and brother when I was 11. When I first got there I saw people with bumper stickers that said “I wasn’t born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could.” Another popular bumper sticker read “Keep Austin Weird.” I figured if I wasn’t born there, the least I could do was head the locals advice. So I did. As weird as a pretty average kid can keep it. And even though I wasn’t born in the Lone Star State, the bulk of my formative years were spent down there, so in my head and in my heart, it will always be a Southerner.
Although I left Texas, and the entire United States behind, I have found myself lucky to have settled in a new Deep South. After graduating from The New Zealand School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine in Auckland, I moved south to Otepoti, Dunedin.
There are many similarities between Austin, Texas and my adopted home of Dunedin. People are proud of where they are from, they smile and wave to strangers, and they look after their neighbours. People have been very welcoming to me and my acupuncture practice is starting to take off.
Even though people down here are very friendly, I have found introducing myself to be a bit difficult. Since I hit puberty and my voiced changed when I lived in Texas, I’m stuck with a little bit of a southern drawl. It usually goes unnoticed, except if I let a y’all slip. The only time it is ever a problem is when I say my name. Collin. Except with my mild Texan accent it sounds a bit like Cawlin. So when I introduce myself as Collin, Kiwi’s look at me slightly confused and repeat Callum? Carl? Ca... huh? Eventually I spell it for them and they say “Oh, you mean Collin, why did you say Cawlin?” And then they usually have a dig at my southern accent. Fair enough.
Aside from the accent issues, I have found the people of Dunedin to be a lively and colourful bunch. My patients range from sheep farmers to homesteaders, to tech entrepreneurs and all types in between. The commonality between all of them and my friends and family back in Texas is that they all love to spin a yarn. This comes in handy in the acupuncture clinic, as their stories help to give me an insight into their lives, and how I can most effectively assist them in reaching their goals. Often this is as simple as relieving pain so that they can go about their daily activities. I guess that makes my clinic no different than most clinics around the world. Except that I likely have more patients leave their muddy gumboots at the door.