Third Day in VA

May 2, 1730

Map of Virginia

           Today was a great day. I went along with Seth as he went to school, and I actually saw some similarities between his school and mine. My school stresses the importance of individuals reading the bible, and having the goal in mind of making good Christians rather than good citizens. His school focused on teaching religion too, but it was more loosely enforced. For example, back home, if a student misbehaved, a teacher might cut them with a branch of a tree. In Seth's school though, a lot of kids got away with talking and sometimes straying off topic. It was a nice change from the stringent laws of my school. A huge thing I noticed in his school was the different types of people. In Massachusetts, there is not that much ethnic diversity. There aren't any black slaves there because there are small farms, not big plantations. Here in Virginia, I'm noticing a lot more black inhabitants. Also, Seth said that there are some French folk along the western border of Virginia, some Scots-Irish in the northwest and southwest corners, and some Germans and Swiss around the Potomac River. Its so exciting seeing all these new ethnic groups! I'm have so much to tell everyone back home!