18 Things I've Learned as a Chicagoan in Wisconsin
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18 Things I've Learned as a Chicagoan in Wisconsin

What an average Chicagoland kid thinks of the differences between states.

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18 Things I've Learned as a Chicagoan in Wisconsin
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1.) Any word that ends with "-ag" is a struggle.

This includes the words bag, tag, flag, stag, swag, etc. This has been such a hassle because in Chicago, we pronounce bag, "b-ah-g" with a long "a" sound like saying "sad". In Wisconsin, they pronounce it "b-eh-g" with an "e" sound, like saying a dog "begs" for food. Every time I go to Walmart, I have to restrain myself from attempting to correct their pronunciation because here in Wisconsin, I am the minority.

2.) "The Bubbler" is a thing.

Yes, people of Chicago, they call water fountains "bubblers". You may be asking yourself, "Do the water fountains there bubble?". The answer to that is in fact no, no they do not. I've noticed that it tends to be more of a Milwaukee-area thing. How did this name even come about? That is my real question It is a water fountain. Maybe even a drinking fountain. Thank you.

3.) Culver's Cheese Curds are not the real deal.

These fantastic fried delicacies are not the legit Wisconsin cheese curds. The genuine kind of curds squeak with every chew, like new gym shoes on a basketball court (this is probably the best analogy to what it actually sounds like in your mouth). Although I do love me some Culver's curds, there are so many other options that people don't know about!

4.) We are VERY aggressive drivers compared to Wisconsinites.

In Wisconsin, there are so many polite drivers. Drivers here are so easy-going, that what I would interpret as being "cut off", they would interpret it as simply changing lanes. If I actually drove around up here I wouldn't be nearly as forgiving. Even as a backseat driver, I find myself screaming at the smallest things and use some colorful language that I didn't even know was in my vocabulary.

5.) The store Carson Pirie Scott is called The Boston Store.

This to me is just unacceptable. It is the exact same store but with a different name. Why can't they just all be Carson's? It's so much easier to say than "The Boston Store". That is just way too long of a title. The thing that really gets me with this is that we're not in Boston, nor does this store sell specialized products from the city of Boston.

6.) People in Wisconsin are SO nice.

All I want is someone to yell at me because people are just too nice. It seems that everyone here genuinely enjoys their jobs and never has a single bad day. It's unbelievable how polite and sincere almost every worker at almost every store is and I wish this was true about places in Chicago. You can have a full blown, friendly conversations with random people and there would be nothing strange about it; it's completely normal. As opposed to Chicago, where everyone would think you're crazy.

7.) "America's Dairyland" is an understatement.

They have a literal festival for cheese and beer called "Cheese Days". They sell legit cheese, the unprocessed kind, at gas stations. There are so many cows and an abundance of dairy products. Almost everywhere you turn there are cows in fields, pastures, and everything in between. It's so interesting to see how many people rely on cows to provide for their families.

8.) You will not be able to pronounce half of the town names.

Oconomowoc. Just try it. Prairie du Chein. That's most likely incorrect. Ixonia. Good luck. Weyauwega. Oh boy. Manitowoc. They just keep getting worse and worse. You can even make a game out of it. The fun part of the game is just watching us outsiders absolutely butcher the names (AKA me). All I want to see is someone who hasn't heard of any of these names, pronounce them all perfectly

9.) Not only are the town names hard to pronounce, there are some names that are too outrageous to be true (but they are).

Footville, Pardeeville, Embarrass, Random Lake, Fence, and Disco, to name a few.

10.) It is not uncommon for you to know someone that lives on a farm.

Some people I would have never pegged as coming from a farming family actually do come from these kinds of families. Hearing the history behind these farms, I learned that the land has been in the family for generations.

11.) "Drive Your Tractor To School Day" is also a thing.

When I first heard about this I could not stop laughing. It was by far the oddest thing I've ever heard of in my life, and I thought my friends were pulling my leg because it's so far out.

12.) The rivalry between the Bears and the Packers is a very dangerous one.

I would not be surprised to hear about someone wearing a Bears jersey being burned at the stake. The best analogy I can come up for this is the rivalry between two famous soccer teams in Spain, Barcelona and Real Madrid. It basically makes or breaks friendships.

13.) You can actually see stars.

This one is hard to understand because you can still see stars in Chicago, but in Wisconsin, you can see almost every single star in the sky. In the city, you can see the major constellations without fail, but the light pollution blocks out so many more stars in the sky. It's actually quite beautiful.

14.) Hunting Season can get you out of school.

This makes me wish that I grew up with a hunting season because I would have been called out of school SO fast. You could even say... faster than a bullet (buh-dum-tss).

15.) You can walk into any restaurant on a Friday to find a Friday Fish Fry.

This is great if you love fish because it's undoubtedly fresh and it should have been caught fairly local. The one thing you can bet on is that if it's from the right place, that fish is gonna be tasty.

16.) They tailgate for EVERY event.

It's unfortunate that we can't do this in Chicago (except at Soldier Field) because there are no parking lots in Chicago. When you go to a Cubs game, you either have to park in an alley or street side. In Wisconsin, you can tailgate for a Brewers game, a Packers game, and I wouldn't be surprised if they tailgate for weddings here.

17.) People in Wisconsin may not know where people in their own state are from.

If you're from the Chicagoland area and someone tells you where they live, odds are you know where they're from because of how clustered the towns are. Wisconsin towns are very sparse, so it's not easy to recognize every name you hear.

18.)There is beer everywhere.

The town of New Glarus, WI (if you can't pronounce this see number 8) has it's own brewery and is actually very successful. If you're friendly with your neighbors, 21 or older (yes they'll card you) and it's Halloween, you can "trick-or-treat" for beer. I'm honestly surprised they haven't invented a beer drinking fountain to replace regular water fountains (or "bubblers" if you'd prefer).

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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