Although Wisconsin is directly above Illinois and they are very close to each other, there are some major differences that I have discovered ever since I started attending school in Wisconsin. Here are 5 of them.

1. The way Wisconsinites say the word "bag".

Whether it's bag, tag, flag, or drag, people who have lived in Wisconsin their whole lives say these words completely different. Excuse me, what the hell is a "bay-g?" I'm pretty sure you pronounce it with the same vowel as "mad" or "bad". Just hearing people say it differently than I do makes me cringe. I mean, these people are from one state above, why do you sound like you come from the South?

2. The bubbler vs. drinking fountain debate.

Never have I ever heard of the term "bubbler" until I arrived to school. Apparently, Wisconsin is the only state that uses this term. This term derived because it was the name of the first fountain and it tended to bubble. But it doesn't even bubble, and I'm sure all my fellas from Illinois agree with me. It's a fountain that you drink from, therefore, it's called a drinking fountain. End of discussion.

3. The Packers fans.

I haven't seen any Chicago Bears gear in a long time because Wisconsin is Packers City, USA. Everywhere you look, there is at least a group of people wearing anything from Packers jerseys to Packers hats. I'm now used to all of the Packers craze because I have been going to school here for about 6 months already. Who are the Bears again? (According to Wisconsinites, they suck, anyway.)

4. All the weird town names.

It's a huge difference when you're used to living in the Illinois North Shore suburbs, with names such as Northbrook, Highland Park, and Glenview, to Wisconsin where you hear of names such as Waukesha, Oconomowoc, and Manitowoc. What even? How do you even pronounce these? I'm pretty sure most people from Illinois would pronounce these wrong anyway (fun fact: I learned how to correctly pronounce Waukesha not even 2 years ago).

5. People here literally living off of Culver's.

Illinois definitely has Culver's as well, but not as many as Wisconsin. After all, Wisconsin is known for cheese, and cheese curds as well. At home, it would be very rare that I'd eat at Culver's, as my parents always liked to cook rather than east fast food. But now that I go to school in Wisconsin, and there's a Culver's right in my college town, I am there a little more often than I was at home. Now I can see why everyone from Wisconsin is obsessed (best fries ever).

I may spend most of my time in Wisconsin, but Illinois will always be my home (and I'll continue to say "bag").