Within just a few days after my arrival at Penn State, I realized that no one on my floor seemed to be anything like me. I did not think Pennsylvania would be that different from New Jersey, but I was proven wrong. Thankfully, I met one of my closest friends outside of my hall, who happened to live a few doors down and came from an area near my hometown. The first time we talked, we were laughing at the guys outside our dorm dressed in head-to-toe camo talking with a country sounding accent. We share the same frustrations with slow drivers, people thinking we are from the Jersey Shore, and then having to explain the North and South Jersey line. Here are six things that you get, that no one will ever completely understand out of state:
1. Understanding Me: You seem to get all of my references and lingo, making that one less person I have to explain what I am saying to. You also fully understand and interpret correctly my RBF and my attitude.
2. Knowing I do not have the accent, but everyone else does: People impersonate us like we are from either Philly or this awful combination of the Boston and NYC accent. Also being a little confused at times with me of the Pittsburgh accent.
3. Having a passion for food: This seems to be the key to win our hearts, literally. Every time we hang out at school or at home, food was present too.
4. Knowing good pizza and bagels: New Jersey's best kept secret. No matter how many places we have tried at State College, no place seems to hit home. I remember stuffing our faces on New Year's Eve with pizza before being deprived of it once again. (I guess you could not get enough of it, since you ate it for breakfast the next day).
5. DINERS: The appreciation for them is not recognized until you realize there are no authentic diners outside NJ. When we came home, it was one the first places we decided to hang out because we missed it too much.
6. Hating overly friendly people: When a stranger comes up to you and feels the need to start a conversation. For some reason we were not programmed to handle this situation without feeling a little awkward.
Just remember, you can take the girl out of Jersey, but you can't take the Jersey out of the girl.
