Let's face it-- the Midwest and the East Coast are two very different places filled with very different people. I go to a school where there are very few kids from the Midwest, let alone kids from Chicago. Every once in a while, I get strange questions about Chicago and what it's like. Being at a school where more than half of the people who go there are from some part of New York or Jersey really puts a lot of the spotlight on the few of us from far out of the East Coast. I'm sure if you go to school where many of your friends aren't from or have never been to Chicago, you can relate to this. If not, reading through this article you'll understand just a few of the things that I get asked or get to deal with at school.
No One Understands The Lake
Believe it or not I was asked if I've been to a great lake...
"Can you like swim in the lake?"
Yes, anyone can swim in the lake. It's actually pretty popular in the summer. Crazy right, swimming in fresh water?
"I heard the Great Lakes are pretty awesome. Have you ever been to one?"
I'm not even gonna answer that.
"So can you like swim to like cross it for fun?"
Yeah, if you don't mind dying. Sure.
St. Patricks Day is Not as Exciting
It's strange to people that we dye our river green for Saint Patricks Day. Here, people barely celebrate St. Pats, and some people aren't even Irish. Also, no one here knows what Green River Soda is...smh.
People Have No Idea How Bad Chicago's Winters Are
"The winters here are brutal, we get tons of snow and its freezing! Good luck surviving it."
I don't think you have any idea where I've spent the last 18 winters of my life. I practically lived in the Tundra.
"What's Portillo's?"
Imagine a world where no one has ever had or heard of Buff Joes, Mustard's Last Stand, Portillo's, Sarkis, or Homer's. Although these are mostly from the suburbs outside of Chicago, they're pretty well known. But here, no one knows what I'm talking about when I say I want to go get some wings from Buff Joes or cheesy fries from Homer's.
The only food that I can say and actually have people understand me is Deep Dish Pizza. It's not even that good and it's practically lasagna.
But, being in New York I have to give them the fact that they do know what they're doing with their food. It's pretty good.
The Phrases
Sometimes I'll be having a conversation and not really know where some of these phrases come from. For example, I was having a conversation with my roommate,
"Ice hockey is pretty big here..."
Ice hockey? I thought ice was implied... it's just hockey.
Another popular phrase at school is "sus" for suspicious.
"That's a little sus."
Excuse me? Just say the whole word, please.
Regardless, I love the East Coast, and there's nothing like it. It's stunning and the history is much older. I miss home every day: mostly the food, my dog, and those close friends. Like I said before, the spotlight is always on you because you are the odd one out in a sea of New Yorkers. But, it is fun to tell people all about the things from Chicago they are missing.
