As a person who is from Texas and currently in school in Kentucky, I’ve found a few differences between home and my home away from home. First, of course it should be mentioned that I often have spent my summers in the Bluegrass, so I already had an idea of what the state would be like.

One of the major differences that I first noticed is that Kentuckians are major basketball fans, especially those closest to UK. This, to me, was very different to Texans, who put their emphasis on all things football. In fact, as a Texan, Friday night high school football is one form of entertainment in any Texas city.

Skyscrapers. I am from Houston, so skyscrapers are a big part of the landscape. Downtown Houston is home to many of these tall buildings and with all these buildings comes traffic. When driving around Downtown Lexington, one of the first things I noticed the lack of major traffic and the lack of taller buildings, like the skyscrapers.

I found that it was easier for me to drive to downtown Lexington than it is to drive to downtown Houston because I don’t have to get onto a highway or freeway in order to get to my destination. In Kentucky, at least as far as I have seen in Lexington, the tallest building would be on the shorter side in Texas. Throughout my first few months here, I discovered a small town feel to Lexington as a city and more commonly people who know each other when walking down the street or in my case, on campus.

I have also observed language as another factor that Texas has, many people in Wildcat country don’t know. Texans say phrases such as “fixin to,” meaning that you’re getting ready to do something and “git-R-done,” which translates to telling a person to get a task done. When I say the phrase “fixin to” to my non-Texas friends, here, I often have to explain the meaning before they understand what I am saying.

On the flip side, through living here I have learned what a hot brown is, and how important the Derby is to the state. Besides language, I have found that many Texas traditions such as the rodeo, that people outside of Texas don’t necessarily know what it is.

One day walking to a class from another, some friends and I were discussing the times we have been to concerts and I started talking about the rodeo. Typically, when I go see concerts it is usually during rodeo season. When I told that to my friend from Louisville, they looked at me and said “that’s such a Texas thing to say” which of course didn’t occur to me that people outside of Texas, specifically Houston may not know what the rodeo entails.

Overall, I've enjoyed my time here so far in the Bluegrass state, and I can’t wait to see what lies ahead these next four years! I am looking forward to learn more about my home away from home.