By living in the Northeast, in the tristate area to be even more specific, a person comes up with beliefs about the others. The others are the people who live anywhere, but here in the United States. I visited Texas last week, and I had my mind made up about what Texas should be like and this is what I found!
1. Texas Pride is real.
Everywhere you turn you see the Texas flag, the word Texas, or the picture of the state. I rarely see the New Jersey flag, but in Texas, everyone owns the flag. It may be on your neighbors' lawn, on the back of a truck, or just somewhere on a highway, but it is there. Oh! No one ever forgets that President George Bush was from Texas either.
2. Not everyone has accents.
This may have come as the biggest shock as I kept awaiting to hear a strong Texas accent. I was in Dallas, and it was like an average city...where everyone talks like they could leave anywhere in the US. I even asked a waiter what the deal was and so he tried to give me a little accent. It was appreciated, but I realized not everyone has one.
3. BUT, everyone says y'all.
I cannot say much more about this, y'all. Everyone says it.
4. There is more than just farms.
I pictured dry land that had a ton of tractors and livestock, but nope! There are lively cities with so many places to go! Dallas was certainly not just a big farm.
5. There is an appreciation for the arts.
There is art at the museum, on the street, and even at the mall. Everything was beautiful, even the mall! I kept looking for a pretzel stand or someone trying to get me to buy perfume, but it was just a different sculpture after every corner!
6. Yes, everything is bigger in Texas.
They even have a SUPER Target. I do not know why they need this, but they have it!!! Everything is just unnecessarily bigger to make a point i suppose. I get it. I am in Texas.
7.The churches are huge too.
Now this does not look like the small church we all go to. These churches are huge. They could be auditoriums or stadiums. There are even police directing traffic outside. Get there early for a seat close to the stage!
8. You can always find chicken.
Every restaurant serves chicken.. and a lot of it. Sometimes I struggled finding a non-chicken dish. Yes, chicken and waffles is also very very real.
9. Besides chicken, there is still tons of meat!
In one meal, I had brisket, sausage, ribs, and sides. They sold the meat to me by the pound too! When you hear TEXAS BBQ and you live in Pennsylvania, trust me. It is not real Texas BBQ.
10. Speaking of food, fast food.
Where I come from there are some standard fast food places, like McDonald's and Wendy's, but in Texas, there are about twenty different fast food places. For example, Cane's, which is a place that someone from the Northeast probably has not heard of. Turn the corner and I bet you will find a different fast food chain anyway, so do not worry about that one.
11. What you heard about the weather is true, it is hot!
This is a magical place that never changes seasons. It is either hot or really hot. I can wear flip flops all year. That does not seem fair.
12. What is the cold?
And when it is cold, everyone is unsure of what to do or what clothes to wear. The cold just causes a lot of confusion.
13. Texans cannot drive in the snow.
I understand that the roads are dangerous when it is snowy and icy, but can we drive a little faster? The turtle over there is beating us in traffic.
14. Thankfully, there are very cheap tolls!
Maybe in Texas, this is a lot, but compared to any toll in New Jersey or New York...this is crazy! I cannot think of many things that only cost $0.25 in New Jersey.
15. I did feel the Friday Night Lights vibe.
When you walked into a place to eat, there was a football game on somewhere. Everyone seemed to know each other or at least was super friendly and polite. You felt welcomed. Even at church, the pastor set aside time to make people just say hello and ask about one another. I am sure not everyone is so super nice all the time in Texas, but I seemed to meet a nice bunch.
After all that...
I was excited to go home. Even though I came home to snow and ice and cold, I love it. Texas was beautiful and I am so glad I was there, but I missed my home. So, thank you Texas, but long time no see Jersey!
