My southern alma mater and being in the south gave me more than my Bachelor’s degree. I learned to be a better, friendlier person. I also learned how to cook and more about football and rivalry than I ever would have expected. Beyond that, it taught me to be tough the face of a challenge. Clemson kicked my butt from day one. No more Mr. Nice Guy – it was time to get down to business. The amount of surprises that await you at college are nothing unless you try a new part of the country and immerse yourself in a new culture. My culture shock from North to South took about a year for me to even realize I was experiencing it.

Here’s what you can expect:

Upon arriving in the southland many people you meet will be able to pick up on your non-southern heritage. They will be friendly and usually quite welcoming. You may get called a “yankee” in your first class but don’t be put off, it’s not always an insult. However, “bless your heart” is almost always an insult. You've been warned. In whatever college town you find your self in whether it be Clemson, New Orleans, Charleston, Charlottesville, Auburn, or any university your Yankee dandy is welcome with a smile. Don’t be like a longed tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs, be nice! (I believe this means “scaredy cat” in southern terms.) The north has a bad reputation for being aggressive drivers, fast talkers, and rude to our elders. This may be what your peers will be expecting from you. Don’t be surprised to hear ma’am and sir everywhere you turn, you may be saying it along with "y’all" before you know it.

The food is your next stop on the culture shock train. To be honest your stomach and taste buds may be rocked a little into a tummy ache at first but they will survive. Get ready for deep fried and smothered in just about anything you want. Chicken is definitely smothered and deep-fried, palmetto cheese is chunked in pecans, fried dough is covered in powdered sugar, grits are peppered with cheese and bacon, the sweet tea is scattered all the way and the pies are capped in any berry you want. (If you’re not sure where these descriptive verbs are coming from please go to your local Waffle House and try the hash browns.) Personally my stomach, and my bank account, suffered at first with the introduction of Cookout, Zaxby’s, Bojangles and the holy grail of them all - Chick fil A. Trust me, these people do not mess with their chicken and grits. The key is moderation. The food here is as gracious as the hospitality – hearty and welcoming. Personally, I could live on the biscuits from Bojangles. Did I mention there is also a restaurant called Biscuitville?

What goes well with a good beer and some fried chicken? College football. To be honest the game goes well with just about anything down here. Coming from a part of the country where you pick your professional teams based on where you live and who your parents like – southern college football was a nice change. Before you crack any books brush up on your new schools sports history and who all the major players are before you even learn your schedule. Whether you’re sawing the air with your forearm, barking like a dog or getting painted up you need to know you stuff. I never really knew the meaning of rivalry, and more specifically rivalry week, till I showed up for my first Clemson/USC game. Southern schools were invented to teach us all the true meaning of rivalry.

The thing that was hardest about transferring was making sure I stayed myself. It felt as if when I was at school there was a southern version and at home in New York there was a northern version. Saying “wicked” at school and “y’all” at home was often accompanied by a dropped jaw or giggle. Neither were appreciated. The trick was choosing events, outfits and even food or company to suite what I was comfortable with. I didn’t need to pick something to fit my new friends or appease the ones I’d left at home. You need to be comfortable. Once I realized just how much culture shock I was in it was a whole lot easier to make decisions and form opinions.

My advice: if you meet a foreigner in your part of the country, big smiles whether it’s a yankee lost in the south land or a southern belle or beau stuck in the snow. There’s no use in taking to our regional reputations. How does that elementary school phrase go? “Treat others the way you wish to be treated.” Southern hospitality definitely reminded me of this. The food and football was just an added bonus.