Ever since I was younger I knew I needed to travel south. And what better way to do so than to go for school and play some ball. I love Upstate New York because it will always be my home. But, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to live four years in the state of North Carolina. I was in for a treat to learn different cultures and people.
1. What?! You're going to drive your car into the grocery store?
When you're walking into the store and your southern friend says for you to get a "buggy," she isn't talking about a car...she's talking about the shopping cart. So yes, go retrieve the buggy and ride on it's back bar thinking you're driving a race car.
2. Oh, I see. Weed-wacking and weed-eating are the same thing.
Alright, even though that's what a weed-wacker says on the box, it is still not accurate on what it actually is used for. Weed-wacking sounds a lot better to northerners, considering it does wack the weeds right from their roots. But, a southerner's weed-eater sounds more like an animal that eats clover yet technically is what it is named. Either way, no one ever enjoys doing it.
3. C-Ment is cement.
Do not be concerned by the sound of this word. It takes a couple of times for us to assure that we are both talking about the pavement we are walking on.
4. A $6 meal?
Oh thank God for cookout. It is a college student's dream to be able to get a meal that is actually filling, and you don't have to spend an arm and a leg (>$8). Pass me that tray of the calories I just burned at the gym; it's all worth the $6.41.
5. Woah, there is more than three people my age in this church right now!!
On a real note, being able to sit in a pew with people you see each day is so rewarding. Especially when they're the same age as you. Singing new songs of revival and encouraging others to join in prayer along the stage, is not something you see everyday in Upstate NY. Nevertheless, Nothing moves your soul more than watching people give up their hearts to the One Above.
6. We like playing in the mud, too!
Sometimes the south may think just because you're from NY that must mean you've never been on a four-wheeler or that you live in the city. New York may be different when it comes to the beaches, but it is just the same wooded terrain like it is in the south. We can pull your truck through a pit just as hard as you can pull ours. Just check out the Adirondacks or Mountain Madness in June, and you'll see the similarities wide and clear.
7. Why isn't Cheerwine globalized?!
No better soda in the whole universe than some Cheerwine in a Bojangles cup with that halfway crunchy ice cubes. You'll know when you're addicted because your college roommate will send you some via mailbox in order to get your fix in the summers. It goes from good to great once its put into the bottles instead of the can. (Always listen to your southern friends about going to Boone... its worth the trip for the sip.) I hope you enjoyed that rhyme.
8. But lastly, you'll learn to love southern hospitality.
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You can find good people everywhere you go. But, something about accents and the way everyone treats you like their own is something so special to a New Yorker living 12 hours away from home. So thank you to all my southern friends and new family...ya'll are the best.
