As a true and blue American Yankee, I take pride in being from the North. When I moved to North Carolina three years ago for college, it’s safe to say that I experienced a bit of culture shock. Now that I am going into my senior year, I feel like I am seasoned enough in the Southern culture to help out my fellow Yanks. To make it easier on everyone, I put it all into a list:
- Be prepared to see more fast food restaurants than you’ve ever seen in your life. Fast food is an actual family meal option down here, and it is not to be taken lightly. Don’t you dare cross a Southerner and their fried chicken.
- “Barbeque” does not refer to the use of a grill to cook hamburgers and hot dogs. Barbeque is a way of life. During your time living in the South, you will learn that people around here cook whole pigs, and I don’t recommend you look at it for too long in fear that you will never be the same again. Don’t get me wrong, though, barbeque will not disappoint.
- “Y’all” will slip out of your mouth at least once within the first month. Granted, there are several people who use “y’all” in the North; I promise you that you haven’t seen anything yet. “Y’all” is a great word; it basically just makes the user’s life easier, and you can’t hate them for that, but you can laugh at them if they use it more than six times in one minute.
- Stereotype proven true—people in the South are truly more polite. Maybe it has something to do with the slower pace of living down here, who knows. All I know is that it has been proven many times through chivalrous door-holds and plenty of “Oh, excuse me!” or “I’m so sorry, hun!”
- Ma’am and Sir. Pretty self-explanatory. You were raised to address any adult this way if you were raised in the South. These words just seem to roll off the tip of any child’s tongue, but whenever I try to join in on the action, it doesn’t sound as cute.
- Country music. Okay, I can do the classics, who isn’t into a little Tim McGraw or Kenny Chesney? But please be advised that you will hear enough country music to last a lifetime. If you are a country music fan, you have absolutely nothing to worry about.
- Southern twang. The accents are real. Unlike popular belief, not everyone in the South has an accent, but those who do—oh, boy. You’ll never get used to them and you’ll never want to be—they can be that entertaining. I don’t suggest trying to mimic their accents, though, lines could be crossed and friendships could be ended.
- Hunting. If I asked you what America's pastime would be and you answered "baseball," you'd be so wrong. Hunting is a rite of passage, deer fever is real, and no duck is safe. Northerners probably think of Army camouflage when the word "camo" is mentioned, and what the H-E-double hockey sticks are they thinking?! Hunting camo is where it's at, and any Yank will learn this quickly just by going to class or walking on campus.
Life in the South will definitely be a shock at first, but an experience that you won't regret! Just make sure to grab a CookOut tray once you're all done moving in.
