Tonight, I draw inspiration from this blog by fellow Alpha Delta Pi sister Emily Snowden. The Southern belle posted this humorous piece when she visited California as a traveling Leadership Consultant for our sorority. Now, I will comment on things I have found unfamiliar in the South as a California girl (for 11 years of my life).
1. Oversized tees. Fellow intern Haley swears this fashion is all the rage at Samford University, so when the lovely ladies of Executive Office offered us some extra T-shirts from Grand Convention 2009, Haley and I picked out shirts that were two to three sizes too big for all of us. The result:
Haley is the super-excited one second from left. She was so proud of us Westerners/Yankees (except Brittney - this Alabama native knows what's goin' on).
2. ...
Well, that's all I can think of right now, actually. (The fact that is 1:30 a.m. might be contributing to my lack of ideas. I'm actually very elderly in spirit; my ideal bedtime is around 10 p.m.)
However, I can think of a few things that have not surprised me about the South.
1. Sweet tea. Luckily, this is something
I was introduced to long ago. My grandmother (who lives in Charlotte) used to put two cups of sugar in every pitcher of sweet tea she made. Yum yum. She has since lessened that amount slightly in the interest of health, but I continue to follow her recipe when I make iced tea at home in California. Last summer, I lived alone in Missouri while I was working, and I literally consumed a pitcher of sweet tea every day. Sometimes I had to make two. Oops. I'm also one of McDonald's best customers, solely from the amount of $1 sweet teas that I order. (I usually ask for no ice so when I get home, I can pour it into my own glass and have twice as much.) I am getting spoiled by the availability of sweet tea at Southern restaurants, however. It will be a sad day when I have to return to putting four packets of Equal in every glass of iced tea in Columbia. :(
2. Y'all. As you might remember from the previous paragraph, my grandmother is from Charlotte. Therefore, my dad lived in North Carolina from birth through his college graduation, so I am used to the Southern accent. He also says "cain't" (because he cain't say can't).
3. Yes, ma'am. On a similar note, I love the typically good manners of Southerners. After hearing Haley and Brittney "yes ma'am" so politely around the office, I want to cringe every time a "yup" or a "for sure" comes out of my mouth. It wasn't unexpected, however. After all, I grew up around my cousins calling their parents "sir" and "ma'am." (They also tried to call my mom "ma'am," but she insisted on "Aunt Patty." What a Yankee.)
Finally, here are my thoughts on Emily's blog (referred to earlier in this post):
1. Avocados: Yes, they are wonderful and ubiquitous. In Missouri, it especially amuses me that anything with avocado as a topping is automatically "California" (such as a California Burger or a California BLT).
2. Terminology: As a NorCal girl, I agree that "hella" is prime slang. However, I prefer the less offensive adjective, "hecka." As in, "Yo Emily, that girl is hecka sick." :)
3. Croakies: Excuse me? I didn't even know what these were until I read your blog. And then I had to ask my roommate, who spent a summer down under doing this same internship. She explained it, but I still don't understand. Sorry.
4. College football: I'm sorry you had a less than desirable football situation. I, for one, love college football. But I understand that aside from Cal Berkeley and USC (in their good years), we don't have quite the athletic fervor of the SEC or Big 12. (Which is actually a big reason I chose a Big 12 school, and why I pressured my little brother to choose Georgia over UCLA for his upcoming college experience.)
5. Lilly: Again, who? I hadn't heard of Lilly Pulitzer until I saw your planner in my room. Now that ADPi has a Lilly print, I'm surprised I hadn't heard of her earlier. She is much more popular than I had imagined (even in Columbia). I did vote for ADPi about 15 million times, though. You're welcome.
And that's all for tonight, folks! Sorry for the astronomically long post; I'll try to update more frequently in the future to save you from these novels.
Ciao!
Well, that's all I can think of right now, actually. (The fact that is 1:30 a.m. might be contributing to my lack of ideas. I'm actually very elderly in spirit; my ideal bedtime is around 10 p.m.)
However, I can think of a few things that have not surprised me about the South.
1. Sweet tea. Luckily, this is something
I was introduced to long ago. My grandmother (who lives in Charlotte) used to put two cups of sugar in every pitcher of sweet tea she made. Yum yum. She has since lessened that amount slightly in the interest of health, but I continue to follow her recipe when I make iced tea at home in California. Last summer, I lived alone in Missouri while I was working, and I literally consumed a pitcher of sweet tea every day. Sometimes I had to make two. Oops. I'm also one of McDonald's best customers, solely from the amount of $1 sweet teas that I order. (I usually ask for no ice so when I get home, I can pour it into my own glass and have twice as much.) I am getting spoiled by the availability of sweet tea at Southern restaurants, however. It will be a sad day when I have to return to putting four packets of Equal in every glass of iced tea in Columbia. :(2. Y'all. As you might remember from the previous paragraph, my grandmother is from Charlotte. Therefore, my dad lived in North Carolina from birth through his college graduation, so I am used to the Southern accent. He also says "cain't" (because he cain't say can't).
3. Yes, ma'am. On a similar note, I love the typically good manners of Southerners. After hearing Haley and Brittney "yes ma'am" so politely around the office, I want to cringe every time a "yup" or a "for sure" comes out of my mouth. It wasn't unexpected, however. After all, I grew up around my cousins calling their parents "sir" and "ma'am." (They also tried to call my mom "ma'am," but she insisted on "Aunt Patty." What a Yankee.)
Finally, here are my thoughts on Emily's blog (referred to earlier in this post):
1. Avocados: Yes, they are wonderful and ubiquitous. In Missouri, it especially amuses me that anything with avocado as a topping is automatically "California" (such as a California Burger or a California BLT).
2. Terminology: As a NorCal girl, I agree that "hella" is prime slang. However, I prefer the less offensive adjective, "hecka." As in, "Yo Emily, that girl is hecka sick." :)
3. Croakies: Excuse me? I didn't even know what these were until I read your blog. And then I had to ask my roommate, who spent a summer down under doing this same internship. She explained it, but I still don't understand. Sorry.
4. College football: I'm sorry you had a less than desirable football situation. I, for one, love college football. But I understand that aside from Cal Berkeley and USC (in their good years), we don't have quite the athletic fervor of the SEC or Big 12. (Which is actually a big reason I chose a Big 12 school, and why I pressured my little brother to choose Georgia over UCLA for his upcoming college experience.)
5. Lilly: Again, who? I hadn't heard of Lilly Pulitzer until I saw your planner in my room. Now that ADPi has a Lilly print, I'm surprised I hadn't heard of her earlier. She is much more popular than I had imagined (even in Columbia). I did vote for ADPi about 15 million times, though. You're welcome.
And that's all for tonight, folks! Sorry for the astronomically long post; I'll try to update more frequently in the future to save you from these novels.
Ciao!
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