Cultural differences were brought up in another thread kind of negatively.
So to kind of lighten things up, I thougt I would share an experience of my own.
I was born and raised in the South. I am a southern belle through and through. My accent would put Scarlet herself to shame.
Now, since I was born and raised here, naturally the first thing I wanted to do when I turned 18 was get the hell out and head North. So I did. I went all the way to Gardner, Maine. Right down from Banghor, short drive from the ocean, absolutely breathtaking.
I had two problems with Maine. The first problem was that I went there in May - and it was still 32 degrees outside. That just freaked me out. It doesn't get 32 degrees in January down here often. By the time May rolls around its in the high 80s. If the temp reaches 80 there, they start issuing heat warnings. Down here, if its 80 degrees some of us are still wearing long sleeves!
My second issue with Maine is the tea. Being a southerner I am an iced tea drinker. I kid you not, my mama put it in my bottles when I was a baby. So we go into this nice restaraunt in Banghor and I order tea. What they brought me was some hot water and a little tray with tea bags on it. I thought, "What the hell?" I was shocked. I was supposed to pay for tea that 1) I had to brew myself at the table, and 2) they didn't even bring me any sugar. I had to ask for it.
Oh, another funny difference is Polenta. Down here we call it grits and charge $1.25 a bowl for it. Up north, they call it polenta and charge $15 - $25 a bowl for it. It was a while after I came back home before I would admit to my mama that I payed that much money for a bowl of grits.
So there you have some of my funnier experience. They were meant to bring a laugh and absolutely not to offend anyone. I happen to love Maine. I just know now to visit in July and to be prepared to brew my own tea.
