A funny cultural difference
 

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. :rolleyes:

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. :p

I moved to the Tokyo area 3.5 years ago. HUGE culture shock! I couldn't believe that little kids...7years old, were riding on the trains by themselves! Then all of the trains every where! I am from SoCal and am NOT used to trains! It still takes a lot to get me on a train out here!

Here is one experience I had on a train:

I get on at the closest stop with a bunch of ppl from work and my family (4yo and a 1yo). I look out the corner of my eye to see a guy with his pants half way down to his ankles! I look at my co workers and the families with us...their mouths are dropped! I turn around to see the guy standing in his under-roos! I can't believe it! This guy was changing on the train! I couldn't move! Not typical behavior out here by far, but not something that the locals even batted an eye at! Silly Americans! (me that is! haha)

I did the opposite...my family moved from Long Island, New York, to Georgia 30 years ago. OMG. I remember we stopped at this tiny restaurant and ordered hot dogs and they were bright pink/red! They looked like flares! LOL! We had never seen any that color before. I was depressed for a year. Well, I'm still here!!! But it is a thrill when I go back to NY for vacations...especially New York City!!

LOL! I have changed clothes in the car before (with someone else driving), but I don't think I could do it on a train with everyone looking.

Betty'sMom, I am all too familiar with those bright pink hot dogs. They still sell them here. Yuck!

I am from the Northeast and I remember my first trip down south. We stopped at a little place in Georgia to get a bite to eat and I was just amazed at how friendly everyone was! We hadn't even walked into the restaurant yet and half a dozen people stopped us to say hello and ask how we were doing. Such nice folks.....:)
Once inside, we had the nicest waitress who spoke with the thickest southern accent I had ever heard and by the time we left I was very embarrassed to find that I was speaking with that same accent! :eek:
I asked my friend if I was doing that in the restaurant and she said ....yep.
Ooooooooooooh, my. LOL
I just hope they understood that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. LOL
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I used to be so embarrassed about my accent. I HATED it. When I was in Maine, people would make me repeat things - most time it was just so they could hear me talk.

I went into a store to buy art supplies and the cashier actually called her boss over, then looked at me and said, "Say something so he can hear Do it!" :rolleyes:

THEN I discovered that northern men fall all over southern girls with southern accents. :D That's when my daddy sent me a plane ticket home. :p

LOL I can totally relate. I don't have the accent you speak of, but, I have lived in the south my whole life. I took a 2 year break and lived in Oregon and SAME THINGS happened to me LOL. My aunt used to send me Luzianne tea by the dozens because they didn't sell it up there and I thought I was going to DIE. and forget getting "iced tea" with it actually being sweetened. They bring you ICE COLD unsweet tea and you can't sweeten it the same after it has been iced down. nope. you get to stir and stir and stir only to watch it all settle at the bottom LOL

and...my dh is from NY. so we go up there at least once a year and it is culture shock all over again. I can't even understand when some of his family talks. I have to ask them to repeat themselves a million times LOL I love it tho...I love the new york accent :)

:lol tears :lol tears :lol tears

I am guilty of LOVING accents of any kind! My youngest son talks with a New York accent and we don't know how he picked it up because we have lived in Ohio all our lives, we have had teachers ask if we were from New york when we moved and switched schools last year! My husband blames it on me being a Yankee fan:rolleyes:

My second oldest son was born with an Immune Defect and has to see specialist for Immune and GI problems. He goes to a world renowned childrens hospital for treatments and appointments. His Immunologist was from Grease and I just loved it when he would talk,I would take notes at his appointments so that I would remember every thing that we had to do to keep him healthy. Well I would sometimes "pretend" I did not quite get what he was saying just to hear him talk!!;) I was sad when he told us he was leaving the hospital, but he had known my son for 7 years and to this day he still calls 2 times a year to talk and see how he is doing so I still get to hear that lovely voice!

My first husband's ( who passed away) family is from Greece and we are all still very, very close, so I still get to hear that wonderful accent all the time. :)
What a wonderful, caring man this doctor is to keep in touch with you all.
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I totally undertand! I'm from NJ, my husband is from Alabama so here I am. I remember for the first few months I couldn't understand a thing my husband said! When we moved here I was asked to say things like draw for a drawer and pants for "britches" ( which I still refuse to say) We've been here 14 years and people still ask me "where are you from, 'cause you don't sound like your from here" and when I go back to NJ to visit family they tell me I don't sound like them. Well I just now tell everyone I'm a mutt, or a crossbreed! LOL

My mother in law, calls sliced bread "loafa bread". It drives me crazy. I asked DH why they called it that (he does it too) and he said because that's what it is "a loaf of bread". So I asked why they only called the bread that comes already sliced "loafa bread" and not ALL bread because technically ALL bread comes in a loaf. :rolleyes: