I went from OHio-OKlahoma-FLorida-England-Ohio-Maryland-DC-Virgina-Connecticut. Everyone asks me how different each one is from the other....and there are some really localized things. But what I found is--- it's almost all the same!!!!! If you're nice to others, they're nice to you. But yes in Ohio it's "pop" and and everywhere else it's "soda" I had to change just to get my point across, now I go home and they don't understand me! I had an employee in Oklahoma that was from TN, the first time he came into my office and said "I'm fixin' to go on break now" I say "what's broken/needs fixed, I'll call maintenance." In Enland I offered to babysit my neighbors child and play in the backyard. She was horrified that I would offer to sit on her child in the trash pile! (A yard is a one yard by one yard piece of concret where you put your garbage and trash guys came around and scooped it up) I should have offered to "mind her child in the garden"! (I didn't mind babysitting but why would we play in the vegetables?) Here in New England things are "wicked good"! That's very hard for me to get used to....wicked is bad and should never be paired with the word "good". Having a food background, it's the food more than the language that trips me up. Cornbread, pizza, succotash and New Years food traditions are some of the biggest differences. Not to mention the differences in what we call Mexican or Chinese food! Mexican food in Oklahoma is completely different than Mexican food in CT! And here in CT, Panera serves "lobster" too!
Culture Shock
- Thread starter AquaEyes
- Start date
Quote:
Really??? What part of Maine did McDonalds have lobster cakes??
Hubbys parents live in Maine... so we go there to visit.
I'll be looking at all the McDonalds now!!
Most of the McDonald's around here serve lobster rolls in the summer. Not great ones but not too bad for a national franchise.
Up this way it is soda and not pop. We stand in a line not on a line. We have aunts not ants. And if you weren't born here you are from away no matter how many years you live here. And since this is a family forum I won't say what people from Massachusetts are called.
Really??? What part of Maine did McDonalds have lobster cakes??
Hubbys parents live in Maine... so we go there to visit.
I'll be looking at all the McDonalds now!!
Most of the McDonald's around here serve lobster rolls in the summer. Not great ones but not too bad for a national franchise.
Up this way it is soda and not pop. We stand in a line not on a line. We have aunts not ants. And if you weren't born here you are from away no matter how many years you live here. And since this is a family forum I won't say what people from Massachusetts are called.
thankfully, when I moved from california to NY, it's SODA in both places. Hahaha.. It was 'pop' for the few years as a child that I lived in minnesota and they never got tired of laughing at me for that.
I have lived in the same state same city all my life and my mom made pig-in-the-blanket that was cabbage rolls like you described only with saurekraut added. First time I heard it made the other way with hot dogs I had no idea what they were and most people have no idea what our kind are and this is the same city. As for others we call grilled cheese, cheese toasties and we have horse shoes here which is a hamburger served on rye bread toasted with french fries and cheese on the top. A pony shoe is a smaller version of the same thing. I have always called a coke pop but my DH who also grew up here calls it soda. My daughter has a friend who lives in New Jersey calls pizza just pie confused her when she was told they went out for pie. My dad always said he was going to learn you something instead of teach. And my mom and sister which drives me nuts warshes the dishes instead of wash.
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Oh, I forgot about the thing that really confused me when I moved here... Chicken and Waffles!!! I'm like, what do you do, have a piece of fried chicken with waffles and syrup on the side??? I just couldn't see how you connect chicken and waffles!!!
I lived in TX for a bit, originally from PA. They would call you a Yankee if you wore sneakers...
And they would say "tin fole" or "top sole" instead of foil or soil. That took some getting use to. Another guy absolutely refused to let me help unload a trailer bed of hay because "women aren't supposed to do that kind of work"
LOl, these make me laugh.
I grew up in southern Texas and moved to NH as a teenage. I had one 8th grade teacher that hated me, come to find out that when I responded to her with a yes ma'am or no ma'am she thought I was being a smart behind. My mother had to go in and correct her assumptions and remind her that where we were from, it was sign of respect. She still hated me, but quit grading me harshly. I think my mother's southern charm encouraged her to play fair
.
Fast forward quite a few years and my husband and I moved from NH to MI, well soda is unheard of, it is pop. Lollipops are suckers, roots are ruts and roofs are ruffs, and creeks are cricks. LOL It took me months to figure out what the heck my neighbor was talking about.
I grew up in southern Texas and moved to NH as a teenage. I had one 8th grade teacher that hated me, come to find out that when I responded to her with a yes ma'am or no ma'am she thought I was being a smart behind. My mother had to go in and correct her assumptions and remind her that where we were from, it was sign of respect. She still hated me, but quit grading me harshly. I think my mother's southern charm encouraged her to play fair
Fast forward quite a few years and my husband and I moved from NH to MI, well soda is unheard of, it is pop. Lollipops are suckers, roots are ruts and roofs are ruffs, and creeks are cricks. LOL It took me months to figure out what the heck my neighbor was talking about.
i am originally from los angeles and we transferred to upstate ny. when we first got here i was soooooo annoyed at how slow people are. they actually chat in the check out lines..and they called hamburgers, hamburg? what the heck is with that?? in los angeles you hustle fast all the time and it took me awhile to get used to the slower pace.. but now that i have been here for several years i love it here. i have learned patience like riding down the high way behind a big tractor going 10 miles an hour, or pausing while the famer moves the cows across the road. chatting with the cashiers while you check out your groceries. it is a great way to live. only they don't have any mexican restaurants where we live.. they think taco bell is it.. ugh. but they do have berry patches where you can pick your own, and lots of farmland and lakes, apple orchards etc.. nice way to raise my kids and now grandkids
I had never lived anywhere besides SW Ohio with pop and typical midwestern things. Then my husband joined the Army and off to Germany we went. Couple of months later he left for Iraq and there I was in this country with no friends or family from home. LOL Culture shock set in about then!
EVERYONE drives a 5 speed, or a bike, or a scooter. I had to pick one. I learned to drive a stick. Hilarious. We have GIANT roads here, by comparison. Very wide, and very straight roads. Over there, think of those little country lanes just barely wide enough for a vehicle to pass. That was normal road unless you were in a big town. Then you hop on the autobahn, trucks going like 55 kph, you go to pass them, and then BAM out of no where, an Audi or BMW or Mercedes is on your tail flashing lights for you to move, 110 kph isn't fast enough, apparently.
The visibility is awful in town, buildings right up to the curb, maybe 6ft for the sidewalk and a bike lane. You have to creep forward slowly, or hit a biker. Don't forget, no turn on red. Something as basic as driving, was... fun?
The food... an American cheese burger is this dried out patty. Mayo is for dipping fries, that is all. Pop, soda, what ever you want to call it, lacks a lot of bubbles and has a different flavor. Pizza and Doner stands scattered around like Hot Dog carts in NYC. No hot dogs.
The language barrier... not so bad, but embarrassing. If you ask "Do you speak English" in English, the answer is always "Nein". Nope, No, not happening. You have to stumble through German and make it quite apparent that you need help in English before they switch over to perfect English. LOL They're SO mean!
Beer for lunch! Even the construction workers were having a beer with lunch on the side of the road. Beer mixed with pop, mixed with lemonade, however you want it. Everyone has beer, everyone drinks beer, the town I lived in, 153 breweries! No one told me the liquor was stronger too. I had my usual American type cocktail and couldn't.... walk... when I stood up. Hilarious.
Buying fish at the pet store was like prying candy from a baby. They don't like Americans having pets, we always leave them behind or buy them without knowing anything about them. I spoke with the sales girl in Germ-Glish for awhile until she was comfortable with my Cichlid knowledge and we established the store would take them back for resell when I moved. First time I ever had to buy fish with a plan. It was nice.
The 19% sales tax is rolled into the sticker price already. What you see is what you pay, ridiculous tax amount included.
Dogs on the bus, dogs under the table at the restaurant, dogs everywhere!
Baby Robins (of a type we don't have) fledged at a bar, one got squished by a bicycle, didn't look good for the rest. Huge bar effort to catch them all before more got squished. They were actually given to me to deal with since I proved myself in the catching. Had my German friend drive me out to an animal shelter that would finish rearing them and release them in the country, they were very pleased. Found out while there, 98% of the dogs in the shelter came from Americans.
You can't hardly buy anything after 7pm. Quick drive to the convenience store to get a gallon of milk? Not happening. But there is a beer delivery service, by the crate!
You don't.. grocery shop, in the American sense of going once every 2 weeks and buying a hoard of food. You go to market once every other day or so. You know, whatever your bike or scooter or smart car can carry. Buy your bread the morning it was popped out of the oven! And the pastries, with the coffee... OMG.... the chocolates, liquor, displayed and dispensed from wooden barrels on the shelf.
You know how you drive into a small town and half or most of the store fronts are empty? Not like that over there, thriving. McDonalds was closed and empty though. And Wal-mart too, didn't last long. Cute Boutiques and stores everywhere! Foot traffic everywhere, bikes everywhere, scooters zooming by between cars. Ancient buildings, stucco on everything. "Skittles" houses with orange tile roofs are the extent of the "suburbs"... houses in Blue, Pink, Purple, Green... my building was purple. Also found in orange, beige, and lot's of other shades.
I didn't get to "hide" on the base, our house was 15 minutes away, instant submersion with the locals. I had to "learn" to ride the bus, I had never used public transportation before. It was clean, nice, and fun. Need to get to another city or town? No problem, hop the bus to the train station, hop on the train, you're there. I always took the slow train so I could see the country side.
Drive around a corner and there's a farmer walking horses in the middle of the town! Take a walk through the fields and encounter dog owners on a stroll, creating a "dog park" out of no where. Parks everywhere. Not much fear walking the streets at 4am, everyone out having fun on a Friday night, no gangs wondering the area, the polizie are... good rule enforcers. They will beat you down fast into submission, no questions asked, and lock you up. Better not make any trouble. They had high rise apartments with low rent, you didn't walk near those. Complete with graffiti to let you know.
"German Red" must be the national hair color. A Vibrant red/violet. It's as popular as blond is to us, apparently. I won't lie, I tried it too. I picked up a German accent to my English, that was funny. People would talk to me in German and I would catch half of it before I got confused, courtesy of my German friend, who would speak to me in half German so that I would learn it faster. Then they would laugh and apologize and explain they thought I was German... the red hair and accent... you know.
From there we went to Ft Campbell, Kentucky. Trucks jacked up on mud tires, awful excuses for sidewalks, deer thrown in truck beds, rifles strapped into the rear truck window, and a trip to Wal-Mart was never the same for me. And gangs, awful teenagers, awful kids, awful dogs, complete culture shock all over again!
I miss the leisurely pace of Germany, how easy it was to get around, how fun the people were. You could go out alone and end up part of a mixed lot of Irish workers, or English tourists, other Americans, Germans who recognized you from the week before. So fun! Then hop into a cab home, a yellow Mercedes, for the ride of your life on those cobblestone roads... time is money you know! You get used to the feeling of "OMG we're gonna die!" when riding with a local.
EVERYONE drives a 5 speed, or a bike, or a scooter. I had to pick one. I learned to drive a stick. Hilarious. We have GIANT roads here, by comparison. Very wide, and very straight roads. Over there, think of those little country lanes just barely wide enough for a vehicle to pass. That was normal road unless you were in a big town. Then you hop on the autobahn, trucks going like 55 kph, you go to pass them, and then BAM out of no where, an Audi or BMW or Mercedes is on your tail flashing lights for you to move, 110 kph isn't fast enough, apparently.
The visibility is awful in town, buildings right up to the curb, maybe 6ft for the sidewalk and a bike lane. You have to creep forward slowly, or hit a biker. Don't forget, no turn on red. Something as basic as driving, was... fun?
The food... an American cheese burger is this dried out patty. Mayo is for dipping fries, that is all. Pop, soda, what ever you want to call it, lacks a lot of bubbles and has a different flavor. Pizza and Doner stands scattered around like Hot Dog carts in NYC. No hot dogs.
The language barrier... not so bad, but embarrassing. If you ask "Do you speak English" in English, the answer is always "Nein". Nope, No, not happening. You have to stumble through German and make it quite apparent that you need help in English before they switch over to perfect English. LOL They're SO mean!
Beer for lunch! Even the construction workers were having a beer with lunch on the side of the road. Beer mixed with pop, mixed with lemonade, however you want it. Everyone has beer, everyone drinks beer, the town I lived in, 153 breweries! No one told me the liquor was stronger too. I had my usual American type cocktail and couldn't.... walk... when I stood up. Hilarious.
Buying fish at the pet store was like prying candy from a baby. They don't like Americans having pets, we always leave them behind or buy them without knowing anything about them. I spoke with the sales girl in Germ-Glish for awhile until she was comfortable with my Cichlid knowledge and we established the store would take them back for resell when I moved. First time I ever had to buy fish with a plan. It was nice.
The 19% sales tax is rolled into the sticker price already. What you see is what you pay, ridiculous tax amount included.
Dogs on the bus, dogs under the table at the restaurant, dogs everywhere!
Baby Robins (of a type we don't have) fledged at a bar, one got squished by a bicycle, didn't look good for the rest. Huge bar effort to catch them all before more got squished. They were actually given to me to deal with since I proved myself in the catching. Had my German friend drive me out to an animal shelter that would finish rearing them and release them in the country, they were very pleased. Found out while there, 98% of the dogs in the shelter came from Americans.
You can't hardly buy anything after 7pm. Quick drive to the convenience store to get a gallon of milk? Not happening. But there is a beer delivery service, by the crate!
You don't.. grocery shop, in the American sense of going once every 2 weeks and buying a hoard of food. You go to market once every other day or so. You know, whatever your bike or scooter or smart car can carry. Buy your bread the morning it was popped out of the oven! And the pastries, with the coffee... OMG.... the chocolates, liquor, displayed and dispensed from wooden barrels on the shelf.
You know how you drive into a small town and half or most of the store fronts are empty? Not like that over there, thriving. McDonalds was closed and empty though. And Wal-mart too, didn't last long. Cute Boutiques and stores everywhere! Foot traffic everywhere, bikes everywhere, scooters zooming by between cars. Ancient buildings, stucco on everything. "Skittles" houses with orange tile roofs are the extent of the "suburbs"... houses in Blue, Pink, Purple, Green... my building was purple. Also found in orange, beige, and lot's of other shades.
I didn't get to "hide" on the base, our house was 15 minutes away, instant submersion with the locals. I had to "learn" to ride the bus, I had never used public transportation before. It was clean, nice, and fun. Need to get to another city or town? No problem, hop the bus to the train station, hop on the train, you're there. I always took the slow train so I could see the country side.
Drive around a corner and there's a farmer walking horses in the middle of the town! Take a walk through the fields and encounter dog owners on a stroll, creating a "dog park" out of no where. Parks everywhere. Not much fear walking the streets at 4am, everyone out having fun on a Friday night, no gangs wondering the area, the polizie are... good rule enforcers. They will beat you down fast into submission, no questions asked, and lock you up. Better not make any trouble. They had high rise apartments with low rent, you didn't walk near those. Complete with graffiti to let you know.
"German Red" must be the national hair color. A Vibrant red/violet. It's as popular as blond is to us, apparently. I won't lie, I tried it too. I picked up a German accent to my English, that was funny. People would talk to me in German and I would catch half of it before I got confused, courtesy of my German friend, who would speak to me in half German so that I would learn it faster. Then they would laugh and apologize and explain they thought I was German... the red hair and accent... you know.
From there we went to Ft Campbell, Kentucky. Trucks jacked up on mud tires, awful excuses for sidewalks, deer thrown in truck beds, rifles strapped into the rear truck window, and a trip to Wal-Mart was never the same for me. And gangs, awful teenagers, awful kids, awful dogs, complete culture shock all over again!
I miss the leisurely pace of Germany, how easy it was to get around, how fun the people were. You could go out alone and end up part of a mixed lot of Irish workers, or English tourists, other Americans, Germans who recognized you from the week before. So fun! Then hop into a cab home, a yellow Mercedes, for the ride of your life on those cobblestone roads... time is money you know! You get used to the feeling of "OMG we're gonna die!" when riding with a local.
This is an interesting thread. I'm from NW PA..about 3 hours from Buffalo, NY and was trying to figure out what else is called pigs in a blanket. I HAVE heard of the "other" type of pigs in a blanket, although I'm used to the hot dogs with crescent roll thing. We call what the OP is talking about cabbage rolls...sausage and rice wrapped with cabbage leaves. I could go through a whole list of this kinda stuff.
What do all of you consider goulash? Do you HAVE goulash? Ours is elbow macaroni, ground beef (hamburg for whoever mentioned it) and sauce. I work as a waitress and have Marcellus Shale drillers in the area right now, so I'm getting lots of new phrases.
I've been asked, "What type of coke do you have?" When I ask about dressing for salads, I've been told salad dressing...the first time I heard this I was very confused...never knew people ate Miracle Whip as a salad dressing.
It's different from my part of the state (in this area people act almost southern) compared to say, Pittsburgh.
We have sprinkles, NOT jimmies (I get irritated when people ask for jimmies at our tastee freeze..do you folks have tastee freezes?) I can actually pronounce Pittsburgh and not call it Pixburgh or Stillers or any of the other thing things they say. I use rubberbands, NOT gumbands...I wear sneakers, NOT tennis shoes. I still have no idea what chipped chopped ham is. I went to college with a lot of people from Pittsburgh..flatlander language annoys me.
http://www.pittsburghese.com/
While in college, people would ask me if I was from south of the Mason Dixon line, apparently I have a slight southern accent. These people asking are from Pittsburgh, that's how different the state is.
The first day of deer season is a holiday...there is no school on that day. I say both crick and creek, depending on the water, but my mother is from New Jersey so I got that from her. I say pop....soda is not a real drink.
Oh and when my friend from Texas tells me he's "Fixing to..." I crack up laughing every time.
What do all of you consider goulash? Do you HAVE goulash? Ours is elbow macaroni, ground beef (hamburg for whoever mentioned it) and sauce. I work as a waitress and have Marcellus Shale drillers in the area right now, so I'm getting lots of new phrases.
I've been asked, "What type of coke do you have?" When I ask about dressing for salads, I've been told salad dressing...the first time I heard this I was very confused...never knew people ate Miracle Whip as a salad dressing.
It's different from my part of the state (in this area people act almost southern) compared to say, Pittsburgh.
While in college, people would ask me if I was from south of the Mason Dixon line, apparently I have a slight southern accent. These people asking are from Pittsburgh, that's how different the state is.
The first day of deer season is a holiday...there is no school on that day. I say both crick and creek, depending on the water, but my mother is from New Jersey so I got that from her. I say pop....soda is not a real drink.
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