Regional things a student should know

Parent Cafe
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<p>In Massachusetts it’s also a “bubbler”! (Take note, ye Harvard bound.) I got a lot of odd looks the first few weeks of college, and never used the term again. If Wikipedia is to be believed, it was a water fountain brand name that just stuck in some places (same process that made my grandmother call every refrigerator “the Frigidaire”.)</p>

<p>Once the long sandwich has been properly requested, it may be necessary to work on regional terms for a carbonated beverage to wash it down–there’s soda, pop, and , in some places, the word “coke” means any flavor of the stuff (yeah, I don’t get that either). No wonder our college kids sleep past noon when they come home on break–it’s exhausting just to figure out how to order lunch.</p>

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<p>If your kid comes south…talking below Mason-Dixon line here…it is key to know that barbecue is a noun not a verb
.Barbecue is sacred here. Barbecue is something we eat. It is a specific food. It is NOT something we do on the grill in the backyard. No child of the south would ever say “have a bbq” or “bbq some steaks” in reference to cooking food on the grill. We eat BBQ.</p>

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<p>In California, it’s “THE” 5 Freeway, not interstate 5. (And avoid it if possible).<br>
It rains in California every once in a while. The roads are very slick…build up on the roads from car exhaust, etc doesn’t get washed off in the rain all that often, so the first rains of the season make the roads very slick. Slow down a little (not that many Californian’s do, but it’s safer). And turn the car headlights on (recent change in the law).</p>

<p>If anyone smokes, you cannot smoke in any buildings. You cannot smoke in an area leading to the doorway of a building. Many places have designated smoking areas (saw one at Disneyland, had to figure out why all those people were standing in that spot). It does make it easy for non-smokers to avoid the area (love that!)</p>

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<p>Ha! I can always tell Seattle transplants when they start talking about “The 520” or “The 405” For Seattle/Portland people its just 520, 405, or 90 (sometimes I-90) I-5 is usually called I-5 rather than just 5 and NEVER “The I-5” or “The 5”.</p>

<p>In use it might sound like this, “There’s a Mariner’s game at 1:00 so I think I’ll take 520 instead of 90 to go over.”</p>

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<p>Some places a shopping cart is a buggy.</p>

<p>We moved from Wisconsin when S was just starting kindergarten. He asked to use the bubbler exactly once.</p>

<p>In the south, if you don’t want sugar in your iced tea, you have to specifically request it that way. Because the default is sweet tea.</p>

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<p>MommaJ: On hoagies/subs/grinders . . . It’s funny yesterday I heard a blurb about one of the campaigning politicians talking about going to Wawa’s which I guess is a no no as it’s just “We are going to Wawa.” No possessive. I don’t know this first hand, of course, because I already had to ask on CC what the H is Wawa?! So, if you go to Wawa, what is the proper name for the sandwich that you might order?</p>

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<p>Another note on ordering “tea”: Here in the south, if you say “tea” you get iced tea automatically (after being asked sweet or unsweet). If you want hot tea, you have to say “hot tea.” And we drink iced tea all year round. I tried to order iced tea in MN in January one time and got a really funny look. They brought me hot tea and a glass of ice!</p>

<p>And, yes, “coke” is the generic name for all soft drinks. When asked “Do you want a coke?” the proper answer is “What kind?” (and don’t say Pepsi - it’s only Coke or Dr. Pepper in Texas!)</p>

<p>And BBQ is food (beef here in TX), not an event. If we are preparing hamburgers in the backyard, it is called grilling, or cooking out, not BBQing. And please, in Texas, no sauce on the BBQ!</p>

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<p>Wawa is a regional chain of convenience stores. You order hoagies there (and they’re not half bad for convenience store food.) [url=&lt;a href=“http://www.wawa.com/WawaWeb/]Wawa[/url”&gt;http://www.wawa.com/WawaWeb/]Wawa[/url</a>]</p>

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<p>thx Booklady - I got the send that calling Wawa “Wawa’s” was akin to calling IHOP “IHOP’s” Here in the great PNW we eat subs and the term “hoagie” is usually used in reference to the kind of roll rather than the whole sandwich e.g. “Do you want that on 7 grain bread, wheat or a hoagie roll?”</p>

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<p>In South</p>

<p>Outgoing and friendly is not an act, it is a common way of life.</p>

<p>Yes Mam, Yes Sir is not fake, it is polite and a sign of respect…goes a long way with faculty, shop keepers, coach etc.</p>

<p>Stay hydrated --though humid, the heat will affect you faster than you will expect.</p>

<p>Grits are common- great with butter, or cheese/crumbled bacon. Grits are also used for the "starch’ with shrimp and grits (dinner meal) for example.</p>

<p>Sweet tea (cold) is often too sweet and asking for half and half is more common now (thankfully) than 25 yrs ago…</p>

<p>Ordering “Arnold Palmer” half tea and half lemonade is great.</p>

<p>Boiled peanuts are an acquired taste–give them a try–great with a cold beer…;)</p>

<p>Chicken-fried steak is -uh–an acquired taste and for the life of me I don’t know why people eat it…haha–breaded fried mystery meat–I suppose it is aregional adaption of “schnitzel”…though the smothering with white gravy makes it heavy.</p>

<p>Humidty=more hair product</p>

<p>Humidty=fewer facial wrinkles :)</p>

<p>In the South they call skiing–the sport done on water and specify Snow skiing–as compared to where I grew up in the NE where we specified water skiing vs skiiing…</p>

<p>Sometimes you will hear the college kids laugh about how their town has only one stop light, or two–and it is likely true as so many towns and crossroads in very rural areas. That surprised me (coming from suburbia outside of NYC)</p>

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AMEN :wink:
And whether you put slaw on your pulled pork sandwich or not, and whether you use a mustard based sauce vs a tomato based sauce is very regional…</p>

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<p>While dressing appropriately for the weather is important, I don’t think it’s going to come as news to any freshman that if they move to a cold climate that they will most likely need a warmer coat. My son goes to college in Burlington, VT and while I stressed about him getting a warmer coat, to him it was no big deal. You have one day of being really cold and the next day you will put on more clothes. ;)</p>

<p>I think it’s going to be more enjoyable for the kids to learn about regional differences from their college peers then to hear about it from their parents too. After four years of college in the mid-west, my daughter told me that they regularly had tornado sirens at her college and it was not an uncommon experience to go to the nearest safe place. </p>

<p>I think it’s fun for us parents to talk about regional differences, but I’d rather hear my college kids tell me what THEY found out…</p>

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<p>You need an endless supply of windshield wiping fluid for the car. All the mud and road salts makes seeing out the front window really tough and you run out when there is no open gas stations around.</p>

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<p>These are great! I’m loving the talk about highway descriptions (we live off of I-5), BBQ and drinks (in OR they say pop, in Wisconsin we said soda) and sandwiches! I’m more happy than I should be that they say “bubbler” in MA.</p>

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<p>Los Angeles (where “the 5” and the like is used to reference freeways) is only a part of California.</p>

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<p>In some other parts of California, it would be referred to as “5” or “I-5”.</p>

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<p>Actually, it’s ‘bubbla.’ Bostonian’s are also known to order a tonic (soda) with their spuckie (sub) and request ‘jimmies’ (sprinkles) on their ice cream.</p>

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<p>If you are from Southern California and move East or South… SURPRISE…you may not realize this but you DO have a regional accent. Like, totally. And you are, like, going to be totally surprised when someone points this out. OMG… like , totally.</p>

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<p>In NJ, pizza is “a pie”. A wedge of it is a “slice”. Confusing when there was also a soda called “Slice”. </p>

<p>No matter where you are in the state, you go “down the shore”, not “down <em>to</em> the shore” (even if you’re heading north).</p>

<p>NJ has cities, but “the city” is New York City. Philly is called Philly. </p>

<p>With regards to the value of learning some of these things first hand: When I was in London for a semester abroad (1978), I took a life drawing class, with nude models. All was fine till the male student sitting next to me, who I’d never met, leaned in close and in a whisper asked me if I had a rubber he could use. I guess the look on my face revealed that there was a misunderstanding. I must have said something, and he realized I’m American. Luckily he was able to translate and ask to borrow my eraser! After class he asked me what I thought he’d meant, we had a good laugh and became friends.</p>

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<p>True Kathiep</p>

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<p>Our K1 came home noticing that people in the area where k1 attends school are terrible at making eye contact on the street etc, they do not smile and are not warm/friendly…</p>

<p>As compared to where K1 grew up where people smile or nod, they do something to acknowledge to other person as you pass them…whether it is a sidewalk of grocery store aisle.</p>

<p>When we were visiting we all noticed it…and k2 thought it fun to try and get someone to actually look and smile…</p>

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<p>In Oregon one goes to “the coast” in Washington it is often “the ocean” although Washingtonians actually frequent “The Oregon Coast” more than the ocean in our state. If one goes to the ocean in Washington is it usually specified by the exact location i.e. Westport (surfing or fishing) Ocean Shores (general vacation) or Longbeach (no idea).</p>

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<p>This is a fun one! We are in Calif., our D is in PA. If going east, wait to buy heavy jackets/coats there. The ones you buy here are not heavy enough, and it’s better to wait to see what the styles are wherever you are going.</p>

<p>If you are coming west and have a car, do not sit in your car and wait for the employees to put the gas in. You will be waiting a long time. I know this varies from state to state. Also, I remember the attendant looked at me really weird when I tried to pay for my gas before I pumped it in PA. I remember when it used to be like that here.</p>

<p>On the east coast, you may get weird looks if you ask for cilantro or possibly avocado on your sandwich. Most likely don’t eat in a Mexican restaurant and expect what you are used to. My D took me to one near her school because everyone told her it was the best in town. If that was the best, I’d hate to taste the worst. </p>

<p>In Baltimore, I remember dreading my car trip to the airport near rush hour, and how surprised I was to be able to drive right in with no traffic. On “The” 405 going to LAX (or anywhere in LA for that matter) around rushhour, you will be going 10 MPH, always. For that matter, almost anytime of day on “The” 405, you will be going very slowly. </p>

<p>And I definitely would prep kids coming to Calif. about earthquakes, safety, and keeping extra supplies in a dorm/apt. and car-especially a case of water. I have been stuck with limited supplies after a quake and it is not fun. Also tell them to keep an emergency fund (even $20) in small bills as power will go out in a large earthquake, and vending machines, cash registers, gas pumps, etc. don’t work.</p>