When you move from a southern state, particularly Texas, to the Midwest for college, there are few things that inevitably happen. I get jokes on pretty much a weekly basis about cowboys, accents and how my home state is a different country. Kidding aside, relocating to Illinois to attend school meant pretty drastic culture shock in many ways; if you're a southern expat in some other region of the United States, I'm sure you can relate to this.
If you have an accent, people imitate you.
The words my Illinois friends most often use to describe Southern accents are "cute" and "cheerful." People are always asking about slang terms and sayings that they hear me use. It's a pretty common occurrence for me to forget and use a Southern expression like "What all did y'all do this weekend?" or "Bless your heart," only to be met by blank stares. Technically we're speaking the same language, but sometimes I wonder.
And if you don't have an accent, people are amazed.
Despite my aforementioned colloquial confusion and use of "y'all," rather than "you guys," most people tell me I don't have much of an accent except for a few specific words. I've lost count of how many times I've met someone for the first time, and when they ask where I'm from, the next thing they say is "You're from Texas? But you don't have an accent."
You're amazed at the lack of flags.
I have now lived in Illinois for over a year and have no idea what the flag looks like. I've never seen it. I don't know who has. It's nowhere. In Texas the flag was in every school classroom. People display it outside their homes. Now that I think about it I'm not sure why we have so many flags, but it was a noticeable absence as soon as you cross the stat line.
People think you're too polite.
I was raised saying "yes ma'am," "no sir," and "it's a pleasure to meet you," to anyone older than me. When I went to friend's house for a play-date, I introduced myself to the parents and told them they had a lovely home. If someone did me a favor, gave me a present, or invited me over, they got a written thank-you note. All these things are the norm back home, but in the Midwest people don't bother with so much ceremony and I got some very strange looks the first time I called teachers or friends' parents "sir" and "ma'am."
But all the same ...
U.S. culture varies pretty significantly from region to region, as it does in most countries. I'll always be grateful for growing up with Tex-Mex, cowboy boots and country music, it's cool to see another culture in my own country. (And to realized how much of my worldview has to do with the way I was raised). Did you hop several state lines for college? What have you learned about your home state or region?
