Moving from one place to another for college is a unique experience. Nebraska, in and by itself, is also quite the unique experience. So, put them together, and what do you get?
Allow me to explain:
1. Runza is life.
That Dark green and yellow sign you see everywhere isn’t a gas station chain (yes, that's what I originally thought). It’s everyone’s favorite fast food restaurant. I’ve come to find that 99 percent of people can’t even tell you what exactly a Runza is made out of. All they know is that it’s one good sandwich and they would most definitely be right.
2. Chili and cinnamon rolls is a thing…
I really can’t seem to wrap my head around this one… apparently people like to eat their chili with cinnamon rolls and their cinnamon rolls with chili. This combination seems to be about as common as peanut butter and jelly. (especially to the people who look at you as if you just sprouted a new head when you question it).
3. The weather has mood swings.
Just because it’s freezing cold at 8:30am doesn’t mean you won’t be dripping sweat in your bundles of clothes by noon.
4. On Saturdays, we wear RED.
I always knew Husker Football was big, but until I found myself in the middle of a red stampede, I had no idea just how big. Saturdays in Lincoln are for tailgating 5 hours before kick off, shoving your way up the bridge towards the stadium, and screaming yourself silly with the best college football fans there are.
5. Uber drivers aren’t “Nebraska nice”.
If you’re thinking about trying to squeeze an extra person into your Uber, forget about it. It's not going to happen. The struggle of traveling in a group of five is real. Uber drivers are the exception to the “Nebraska nice” stereotype.
6. City turns into dirt real quick.
One minute, you find yourself driving up O street, passing every restaurant, coffee shop, and grocery store you could ever need. The next minute you look up and you realize that the pavement has turned to dirt and the only thing between here and the next ten miles is field.
7. High schools are tiny.
Don’t be surprised when the guy next to you at New Student Enrollment says he was the valedictorian of his high school class. Definitely don’t be surprised when he says there were only 24 people in it.
8. Everyone knows everyone.
If you’re from out of state, you’re bound to find yourself in a situation where everybody is talking about that couple who broke up or that group of girls from high school and you just have to sit there, smile, and pretend like you know what’s going on
9. If you can’t pronounce it, it’s probably small.
Particularly at the beginning of the year, the most common questions tends to be “where are you from?". One in two people will say Omaha and the other will say some strange place you’ve never heard of. Nine times out of ten, it’s just a small town in Nebraska.
10. Hamburger pizza is THE pizza.
Maybe this is just me, but it seems like everyone in Nebraska loves hamburger pizza. But I may just be the basic pepperoni fan who isn’t with it.
11. The Omaha Zoo lives up to the hype.
I expected the Omaha Zoo to be just like any other zoo but just on a much larger scale. This was absolutely not the case. Everyone should check it out at least once. Just make sure to build in at least four hours to see everything.
12. People are nicer here in traffic.
13. You meet the best people.
I have yet to meet anyone who is not down to Earth and able to carry on a genuine conversation, which is definitely not always the case in other places.
14. Not everyone likes country music.
15. There truly is no place like Nebraska.
