Granted, these may be specific to North Carolina or even this Wilmington region, since it is a beach town, things are going to be slightly different.
- I am actually the only Asian person I have seen outside of a restaurant. Specifically, there are Chinese families at the Chinese restaurants I've visited.
- I don't think everyone else knows where I came from or what I'm doing here.
- This resulted in the following exchange with a cashier who I have been seeing the past 3 weeks.
"Are you ESL? International??"
".......................... no?"
I think this is how I look in North Carolina... - Despite this, people here seem to be really friendly. Or maybe only the people I've met are very friendly.
- The FOOD and DRINK are quite different here:
- Sweet tea & pink lemonade are the beverages of choice for many people.
- Speaking of popular beverages, I see a lot of people drinking Sun Drop here. I don't see a lot of people drinking it back home, but I guess it took off here?
- OH, speaking of sodas, Cheerwine is a Carolina thing I heard about and see on menus. Also Mr. Pibb is Coke's response to Dr. Pepper? I did not know this. Now I do.
- Hardee's, Bojangles, and Cook Out are popular Southern fast food restaurants in this area, all of which are based on North Carolina.
- Hushpuppies. People love hushpuppies.
- It is near-criminal that I have not yet eaten grits before.
- Carolina barbecue is a very special and unique cuisine that I need to try very soon.
- Something called Brunswick stew?
- Finally, I am far enough south to encounter people who say "y'all".
These are some. I'm sure I will have many more observations after I spend a little more time. I haven't even eaten Carolina barbecue yet, so I'm pretty excited to try it!
SO MANY THINGS TO REPLY TO:
ReplyDelete-I'm glad you chose a cat for what you think you look like
-all Southern people are ultra friendly. I had an amazing time talking to random people I'd just met in stores like I knew them my whole life.
-SWEET TEA IS AMAZING. AND CAUSE FOR INSTANT DIABETES. BUT AMAZING. You WILL go into sweet tea withdrawal when you leave the south.
-BOJANGLES<3
-ALSO HUSHPUPPIES<3
-before I went to NC, my dad told me grits would probably be a popular breakfast item. the few times it was served for breakfast, the guy in my program actually from the south (GA) complained that they weren't prepared properly and thus not the real grits experience.
-yeah, apparently barbecue is actually a thing, and not just sitting around a grill "barbecuing" things. being veggie I of course will never be able to experience real southern barbecue.
Hi there! Are you from Canada? I'm from Texas! I guess you would call that deep south? lol. It's been a year since you've posted. I'm sure you're quite use to the environment in Carolina now.
ReplyDeleteHi! I was born in New Jersey, actually. I wouldn't call Texas the deep south, necessarily, but it's definitely very different from where I live now!
DeleteI was only in North Carolina for the summer, but I did learn a lot during my time there!
Thanks for the comment!