Everything you know if you’re from the South at Georgetown

Why aren’t the cashiers talking to me?

To my fellow Southern Hoyas — you may not have crossed the Mason-Dixon line, but you have made it out of the South. Coming to the Hilltop, you’ll likely experience some culture shock. Some days, you may feel like an international student. Good news — it’s not just you. If you grew up in the Bible Belt, chances are good you’ve thought these things at some point during your time at Georgetown.

Wondering “Where’s the sweet tea? Waffle House?”

I went to Florida over Spring Break with my friends, and one of them said in awe, “There’s a Waffle House down here!” I did not know that it was possible to have never been to a Waffle House. Waffle House is the Epi of the South – simple, good, and even better past midnight with friends. Sweet tea isn’t a thing here either. Living in the South my whole life, I never realized that some of the best things in life are regional delicacies.

Feeling like the only one with “church friends”

Regardless of how religious you personally feel, chances are, if you live in the South, you went to church. Growing up in the Belt Buckle of the Bible Belt, I totally felt this. Everyone I knew had “school friends” and “church friends,” and often those groups had significant overlap. It feels weird telling stories about my church friends at Georgetown, even though it’s a Catholic university. I never realized that the social aspect of church-going was characteristically southern.

Using public transportation

In the South, only major cities have any kind of public transportation, and it’s rarely used by the people who live there. Nashville, a city of over 650,000 people, does not have a rail system. No one uses the bus. Taxis are rare, but Uber is growing. I depended on my car to get everywhere back home. I have lived in DC for over a year now, and I still couldn’t tell you how to work the bus system. I’ve gone on the Metro going in the wrong direction. Sometimes, it takes multiple forms of transportation for me to get somewhere, and that’s been a strange adjustment.

Vocalizing liberal political views

If you lived outside of a major city and had liberal views, you probably learned to keep your mouth shut in political discussions, whether they were in class or at the dinner table. I never knew until I got to Georgetown that it was socially acceptable to be a Democrat.

Buying actual winter clothing

My first February at Georgetown had a lot of firsts: my first down coat, my first pair of snow boots, my first experiences with instructional continuity, and my first time seeing more than two inches of snow last over the course of several days. The blizzard was quite a shock to my system.

Not saying “hi” or smiling to everyone you walk past

I spent my first couple weeks on campus wondering why people looked so confused when I walked past them. That’s when it hit me – thanks to my southern upbringing, I had trained myself to say hello, or at least to smile, at everyone I made eye contact with while walking, regardless of whether or not I know them. This caused a lot of people on campus to wonder who I was or how I know them.

Forgetting about football games

At home, fall Mondays are a re-cap of every football game that happened over the weekend. The hype around SEC football games live up to the stereotypes. At Georgetown, I couldn’t tell you who was playing what weekends, if Alabama was still #1 in the SEC, and a lot of other useless football facts I had in high school. Football goes from being a cultural focal point to being the background noise on the TV in the Healey Family Student Center.

Not having conversations with cashiers

The first time you go to Safeway, you’ll realize something a little different when you go to pay: the cashier does not care about your life. At home, the cashiers ask about how school is going, how your day has been, tell you about their kids, etc. I have favorite cashiers at the Publix back home for this reason. It’s a thing you never thought you would miss.

Meeting people who grew up outside the U.S.

Where I’m from at least, everyone is from the South. They aren’t necessarily born and raised in my town, but they have rotated through states with strong SEC football teams. I came to Georgetown and I have classes with people from all over the world—from England, Norway, and Italy to Costa Rica, Venezuela, and China. It’s amazing to learn about everyone’s lives “back home,” and you’ll be amazed how different everyone’s lives truly are.

Seeing famous people (who aren’t in country music)

Seeing country music stars in the greater Nashville area is not a challenge. Maybe one of the teachers at your elementary school is Carrie Underwood’s sister and she comes to visit your class. Maybe you sit behind Reba in a concert. Maybe you play softball with Tim McGraw’s daughter. When you move to Georgetown, you’ll probably see Joe Biden out on the street or John Kerry walking to the eye doctor. If you’re lucky, you saw Leonardo DiCaprio leave 1789.

Explaining why you (probably) don’t have an accent

“You’re from Tennessee? But you don’t have an accent?” was probably the most common thing I heard during NSO. Over the next few weeks, my job was debunking negative southern stereotypes to most of the people I encountered. Instead, I shared with them the awesome parts of growing up in the south—from late nights at Waffle House to conversations with the cashiers.

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