Signs That I'm Becoming A Southerner

It's hard to believe that in a short 5 1/2 years I will have lived in Texas the same amount of time as I have in California. A part of me will always be Californian. I will always love the beach, palm trees, wonderful weather, Rubio's fish tacos, and In-N-Out Burgers (just to name a few). Jeff always said he went to Baylor to find a southern girl. I guess he got a southern girl, I'm just not from the right state! The more I live in Texas I can see that I have picked up some "southern" traits. Here are a few...

1. I say "y'all" instead of "you guys." I picked this up my first semester at Baylor. I'm sure most would agree it sounds better.

2. I also say "fixin' to." As in..."I'm fixin' to go to the store" or "It's fixin' to rain." I'm not sure how it happened that I started saying this. When I first came to Baylor and heard someone say it, I thought they were nutty. I thought who says stuff like that...apparently I now do.

3. My preffered meal is Chicken Fried Steak (something I never had until I came to Texas). I don't think I ever had cream gravy either.

4. Thanks to Jeff's grandmother, I have learned there is no better way to cook vegetables than with a little bacon grease and a whole stick of butter.

This next one is not really a southern thing...it has more to do with losing a California trait...

5. I no longer put the word "the" in front of any freeway I talk about. For example when my parents were here they would say "you take the 35 to the 6 to the 84 to get to Amy and Jeff's house" instead of saying "you take 35 to hwy 6 to 84." Even thought it's strange, I'll find myself reverting back to this habit when I go visit my family.

6. And a final southern trait...my voice. I don't really hear it except for when I listen to it on a recording. A lady on an airplane once asked me where I was from because of my accent. My mom, aunt, and uncle also woke me up at 2:00 in the morning trying to listen to my cell phone message. My mom thought they just had to hear my country voice!

I'm not a true southern girl, so I'd like to think that I'm the perfect combination of a Californian and a Texan!

Diego says..."Have a great weekend everyone!"