6.25.2014

South vs. North

A Northerner’s response to the some of the

“17 Things You Learn From Growing Up In The South”

now that I’ve lived here for a decade.



OriginalPost by Chelsea Fagan

1. Southern food is truly the best. Whether it’s spicy gumbo, fried chicken and biscuits with honey, sautéed greens, or BBQ meat that falls off the bone — the south has it locked up. You grow up with that food and it is the stuff you will be craving for the rest of your life. The day I arrived back in America after a few years abroad, the first meal I had was fluffy biscuits with sausage gravy, two sunny side up eggs, and a glass of real sweet tea. It was transcendent.

I’ll give you gumbo, collards, okra, and grits… but out of all the foods I have ever eaten, these are my least favorite. Sorry Chelsea.

2. Hot asphalt and hot vinyl car seats are the stuff of summer nightmares. RIP to all the bare feet and thighs that have been lost to their merciless sizzle.

Yeah, we have the sun too… crazy how that works.

3. “Southern Belles” and “Southern Gentlemen” still exist, but the people who openly identify as such often embody neither idea.

Completely agree!

4. People really are ignorant. The same people whose parents didn’t want them to be in science class when we learned about the Big Bang are the same people who, at age 25, are flagrantly posting Facebook statuses about Obama being a Muslim or gay marriage being dangerous to society. And on the one hand, you realize that they were kind of doomed from the get-go, but on the other hand, they have a vote. (Of course, this doesn’t mean that the stereotype about all southerners being backwards conservatives is true, either. There are Democrats and Republicans, just like you have anywhere else.)

Completely agree! Ignorant people are everywhere.

7. Spankings are definitely still a thing. When I moved up to Maryland (which some people still consider the south, but that’s debatable), I realized that a lot of my friends’ parents just “negotiated” with them from age two and beyond. This is not acceptable in the south. One of my most formative memories is being popped in the mouth by my grandmother in front of the entire line at Winn-Dixie because I called her a bitch. It was a moment equivalent in education to about four full years of schooling.

My 7 year old hiney can tell you that spankings are a northern thing as well.

8. There is no limit to how many foods can be fried. And, let’s be honest, you’ve tried (and probably enjoyed) 99 percent of them.

The fair comes to northern towns too, ya know.

9. American flag clothes are very much in fashion in parts of the country. My neighbor as a child had a collection of NASCAR memorabilia in his living room, including a box of limited-edition Dale Earnhardt Bugles (the corn chips). This man’s clothes were at least 40 percent covered with American flags.

Ever heard of the Indianapolis 500?

10. There are a million Honey Boo Boos. And the famous one is far more articulate than most of them. I had several Honey Boo Boos in my neighborhood except, instead of spouting adorable sayings, they mostly just ate push pops until their whole faces were orange and threw rocks at animals.

I agree, the south has rednecks, the north just has white trash. The difference is in the dialect.

13. There were very liberal “riding your bikes in the neighborhood” rules. Everyone pretty much had free reign all summer, and people were very rarely indoors. The sound of the crickets coming out (and the moms yelling from the doorways) were the only indicators of what time it was or that the day was actually over.

Me too. Just had to be home when the streetlamps came on.

14. All sodas can be referred to as “Coke,” even though this objectively makes no sense and only makes ordering drinks a step more complicated than it needs to be.

We called it “pop.”

17. Respect for elders is the most important thing ever. Talking back to an adult in the south, or not calling someone ‘sir’ or ‘ma’am’ is a one-way ticket to being punished into another generation. If you don’t have respect for grown-ups, you have no home training, and life is just going to be a struggle for you. To this day, as a 25-year-old, I still call older people “Mr.” and “Ms.” out of force of habit. I’ll likely do it until I am dead, and honestly, I’m a better person for it.

My friend’s parents were Mr. and Mrs. Last Name and we said “yes please” instead of “yes mam” and “no, thank you” instead of “no mam”. I do see a difference in language here, but do not insinuate that the north does not have manners.

6.20.2014

Sailing Trip Tips


We sailed for 7 days and 7 nights with two other couples in the Caribbean on a 38’ catamaran and this is what we learned! We went to St. Martin, St. Barts, and Anguilla.

  1. If you like good head support when you sleep, bring a pillow. What we were provided might as well have been several tissues stuffed in a pillowcase.
  2.  If you are not part of the crew, bring a book. Sailing is super fun, but 7 days of the same seas left plenty of time for reading.
  3. Do not overpack… there isn’t much room on a boat. Instead bring 2 swimming suits, 3 beach coverups, and 4 outfits. The more that these can crossover, the better. I brought two pairs of flip flops, but could have just used 1. I also brought 2 beach towels, and although I brought them back, I was prepared to leave them in St. Martin. Don’t forget two pairs of pajamas that you don’t mind your friends seeing you wear! Several sports bras were a must for me. :)
  4. As a couple, we brought 2 bottles of SPF 30 lotion and 4 spray cans of SPF 30 for reapplication. Include an SPF lip balm, sunglasses, and hat, and you should be good to go. I get burned medium easily and I didn’t get but a slight sunburn on my back one day when some of the SPF must have rubbed off.
  5. They accepted American dollars almost everywhere we went. We brought $500 cash and spent an additional $250 on our debit card in groceries and this was plenty. Bring small bills for tipping.
  6. Consider how you are going to preserve your sailing memories. We bought and brought a GoPro camera for pictures and underwater video and I also collected sand from each place.
  7. Bring your own snorkel gear! The $50 spent is well worth it for an impromptu jump in the sea. I would test it out first in a pool before you leave, my original mask leaked so I had to get another one.
  8. My husband was first mate and he was prepared with UV long sleeve shirts and gloves for the ropes. He definitely needed those gloves. He also rented a fishing pole from the marina for a week to fiddle with when he wasn't working.
  9. The ladies made one trip to the grocery store, while the men got acquainted with the boat. We rented a car for $60 and spent $750 on groceries from the store (total), which included everything from the provisions list below.
  10. Definitely check out the boat first to see what is provided… we had a percolator to make coffee (instructions here), no microwave, charcoal grill (did not use), and propane oven/range. Bring a large tervis tumbler with lid if you tend to like larger drinks that stay cold. The cups that were provided were just so-so.
*** Sea Sickness - this is a personal choice, but I only felt queasy one time in 8-10 foot seas and a quick trip to the side of the boat and looking at the horizon helped me out. One girl wore the seasickness bands on her wrists, and another took Dramamine but was pretty tired all week. No one else had any problems. ***


Our Provisions List – for 6 people for one week. (We ate about 3 meals on shore)

  • 150 bottles of water
  • 3 cases of beer (try the local Carib if you get a chance, very Corona-ish)
  • 6 bottles of liquor, include a local rum – like Guavaberry!
  • 6 bottles of mixers (2 liters of ginger ale, orange juice, sprite, etc.)
  • Coffee, creamer, and sugar/sweetener
  • Small dish-soap, trash bags, ziplock containers or storage bags, sponge, spray bottle of cleaner, toilet paper, and paper towels
  • Snacks: Chips, dips, cookies, trail mix
  • Breakfast: fruit, oatmeal, yogurt, cereal, milk
  • Lunch: cold cuts, bread, sliced cheese, peanut butter & jelly
  • Dinners: we took turns cooking and all girls did the cleaning (since the men did the sailing)
  • Meal 1: Spaghetti noodles, Italian sausages, jar of red sauce, frozen garlic bread, shredded mozzarella cheese
  • Meal 2: Frozen burger patties, buns, ketchup, mustard, onion, tomato
  • Meal 3: Chicken tenderloins, bowtie pasta, alfredo sauce, broccoli
  • Meal 4: Ground beef, seasoning, taco shells, sour cream, shredded cheese, black beans, salsa
  • ICE! – We bought 2-3 bags of ice daily. The boat had a cooler, but it would melt per day and we would use ice in our drinks.



6.19.2014

Sexy Soccer Stars


Aleksandr Kerzhakov from Russia, clearly.

6.06.2014

I'm Sailing Away!

Headed to St. Martin, Anguilla, and St. Barts today! Words cannot describe. :)


From Charleston, South Carolina to your computer. I hope you enjoy. :)