Culture Shock

[Rel]

Can't we all just get along?!

I believe that history has proven categorically that we can't.

 

[Rel]

Hey, c'mon now; any region that doesn't have it's own regional breed of cow (I'll take pig in pinch, I guess, since pork BBQ works for me too) can't possibly be the best at BBQ.

What are you talking about? My favorite BBQ place has a bumper sticker on the wall that says: "North Carolina - #1 in Hogs, #42 in Teacher Pay". You can't swing a pulled pork sandwich around here without slapping three hogs. And if you've ever driven through some of the eastern part of the state on a hot day, you'll learn about "Hog Lagoons" too.

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

It's been my experience that, in the South, it helps to be neighborly. It's o.k. to give a cordial smile to someone on the street, make eye contact, wave to a neighbor, say hello to the clerk at the store and chat a bit even if you don't know them ("Hi, how are you today?" "Fine, yourself?" "Good. It's been nice to have the cooler weather lately." "Indeed it has, and thanks for stopping in."), stop by a friend's house just to stay hello and enjoy a glass of iced tea (I prefer mine unsweetened and it's perfectly acceptable to request something other than the diabetes-inducer that is "sweet tea")

The thing that always gets me when I enter America is how surprisingly difficult it is to find a hot cup of tea. I have felt like Arthur Dent, wandering aimlessly in search of some leaves to boil in a cup of water, surrounded by mountains of instant iced tea. I don't know why Americans never seem to have any tea. I'm usually a coffee drinker, but when you want a cup of tea, you want a cup of tea.

 

[Warrior Poet]

The thing that always gets me when I enter America is how surprisingly difficult it is to find a hot cup of tea. I have felt like Arthur Dent, wandering aimlessly in search of some leaves to boil in a cup of water, surrounded by mountains of instant iced tea. I don't know why Americans never seem to have any tea. I'm usually a coffee drinker, but when you want a cup of tea, you want a cup of tea.

I seem to recall there was an issue with tea that got this whole country started.

Warrior Poet

 

[Desdichado]

The thing that always gets me when I enter America is how surprisingly difficult it is to find a hot cup of tea. I have felt like Arthur Dent, wandering aimlessly in search of some leaves to boil in a cup of water, surrounded by mountains of instant iced tea. I don't know why Americans never seem to have any tea. I'm usually a coffee drinker, but when you want a cup of tea, you want a cup of tea.

Yeah, hot tea and Americans don't seem to go together well. If you want iced tea, on the other hand, that's easy to get.

I dunno about "harbor tea" though...

 

[DarrenGMiller]

Are you sure it's a North-South thing and not a generational one? Aren't most residents of Myrtle Beach about 80 years old?

There are a LOT of young people here.

I do agree though that Charleston, SC (and its associated area) has a more diverse population, with a more intellectual population base and a stronger arts community. I greatly enjoyed my time there (6 years), but moved back here to be nearer my aging parents (who, although their health is not good, are not yet 80) since my brother passed away.

DM

 

[Shemeska]

The thing that always gets me when I enter America is how surprisingly difficult it is to find a hot cup of tea. I have felt like Arthur Dent, wandering aimlessly in search of some leaves to boil in a cup of water, surrounded by mountains of instant iced tea. I don't know why Americans never seem to have any tea. I'm usually a coffee drinker, but when you want a cup of tea, you want a cup of tea.

Well, this past Gen Con, Clueless and I were lamenting the absolute absence of iced tea anywhere in Indiana. We asked for tea around there, and we got hot tea.

Largely it seems to be a (somewhat) north/south issue. In the North East you'll find hot tea, and in the South East you'll find iced tea with enough sugar in it to be supersatured and capable of making little precipitate snowflakes if you add any more.

Instant iced tea is blasphemy.

 

[Warrior Poet]

Instant iced tea is blasphemy.

Folks around where I grew up used to brew "sun tea" by steeping tea bags in water in large jars and leaving them out in the sun for a while (an hour or more, as I recall), then adding ice to it when it was time to pour to make iced tea. God that stuff tasted great. Do people still brew iced tea that way?

Warrior Poet

 

[Rel]

Folks around where I grew up used to brew "sun tea" by steeping tea bags in water in large jars and leaving them out in the sun for a while (an hour or more, as I recall), then adding ice to it when it was time to pour to make iced tea. God that stuff tasted great. Do people still brew iced tea that way?

Warrior Poet

Not often but it is still done. I think my wife's family had one of these back in the day but I've not seen them use it in a couple years or so.

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

Well, this past Gen Con, Clueless and I were lamenting the absolute absence of iced tea anywhere in Indiana. We asked for tea around there, and we got hot tea.

Largely it seems to be a (somewhat) north/south issue. In the North East you'll find hot tea, and in the South East you'll find iced tea with enough sugar in it to be supersatured and capable of making little precipitate snowflakes if you add any more.

Instant iced tea is blasphemy.

When I'm in the U.S. I'm usually in Ohio, so maybe instant is a midwest thing.