Coming to Bucknell from the land of tex-mex, “hooking ‘em”, and Friday night lights is a big adjustment. Here are 10 distinct differences a Texan experiences coming to school in Pennsylvania.
1. Snow. The first time I toured Bucknell, snow was everywhere. It may seem like nothing to a northerner, but it snows (barely sticks to the ground) approximately once a year in Texas. Donning a Canada Goose jacket and a pom-pom beanie opens up a whole new world of winter fashion I didn’t even know existed.
2. No one says “y’all.” The first time I walked into my hall and said “hey y’all,” I was met with looks of confusion, hilarity, and horror. But if you ask any Texan, they’ll say the term should be added into the dictionary.
3. Whataburger doesn’t exist. Oh how I miss my hub chubs (honey butter chicken biscuits), taquitos, and texas toast. Nobody does fast food quite like Whataburger, and I have spent many nights dreaming of when I’ll be able to taste their fancy ketchup again.
4. Mums are unknown. A giant button the size of your head you wear to your high school homecoming game? What’s not to love? Despite the never-ending struggle of figuring out how to pin your mum so your shirt doesn’t fall down, mums are integral to Texas culture, however pointless they may seem.
5. Rodeos are foreign. Don’t worry, I know how it sounds. But the Houston rodeo is an event I look forward to every year with anticipation. Complete with fried oreos, giant turkey legs, snow cones, and rides that make you throw it all up, “rodeo szn” is every Houstonian’s favorite time of the year.
6. Not rooting for the Astros. Not to be that person, but ‘Stros over everything else. Watching the best team in baseball come back from one of the biggest slumps in history to win the world series, the same year its city gets decimated by one of the worst hurricanes ever recorded… nothing gets better than that. #neversettle.
7. Super short road trips. The fact that I can get to NYC from Lewisburg in three hours is mind-boggling. That same driving time in Texas would get me to the next city over.
8. Tex-Mex isn’t a thing. Nothing would make me happier than to have a cup of Escalante’s queso, and an order of chicken fajitas in front of me. Literally nothing.
9. Buc-ee’s is not there to alleviate your mid-trip hunger. Ok… I don’t exactly miss giant record-setting gas stations, but it’s definitely weird to come to a place where sixty gas pumps is foreign. Whoever coined the phrase “everything’s bigger in Texas” definitely wasn’t kidding.
10. Football. Not pro, not college, high school. When people ask me if Texas is exactly like “Friday Night Lights”, I can’t exactly give them a straight answer, given I’ve never watched the show (fake Texan, ikr). But what I can tell you is some Texans have religion, others have football. Clear eyes, full heart, can’t lose?