Continuing Ed.

OK, one of my first questions as a new resident of North Carolina was, "If I live in Texas, I'm a Texan. If I live in North Carolina, I'm a ???" Apparently, while it is correct to say "North Carolinian" (both short i's), I was informed that it is most common to refer to oneself as a "Tarheel." Soon after followed one of my second questions. "What is a Tarheel?" And guess what? There is no good answer! Apparently, it may have something to do with Civil War soldiers from North Carolina who "walked as if they had tar on their heels." I don't know about you, but that's not good enough for me. I guess I have plenty of time to figure it out, but for now, you can know that being a Tarheel is not necessarily being an alum from UNC-Chapel Hill. So, if you are a Tarheel, but also fan of NC State or Duke, what kind of conflict do you find yourself in? That's my question to all of you North Carolinian Tarheels, not UNC-Chapel Hill Tarheels.

Having spent my entire life between the states of Louisiana and Texas, I am learning a lot of new things here, only the first of which is keeping the three aforementioned schools separate, let alone their colors and their fans.


Here's more:

1. Living in the Eastern Time Zone is a bigger adjustment than I thought. It's one thing if you're traveling here. Quite another when you're leaving a message on someone's phone back home. Or planning your evening around a primetime TV show - or - the news! Isn't it CRAZY that the news comes on at 11pm? By that time, I should be watching something fluffy to fall asleep to, not the news! Just when Mike and I were getting our Conan on earlier...


2. Tea. They drink so much Iced Tea here that they only specify if it's "unsweet." And - I don't even know what to compare it to - it is like Starbucks to a New Yorker, like English Breakfast to a Brit, like Dr. Pepper to a Baylor Freshman. I kid you not. I was at breakfast with three members of our church the week before we moved and one of the Tarheels at the table with us ordered tea. Loving (what I thought was hot) tea for breakfast turned out to be Iced Tea! I gawked at him, said, "I have never seen anyone drink Iced Tea for breakfast" and he responded, laughing with, "Well, I'm glad I can be the first." As I've relayed that story to other Tarheels, turns out that it's not just him. As one lady said, "Oh, I drink tea for breakfast all the time." As if she'd said she had oatmeal every morning.

3. Ride you by = drive you by. As in, "I can ride you by all of the grocery stores/elementary schools/professional offices sometime if that would help." This is a habit I cannot acquire.

4. Pocketbook = Purse. When we were looking for a house to rent, one landlord told us she'd locked her pocketbook in the car. My thought was, "Oh. How very streamlined of her. She only carries a wallet..." Then our realtor told me she liked my pocketbook. My wallet, at this time, was deep in the depths of my (sister's) navy blue purse and I couldn't remember pulling it out in front of her. After a few similar statements, I finally asked for clarification. A lady held up her brown leather purse and said, "this is a pocketbook." So...as people have asked about our adjustment to NC, I have told them of this new discovery, to which every person responds, "Well...what do YOU call it?" :)

5. Pig-pickin': A common type of social gathering in which a pig is roasted for a "Barbecue" dinner.

On the other hand, a few terms that have gotten me blank stares:
DPS
DiscipleNow
HEB
brisket
Tex-Mex