When I moved to Texas a few years ago I felt like I stumbled upon a long lost culture. I felt strangely out of place and didn’t even know how to drive correctly. There was no road rage and the rules were simple; if someone rides your bumper, move over. There were no mixed messages or angry gestures when someone does this; you just simply move over. Texas is a simple place. The men are more polite and the rules are not as complex as they were in Seattle. Men open doors for ladies and call their elders maam and sir. A Dr. Pepper is a Coke and a tea is served cold. “Y’all” replaced “you guys” and huge trucks replaced little cars.
Among these cultural changes was my first glimpse of a confederate flag, hung in all its glory. Where I am from this would signal a sign of hatred. Texas has taken me a long time to get used to. The lack of rights and wages for workers has been distressing to me. I can enjoy the amazing, expansive freeways, but I may not be able to go to a dentist. I pay about half of what I used to for a gallon of milk but then I also make half as much. I don’t sit in traffic all day but I don’t get breaks at work either. I enjoy not having to remember what politically correct acronym to use for sexual minorities, but I hear people refer to Asian Americans as Oriental.
Strangely the experiences I have had here, adopting to a new culture have made me a more well rounded person. From the extreme liberals up North who believe in taxing rain barrels to the staunch conservatives in Texas, I believe I fit squarely in the middle.
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