Language barrier.

One of the hardest parts of living in the south when you grew up out west is the version of English they speak down here. I was standing outside the office this morning and there was a crew of guys putting up a new awning across the walkway. I was eavesdropping on a conversation they were having about...something...but, for the life of me, I could only understand about every other word. There's something funny about the way people speak that can give you the impression as to their intelligence level. Many people think the southern dialect is "cute." I think it makes you sound like an idiot. The sad thing is I tend to assimilate to my surroundings. When I lived in LA growing up, my mom used to give me a bunch of crap about speaking with a Mexican accent. I started that because my best friend was Hispanic at the time. My brother (who lives in Seattle) has told me that I've now picked up a southern accent. I can't deny it because I let a "y'all" slide out every once in a while. So by my own definition, I sound like an idiot. I draw the line at "fixin" though. If that starts to pop out of my mouth on a regular basis, I'm fixin to have to move back out where there are mountains and deserts.

Don't ever try to explain to a redneck that you aren't "Yankee" if you were born in Nevada. It's a complete waste of time.