Though the difference within slang, style, and many more contributors to who a person is vary throughout different places, one thing I did not expect to find as I came to this part of the country, is the change in food choices, and familiarity with certain meals. Some of the most common snacks you would find in the average southern California home are evidently unheard of around the country.

     As I was organizing my snack drawer the other day, one of my roommates, who too was raised in San Diego, saw the assortment of food piled on my bed, and asked me for a “Clif Bar”. The most common brand of one of the most common choice of snack in San Diego. Having a Clif bar almost every morning for breakfast last year, and continuing the habit this year, I was in complete awe when my other roommate questioned what it was. She was born and raised in New York, and if not knowing the brand “Clif” was not shocking enough, she said it was practically rare for someone to eat a bar as a snack in her hometown. Mila, my fellow San Diegan, and I were shocked. Immediately handing her one of the bars and encouraging to eat it, I was still so surprised to find that something that is quite literally apart of my daily diet, someone who I was now sharing a room with had never even heard of. The roommate unfamiliar with the gift that is “Clif Bars” agreed with how good they tasted, and how convenient having a bar for a snack is, despite her previous thoughts on the idea.

     Continuing through the night, there were many people in and out of our room, as their usually is, due to my room being a supplemental, and providing much more space for people to come over and act almost as a hangout room. I was laying in my bed, doing homework quietly to myself, as once again my snacking choices were brought into question. Seaweed. Another one of the most common snacks one could find in the average San Diego home. This sparked a loud and very confused reaction from the now nine people in my room, who all grew up within four hours of this exact campus. Every single one of them were shocked to see me enjoying the snack, once again saying they had never even heard of someone doing that. Then, something that seems to happen quite frequently occurred again, as Mila and I stared at each other shocked and confused as to our friends’ amazement. We went on to explain the individual packages of seaweed were extremely common at home, and ate them along with any another snack like Goldfish, that our parents would pack us for lunch at school. As the conversation continued, Mila walks to her bed only to prove really how common seaweed is, and pulls out the multiple packages she has in her designated snack storage, with flavors including wasabi and teriyaki. The rest of the people in my room, from varying parts of the east coast shifted from complete confusion to being intrigued, and wanting to try the snack. Similarly with the “Clif Bar” unfamiliarity, many of them were pleasantly surprised by their interest in the snack, while some of them were happy they had never tried it before.

Coming from less than an hour away from the US/Mexico boarder, I grew up with Mexican food being the go to choice for nearly any occasion. From getting carne asada fries with friends before going out, or having street tacos cater literally every event, or even always having breakfast burritos as a class after achieving a certain task. It was probably the most common type of food throughout the entire San Diego county. Out of the thousands of different menu items across the hundreds of different restaurants that serve Mexican food in San Diego, by far the most common option is a California Burrito. You could ask absolutely any San Diego local, and they would tell you exactly what the burritos consists of, and exactly which spot has the best ones in their opinion. It’s also a running joke when someone goes on vacation, as soon as they get back into town they have to stop at one of the Mexican restaurants near the airport and get a California Burrito, since they have gone days without one. So you can imagine my despair when no one on this side of the country knows what a CaliB is, or has never even had good Mexican food. I tried. I have now tried three of the different Mexican restaurants around State College, and it is safe to say each of them have been nothing short of horrible. My roommate and I have even considered having friends and family who are still in California try to overnight ship the burritos to us. Though I am thoroughly disappointed with the lack of knowledge about Mexican food this part of the country has, it geographically makes sense. Now being so much further from Mexico, I expected there to be an evident lack of familiarity, just not this much. I have yet to find something from this area that I can say I am personally unfamiliar with, but I am excited to find some things. As for anyone reading this, and also does not know what a California Burrito is, I would encourage you to try one immediately, preferably from the Cotijas in San Diego.

     When I first moved in to school, and it became real that I actually live in Pennsylvania, it was very odd. It still is, and I honestly do not plan to really fully adjust to the change, but everyday it seems a little more like my reality. Although I still hate having to scroll all the way to the “P” states when I indicate my address when online shopping, and having to explain to my friends that Penn State is in the state of Pennsylvania, which is more often than one would predict, I think all of the differences I am noticing have made it just that much more exciting that I am where I am now.

     Though I am slowly becoming adjusted to the odd terms I hear on the daily, there are certain trends that I do not expect to get adjusted to any time soon. Certain styles of shoes especially. I knew inevitably when I was making the move from the west coast to the east coast I was going to see Birkenstocks. The shoes, which prior to this August I had only seen on social media, are something my friends and I would only joke about. “Jesus Sandals”, “Hippie Slippers” and many more names were associated with the brand. Now it feels like if you are not wearing “Birks”, then you are missing out on some big part of the culture at Penn State. Sadly, however, I am not as opposed to the brand nearly as much as I was upon my arrival in central Pennsylvania. I have honestly considered making the purchase myself a few times, yet come to my senses before actually following through. The popularity of the shoes, however shocks me considering the location in which they find most of their revenue. One would think, in a place that is around 70 degrees throughout the year, as it is in San Diego, that sandals that are easy to put on and can be actually quite fashionable, would be a saving grace. Conversely, it is the parts of the country that get into negative degrees and snow that seem to have found an interest. Though I am not completely sold on the idea yet, I think a few more months of seeing Birkenstocks everywhere I go may have me convinced to find a pair of my own.

     Another footwear phenomenon that I have noticed, yet can say with certainty that I will never be apart of, is Crocs. Not even as a child did I have any desire to wear them, while everyone else was finding pins and fun things to accessorize with, the shoes never really sparked my interest. Now, in present day, as a seventeen year old, on a college campus, I am shocked with how many people I see wearing the shoes. This is a trend absolutely no one would participate in I am assuming in the entire state of California, but definitely not in San Diego. The first pair I saw, I thought the person was wearing them as a joke, to be funny around his friends. Then as I began to see more and more people wearing the same shoes, I began to realize they were in fact wearing them seriously. This is a style choice that you would almost never ever find on the west coast. Quite frankly, I am not sure why or how this fad has resurfaced over the last decade, but it is one that when it dies down the next time, will hopefully be for good.

     Walking down the streets of San Diego, on an average teenage girl, it is rare to spot someone drifting away from the norm. Whether it coincides with the idea of California being “basic” or just sticking to what they know, only very few brands are actually worn, while most others are strayed away from. The most common style is by far a white sneaker, included brands such as Vans, Converse, Adidas, Fila, and Nike. Sandals are nearly all Rainbow brand, while Kate Spade and Michael Kors are seen on occasion. As for anything resembling crocs, I have yet to see on anyone I know personally.

     The different brands of shoes is something I was very surprised to find differ so greatly in two different parts of the country. Though some style changes were expected, I did not take time to consider them to be within shoes. I am still adjusting to the many unexpected differences between the over two and a half thousand miles, but they seem to get more and more interesting as time goes on. As for myself, I think I am going to stick with what I am familiar with shoe wise, and continue to wear my white sneakers for a majority of my days.