The born-and-bred, tried-and-true Texans who make their way to BYU often suffer from some culture shock. They go from a huge, flat, humid state where the only two seasons are sunshine and thunderstorms to a slightly less huge, mountainous, dry state with far too many seasons — most of which are cold. Whether you’re a Lone Star flag-wavin,’ cowboy boot-wearin’ country boy (or girl) or a more refined city-dweller who doesn’t understand the appeal of rodeos, transitioning to living in Utah can be hard if you’re from Texas. Here are the major changes all Texas students at BYU must accept.
1. Tex-Mex withdrawals
Yes, Costa Vida and Café Rio are fine. Delicious, in fact. But there are entirely too few places where you can gorge yourself on endless chips and salsa while waiting for your decently-priced fajitas to arrive. On the Border, anyone?
2. The devastating lack of professional sports teams
It’s fun to watch the Jazz play, and it’s cool that Utah has such a great soccer team just as the U.S. is starting to get more involved with international sports. But for Texans, football is almost another religion, and BYU isn’t cutting it this season. To be fair, the Cowboys are sometimes the joke of the NFL, but they’ve done pretty well this year! And how could any Dallas native forget the pride of watching their Mavs win the championship in 2011? And what about when the Rangers went to the World Series in 2010 and 2011? You can’t forget about the Houston and San Antonio teams either. Whether you’re into football, basketball, baseball, or even hockey, Texas is a sports’ fan’s dream.
3. The altitude
Can’t … breathe. … And the mountains, though beautiful, can make plains-dwellers feel slightly claustrophobic.
4. The “Texan” reputation
Non-Texans often accuse Texans of thinking they’re above everyone else, and let’s face it, they’re probably right. Texas school children recite the Texas Pledge along with the Pledge of Allegiance every day, and Texas is the only state allowed to fly its flag at the same height as the national flag. Of course Texas is the best! Still, the snarky comments about “that Texas pride” can get to you after a while…even if they’re totally true.
5. Loss of other Texas cuisine
Food is incredibly important to Texans, and you just can’t get good Texas food anywhere else. Where can you get a decent kolache other than at the Czech Bakery? Do Utah restaurants even know how to cook barbecue? Obviously, Fuzzy’s is the only place where you can actually get a fish taco. And forget In-and-Out; Whataburger is the only burger joint we need!
6. Winter
It’s literally the worst.
