overheard

the husband, boy and I are in the capital city of okie (dokie) as I have mentioned before this part of the world is like nothing I've ever experienced before and the trend continues. Today the boy and I were in a store and the two cashiers were having a conversation about restaurants, here goes:
1 "red lobster! I love that place, it has the best food, I love the shrimp"
2 "I don't eat shrimp"
1 "do you eat fish?"
2 "I only eat fish if its fried and dipped in ketchup"
(this is where I can no longer stifle a giggle/borderline snort)
1 "this lady is laughing at you"
me "not laughing, its just that I'm a west coast girl (my new title for myself in an effort to explain why I don't get it most of the time) and we don't fry fish"
2 "oh! so you don't like fried catfish?"
me (this is where I really pushed the limit) "I've heard that catfish is only good if its breaded, fried and dipped, to me if it has to be breaded, fried and dipped then it must not be all that good"
1 & 2 blank stares and silence

The best thing for me to do then was show myself the door, as I had once again proved that 1. I don't get it and 2. that I am a snotty west coast girl. This has led me to wonder all day why is it that geography can cause us to not work as "one nation under god". Why don't we get how things work in each part of this country and does not getting it makes us bad? I am struggling to convey my thoughts, but as the week has continued I find myself feeling more and more like I am surrounded by hicks...something I really hate to admit that I even think. I mean these are humans just like me who have all the same ingredients that I have, but for some reason I cannot relate to them and find myself thinking I am better than them. ick, I don't want to be that person. So I ask, how does one shift their thinking to align with geography? If I figure it out I'll let you know.

-your stuck up west coast girl