Tale Of New Lands

I guess is is thinking like this got my knucles rapped===


"everyone talks funny" ??? did you listen to Skip Bertman, eloquent as can be!!!!


My sons, went to three different areas --o no impact on my family--cuisine was cool---in fact all three were better off after the excursion


Some of you need to cut the freakin cord !!!! simple as that

Great topic! I look forward to reading the replies.

Betcha TPM could tell some good stories!

Cultural perspectives and differences also affect those in summer ball.

Son got a text message from one of his teammates this morning. His teammate is from NY, but is playing ball in Battle Creek.

Seems like they drafted some players from each team to participate in a "cow milking" contest in between innings as a promo last night. He said in his text message that he was very, very glad he was in the starting lineup that night and not able to participate.

True cultural shock.

Cultural or regional differences would sure make for great stories as well.

My son played in a Labor Day tournament last year in San Diego with all his teammates being from Southern California.

They were all fascinated with him being from IL constantly asked him if we had the same things in IL that they do in CA...such as fast food restaurants and grocery stores!

And we think SoCal is the exotic place!

From Seoul.......


....to San Antonio....


How amazing is that?!

H3 Jr traveled to Holland to play baseball when he was 13. He went alone with the team (couldn't afford to all go).

First thing he noticed was that he could buy a beer with his Happy Meal at the local McDonalds Franchise.

2nd thing he noticed as that they didn't know what a Pepperoni Pizza was.

3rd thing he found out was that they dont sell coffee at the coffee houses, just weed (well I guess you could get coffee too, but he still doesn't like coffee).

The baseball diamond was a converted soc*er field, so the distance to CF fence was about 400. RF was about 280 and LF was about 600 ...

They had 73 foot bases paths, since that's what fit on that section of the field. Pitchers threw from 51 feet.

Rules seemed kinda relaxed, like they made them up as they went along. The US team was all 12-14 year olds. All of the international teams were 16-18 years old. 16 teams in the tourney from Germany, France, Italy, etc.

They lost the championship game 1-0, going 5-0 to get there.

He still has the wooden shoes he bought over there.

You don't have to travel far for culture shock.

I've have noticed after my son started going to school in so cal he started using terms like "dude" "bro" etc. and he spends a lot of time at the beach! We're from Nor CA.

My son made a visit outside of CA, the players at dinner were giving him a hard time about his CA accent and commented to him that people from CA say funny things like "taking the 5". My son told them they didn't know squat about CA! - he explained only so cal people refer to highways using "the" and people from Nor ca use the term "highway".

i.e.

So Cal "We're on the 101"
Nor Cal "We're on highway 101" or "we're on 101"

quote:

Originally posted by CollegeParent:
So Cal "We're on the 101"
Nor Cal "We're on highway 101" or "we're on 101"

Totally radical dude in a tubular kinda way......

quote:

Originally posted by Infield08:
Great topic! I look forward to reading the replies.

Betcha TPM could tell some good stories!

I don't have any good stories, though in a far away place, it was in the upstate, not deep south. The only thing he missed was Pollo Tropical.

One thing mentioned, females are females, where ever you go!

Son was heavily recruited to LSU, but we and he didn't think that it was the place for him.

Will tell you one funny story though, first time Clemson came to Miami, walking on the strip and talking to another player from the team who was from South Carolina, a porche, a mazarratti, quite a few Jags passed by. He told me that was the first time he had ever seen cars like that in his life. Dave just looked at him like he came from outer
space. The big attractions for the southern folks and their players were South Beach, *** bars, everyone speaks a foreign language and the nude beach.

I'd like to keep reading, but I think I'll head and do some goofy-footin' in some gnarly tubes, hopefully hang in the green room awhile.

quote:

Originally posted by biggerpapi:
.... how their terrain, cuisine and cultures have affected your sons and your families.

Daughter while deciding on college and softball programs: "Dad, what were you thinking when you moved us here from southern California? I'm not playing in a snow bank!"

After two years down south: "When I graduate I'm, staying."

Son is in college in NY. Nearly all his teammates are southern, NC, Texas, FL, AL. They all claim he has the biggest accent on the team...from Chicago...go figger.

quote:

Originally posted by Krakatoa:
I'd like to keep reading, but I think I'll head and do some goofy-footin' in some gnarly tubes, hopefully hang in the green room awhile.

hunh???????

Does not understanding a word doesn't mean that I have to retake HS english?

quote:

Originally posted by CPLZ:
Son is in college in NY. Nearly all his teammates are southern, NC, Texas, FL, AL. They all claim he has the biggest accent on the team...from Chicago...go figger.

That's funny.

Culture shock can be found on the TV, the other side of the world, or just down the road. The US with its liberal borders is home to many different “species” of people. Diversity has found a home in just about every community in the United States including every small town here in Tennessee. Technology has shrunk our world to where our neighbors are no longer just those we can see out our front door. Much of Canada is about as American as the United States while parts of Texas and California are about as Spanish as Mexico. Throw in the fact that our society has embraced just about every lifestyle as “normal” and it’s understandable that we find ourselves in a very diverse world. As your son moves up into college and beyond, the odds are favorable his roommates could be bi-racial, bi-lingual, bi-sexual, and have dual citizenship. Your son will find many things interesting and acceptable. At the same time he will be exposed to things he disapproves of. That will be his call. I think the experience for my son was challenging, rewarding, and educational. The most severe case of cultural shock I experienced WAS at LSU and it had to do with the cuisine. My son had just finished a Saturday game against LSU and my wife and I took him, my daughter and her husband plus their two kids (they were living in Baton Rouge at the time) to Ruth Crisp steak house. Come to think of it that may have been “sticker shock” instead of culture shock.
Fungo

quote:

Originally posted by Fungo:
The most severe case of cultural shock I experienced WAS at LSU and it had to do with the cuisine. My son had just finished a Saturday game against LSU and my wife and I took him, my daughter and her husband plus their two kids (they were living in Baton Rouge at the time) to Ruth Crisp steak house.

No opossum there, huh?

quote:

No opossum there, huh?

CPLZ, Never seen possum spelled with an "o". Hmmm.

Anyway --- No Possum for Fungo.
Coon --- Yes
Rooster fries --- Yes.
mountain Oysters --- No.
Chitterlings (fried) --- Yes
Chitterling (boiled) --- No-No-No!
Catfish----YES!
Buffalo (fish) --- no.

Being raised in W.VA I want it known that I don't eat ramps!
Fungo

Well there ya go Fungo, here we call it Ruth Chris Steak House but the sticker shock is still the same.

Mine has been fortunate to travel a lot due to baseball, his biggest cultural shock was found on the New york Subway.

We indulge in shushi here.

So, let's see.
We are from Northern CA.
Our son went to college in San Antonio, Tx. Was pretty fun to introduce his friends and their parents to Sushi. But, Sushi in SAT and Sushi in SFO are...well.... different. Texans seemed more reluctant to try sushi and sashimi than we were to sample barbecue. We could "sample" all we could find. We got introduced to barbecue. Boy is there barbecue. We did locate one sushi and barbecue in Jackson, Miss., but we were NOT going there.

We had barbecue in SAT at Rudy's and a few others, including home cooking with Theo....amazing.
Cannot be nicer people anywhere than those in San Antonio.
Wherever we traveled in college, barbecue was a pregame whether at Red & Blue in Jackson, Miss., in Memphis at Corky's, "dragging" players and parents the entire way. Something like 20 lbs of ribs and chicken from Corky's in Memphis may have been the record, dry rub was...well, GREAT!
Where else..Atlanta, Terre Haute, Greencastle and Georgetown, TX. Not much barbecue.
From there, to Lowell, Mass and Newport, RI. Two of the great owners/GMs anywhere in Harry Ayotte and Chuck Paiva. If there is any place in the US better for summer wood bat leagues than Cardines Field in Newport, and the Newport Gulls we never found it. Mudvilles along the right field line in Cardines has to be the best place to watch a game with a cold one, especially since you are on the field. From each great City, there were travels to, Keane, NH, Manchester, NH, Middletown and Torrington, Connecticut and many others. What great summers.
From there, Auburn, NY, Batavia, NY, Cooperstown(Wow) and the Fingerlakes area. Is there any place more beautiful than the Fingerlakes? Still get emails from Charlie Wride in Auburn, NY, the NY/PENN league historian, a position he has proudly held for over 50 years. Charlie is so proud of the Fingerlakes area and the NY/Penn league and he sure is nice to players and parents alike.
Then on to Lansing, Grand Rapids, Peoria, Ill, Dunedin, Fla, Tampa and others in Fla.
Along this vast journey, there was one return trip for a regional in Orange CA.
Wherever he played, he seemed to sure play well. Where ever we followed, we found the greatest people, wonderful cities and towns and teammates/families who made the journey timeless and unforgettable.
Wherever he went, he found people who were so kind to him. He found members of the media in local papers who were so supportive. Chad Hillman in Lansing was the ultimate best in finding an "interview" who would sit in the locker room, win or lose, and answer the questions for an article in tomorrow's paper. Funny how you remember a single reporter for a local newspaper who has a deadline and loves to talk with your son at 11:30pm. From the way each would talk about it, I could somewhat envision a Rockwell painting..or maybe a Peanuts cartoon.
Amazing experiences this baseball brings.

When traveling out of NJ area I find it hard to buy a bottle of water. Many people don't know what "wooder" is !
I had to learn how to pump gas!! (its illegal to pump your own gas in NJ)... We never leave our cars at the pumps and go into the store!!!

We don't use sacks (bags)
Drink soda not pop.
We wear sneakers.

Krak,

I think your photos of "culture shock" were very revealing...or at least that second one was! But you might want to tell Tristan before he gets on the plane, the girls in SA probably don't ALL look like that!


Julie

Although i dont start college and practice until 3 months or so i have a bad Baltimore accent.People in and out of baltimore from going tournaments notice right way.


Baltimore-i say Bawlmore...in a fast,cant understand way and most ppl dont understand me

water-i say wader....i cant say water unless i try lol

washing-i say wershing,its a habbit

Bel Air-i say blair,i cant even fix it...it just happens.

theres too many more lol

Mine has played pretty far afield. England, on fields carved out of parks in highly questionable London neighborhoods, in the shadow of Windsor castle, and in a gorgeous valley just outside of Brighton. He also spent part of that summer with the MLB Roadshow, spreading the gospel of baseball to little English children who regarded it as sophisticated 'rounders'.

Then there was baseball in Vienna. It was a modern stadium, much like a college field....I was hoping for a gabled outfield fence, 7th inning waltzes, and concessionaires shouting 'get your sacher torts here'. I think they missed a great opportunity.

And a summer playing in Germany....with a Japanese roommie. A tournament in Prague, where the outskirts were appalling but the city magnificent.

One big difference was the required session at the pub, ratskeller, or bar after every game ---- the tournaments even provided the beer tent for the teams! Some training table! Like all international sports, there was much exchanging of uni shirts after the final games. And the incredible feeling of comraderie not only amongst the national team members, but with all the players -- Russians, Greeks, Czech, Swiss ballplayers...all in love with the same sport.

I'll tell ya, reading the game descriptions on internet-translated German, Dutch, or Czech baseball sites is a trip in itself!

The tournament in Barcelona was more hardcore (not so much of the bonhomie, played at the Olympic fields as well as the local stadia. There are more in Europe than you might expect. (And just tonight he played against one of the Dutch National team members, currently playing for the Dodger High A affiliate. The guy's freakin' huge and near the top of the Cal League in home runs.)

Oddly enough, when he left for Eugene last year, that was the first time he had been further West in the US than St Louis (kind of like MLB in the '50's ). And now, he does think South Californians talk funny....or maybe it's lithium in the water....

These are awesome stories...exactly what I was looking for!!!

We experienced cultural differences in the nicest of ways. South Carolina is a long ways from Ohio but the thing I will always remember fondly about the state is how nice and friendly the people are. People approach you with an old-fashioned sense of making you feel welcome. Manners and respect are the norm. Sure, there is some heckling at the games but it seems to be done with a twinkle in one's eye where those being heckled don't seem to mind. The higher speed limits in North and South Carolina are also greatly appreciated

The biggest difference we noticed is that religion is a very big deal in the South. It is in Ohio as well but in a less-visible way. My wife made sure my son was raised a Catholic (I was raised Methodist) and he has since been exposed to the Southern Baptist religion which has been good for him. He has learned to look out for his fellow man as community service was expected of them. Although no one religion is forced on a player, their many team events involving the church and related charities has influenced him in a positive way.

The most religious place we have visited in the south is Lynchburg, Va. Traveling through one town to get there, there appeared to be no more than about 20 old houses in the town yet the town had five well-cared-for churches within about two blocks of each other. Reading the local paper one morning for breakfast, I perused the opinion section and quickly gathered the conservative nature of the town. There were exactly three editorials in the paper that day - one attacked Clinton, another one attacked Obama, and a third one was effusive in its praise of John McCain. I am pretty sure I understood from reading that how that town was going to vote in the elections this fall At the game on Friday night, the crowd was asked to recite the Lord's prayer before the singing of the National Anthem and Jerry Falwell Jr. throwing out the first pitch. Hearing a prayer at the start was a first for me at a game.

The hardest part sending son away to a southern bible belt school was the thought of fitting in regarding his religious beliefs and never once did he feel out of place, and IMO, any community services should be of non sectarian nature in a non sectarian environment. I strongly beleive unless one attends a university that is strongly affiliated with any religious organization, there should be seperation between the two. Team prayer should have no reference to any particular belief. Actually, my son never discussed his religious preferences with anyone nor did anyone else discuss it with him.

But this can happen when attending schools within the very strong bible belt of the south. I know of one coach that won't even make you a consideration unless your beliefs are in line with the general population.

Although many don't really consider South Florida the south anymore, Florida is very much a state that falls within that belt once you get above central Florida so my player in general pretty much was exposed to a different way of life for many years. As much as things have changed, watching white hooded KKK drive thrus on Sunday (in teh town where we lived) was normal for my kids when they were little.

Imagine sending your son off to school and finding out that bible class is expected when you weren't really expecting that. Shouldn't this have been discussed during recruiting time. Although my kids have the freedom to choose what they wish, I might have had a hard time with the above if caught off guard.

I do have a hard time with the confederate flag being hung on the SC State Capital. So does the NCAA.

You know Florida, TPM, the only state where the further north you go, the further south you get!

Mine was somewhat surprised that Atlanta was as conservative and Bible Belt as it was. He expected a city to be more cosmopolitan. The school, however, didn't push any agenda; friends and classmates, however, did like to proselytize!

quote:

Originally posted by CPLZ:
Son is in college in NY. Nearly all his teammates are southern, NC, Texas, FL, AL. They all claim he has the biggest accent on the team...from Chicago...go figger.

got another one coming soon, Chip...

...and on the official visit in Jan., I got Sottolano to mess with my kid about how he went "noodlin'" for some catfish in that big ol' Hudson River.

Don't fish the Hudson River for catfish---if you want fun fish for stripers , largemouth and smallmouth bass.

My HS team (American kids overseas mil/gov) in Seoul was invited to a town about 2 hours southeast of Seoul a couple weeks ago. The Chunju HS team is pretty good. They've been up to our place several times (our base has one of the nicer field complexes in Korea - with the exception of having a portable mound).

Anyway, they were very very excited to have foreigners come all the way out there to play them, and the nuns at the school took it upon themselves to make sure we'd feel at home. I think they must have asked themselves, "Hmmm, what do Americans eat for picnics?" Maybe one of the old nuns had visited the States once many years ago or something, but they finally came up with a menu and got to work. They worked all morning, cranking out sandwiches and hotdogs...........with a twist.

The sandwiches were a sort of potato salad on white bread.

The hotdogs were about the size of an index finger. They were in a bun......however, you had to dig through a thick layer of cole slaw with two ketchup ribbons running the length of the assemblage to get to the weiner.

Fortunately I had a lot of parents along for the trip, and they managed to keep the boys from going crazy with the facial expressions and comments (trying to be funny and thinking the nuns probably didn't speak English)....managed to keep them 'grateful and polite'.......we did our best, but as we left the room and I looked back at the tables, I saw a one-sixth eaten 'hot dog' on almost every plate (the adults of course managed to eat their dogs and the potato salad sandwiches). Made me feel pretty bad, as I'm sure the nuns were mortified.

We then all went out to play nine innings of ball in the hot Korean sun.

TPM,
The Confederate flag no longer flies above the state capitol building in SC. A few years ago the NAACP led an effort to have the flag removed from the capitol dome and from the legislative chamber. They got exactly what was asked for. The flag was removed from the legislative chamber, and a much smaller flag flies at the Confederate soldiers' monument on the statehouse grounds. In addition, a new monument was placed on the statehouse grounds commemorating the contributions of African Americans in the history of South Carolina. After this was worked out, the NAACP apparently felt like since they got everything they asked for to begin with, they should have asked for more, and so began the push to have the flag removed entirely from the statehouse grounds. The NAACP has had a tourism boycott in force against SC since that time in an effort to extract their additional demands. The boycott has had a neglible effect on tourism in our state. Given the National Collegiate Athletic Association's track record in making intelligent decisions, I think I probably speak for most South Carolinians when I say that I really don't care what they like.

Its a little different where my son is matriculating.

That's funny 04

I would like to interject that since many of the posts here have at the least **** all to do with baseball, we should all try real hard to leave the political rhetoric out of the conversation.

Anyway, my son has gone from the arid Southwest to Hawai'i with stops in the South and Japan along the way. Something about islands and that boy. Who knows, next week he may end up in Cuba.

For those that don't know, the Hawai'ian lifestyle is not as laid back as one might think. If you've never heard Pidgin you may not understand, but here's a story that I think says a lot about the experience.

Once upon one time dere waz one young boy named Spizzle. Spizzle waz 19 years old and stay living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. One day wen we been leave school, one blue puppy dog wen jump out from behind one door an wen trow Spizzle to da ground. But just when he almost wen scream for help, Spizzle had reka notice dat da blue puppy dog stay only licking his face, not going bite em off. An den, Spizzle wen figurah fo keep da blue puppy dog fo one pet. Nevah have one name so he had go name his pet blue puppy dog ''Mongo.'' Wen Spizzle an his da kine pet had go home already, who you tink was ovah dere on do lanai? Az right, was Spizzle's Muddah, Jo. An waaped her jaw fo see da blue puppy dog in da back of Spizzle right inside da yard! ''Wat iz dat?'' shouted Jo. ''It's one blue puppy dog,'' answered Spizzle. ''No dah, I can see dat, Spizzle, but wat it stay doing heah?'' said Jo. ''Dis iz my da kine new pet!'' answered Spizzle. ''Hoo, dats wat you tink?'' remarked Jo. No get your hopes up. You know Daddy no like blue puppy dogs. But, well, I guess, no mattah if you keep him until you Faddah come home.'' So den Spizzle wen grab Mongo by the ear an wen take his new pet inside da house--even wen he had know dat his faddah no like. Inside da house, Spizzle and Mongo had good fun, until Spizzle's favorite TV show, ''Springer,'' had start. By dis time Spizzle had forget all about Mongo stay running all ovah da house. Until half way true ''Springer,'' wen Spizzle wen come back to reality he wen heah his faddah yelling, ''****!! Spizzle! Get you smelly crack in da bathroom...NOW!!'' An den Spizzle had rushed insi da bathroom fo see waz up. Wen he had go in da bathroom, dere waz his Faddah, Joe, pointing toward da bed. Somebody going tell me waz going on?'' asked his Faddah. Den, wen Spizzle had follow his Faddah's fingah where stay pointing, he already know why his Faddah stay so upset. Dere, right in da middle of da bed, was da biggest pile of puppy dog doo-doo he eveah seen! ''I no EVEN like know how dat had got dere,'' said Joe. ''But you bettah go clean em right now! And you bettah get rid of whateveah wen did dis!'' Well, knowing how his Faddah going aack Spizzle already had know, no sense even ask his Faddah fo keep Mongo fo one pet. So den, right away Spizzle wen fo go look where Mongo stay hiding. Afteah looking around, Spizzle had find Mongo undah da table dat Spizzle did his sleep on. ''Come, Mongo, time fo find you one new home. Eh, no look at me li-dat, you da one had make doo doo on da bed! scolded Spizzle. Tanks eh, cuz of you I neveah going get my own pet puppy dog!! So den Spizzle wen take Mongo out-si da house and down to da local Big City. Dey had one pet section and Spizzle had know da ownah would try find Mongo one good home. So aftah dey wen say good-bye to each uddah, an say tanks to da owner of Big City, Spizzle wen walk back home an try fo dround his sorrows by slamming down a half dozen tequilas. But Spizzle's time fo feel sorry fo hisself pau wen his Faddah had remind him about da doo doos he nevah did clean up. An den, right in da middle of da clean-up, Spizzle came tankful dat somebody else going do da clean up from now on. DA END.

TPM,
I'm sure that many situations arise where our sons find themselves in "awkward" situations. Part of growing up and unavoidable in what has become a global society. Similar to your situation we weren’t told about the college team's religious "activities" during recruitment. Found out later that his team had a team chaplain that would lead the team in prayer. I never asked about his denomination but if he was praying to someone or something other than what my son believed in I would assume he could bow his head in respect for the others and listen to his iPOD. In pro ball it has to get more complicated and awkward for many players (at least their parents) because of the different ethnic backgrounds and religious beliefs thrown together. Hey, if a player from rural Tennessee can share an apartment with a player from Chinese Taipei (and his girlfriend at times) along with a player from South Mississippi (and his new bride at times) without problems then I guess anything is possible. Catfish sushi anyone?
Fungo

It seems like several of the bb players we know have come home from schools where the culture was vastly different from their daily lives. Very sad that they did not consider this when looking at "fit". This goes for regular students too.

My son is so excited to be going 1 state away for college and even though it's a west coast state I think it will be different enough that this experience will really help him grow. Personally I think he will grow more than his friends that are staying in CA.

My spinning helicopter blades have "cut the cord" so I'm ready for him to go even though I will miss him sooooo much. First step in cutting the cord was to let him go to Hawaii for a one week grad trip with 3 friends.

Keep the stories coming, very entertaining.

spizzlepop,

That is one of the most entertaining posts I have read on this site!


Do you write for your career by any chance?

Julie

not being able to find sweet iced tea with unlimited refills... culture shock

quote:

First step in cutting the cord was to let him go to Hawaii for a one week grad trip with 3 friends.

CaBB, it wouldn't have been nearly as tough on you had you left him home and gone to Hawaii yourself.
Of course, who am I to talk?

Fungo,
Sorry if you misunderstood, son never had any surprises but I do know of some that have.
Bible study and discussion at a non sectarian school, IMO is not part of the baseball deal.

Spizzle,
That was too funny, many speak pidgin here so I got in every word! Hawaii and pidgin, who would have thought of that one!