Let's give this a shot

I've been thinking... I kind of want to start a real blog. What am I going to write about? I'm not really sure yet. For now, I'm going to leave this connected to a blog I started back in high school... approximately 2003. This blog is almost as old as my little sister. I'm hoping I'll be able to revitalize it with current events in my life, as well as humorous (in my opinion!) reminiscences.

Today's topic: Wisconsin translation of California-ese.
As of next week, I will have lived in Wisconsin for two-and-a-half years. Prior to that, I lived in California for 23 years and a couple months. Needless to say, my natural dialect is Californian. I list below the main words/phrases that have a different meaning in Wisconsin that I was not expecting:

1. Pop. In California, this is what happens when you blow a balloon bigger than it should be, or when a normal-sized balloon touches something hot/sharp. In Wisconsin, this means "soda." One local restaurant even advertises that their special includes "two cans of pop." This never ceases to make me smile, mostly to myself, because yes, I realize that I am the odd woman out in this situation!

2. Garden. In California, this refers to the flowers in your yard. In Wisconsin, when they say "garden," they mean "vegetable garden" (which is what we'd call it in California). Why not just say vegetable garden? I like to think that Californians are more specific.

3. Barbecue. In California, a barbecue is either the grilling instrument itself (e.g. "We just got a barbecue!") or the event that revolves around said instrument (e.g. "We're going to have a barbecue this weekend"). In Wisconsin, "barbecue" is talking about barbecued food of some type or other (pork or beef is what I have encountered most often). Hence, when you are in Wisconsin, you would say "We are having barbecue for dinner." Also, the actual instrument is just called a "grill." Instead of saying "I'm going to have a barbecue this weekend," in Wisconsin, you would say "I'm going to grill out this weekend."

4. Ski. In California, you go skiing at Mammoth. In Wisconsin, the same activity is referred to as "downhill skiing." This is to differentiate it from another type of skiing that Wisconsin offers, which is "cross-country skiing." In many conversations I've had with WI residents, I would say "my husband is going to go skiing," after which my conversation partner would invariably ask "Downhill?"

5. Drinking Fountain/Water Fountain. In California, when you come to a park or large building/business, and you're thirsty, you would ask someone if there is a drinking fountain. When I had been working at my first Wisconsin job for a few months, a customer came in and asked me if we had a bubbler. I thought to myself, what the heck is a bubbler! I stammered for a minute, trying to figure out how I could tell this crazy customer that no, we do not have one of those imaginary things you are asking about, when thankfully, another employee chimed in and said "It's right around the corner." She then explained to me that in Wisconsin, specifically in the greater-Madison area, they call this a bubbler. It's actually a cultural term they have embraced to the point of printing t-shirts that say "It's called a bubbler!" on it.

I have accepted these words into my new vocabulary, so that I understand them, but I typically refrain from using them myself. People still know what I'm talking about if I say I'd like a soda... right?