American English Conversation: Southern and Californian Accents Compared

hi Renee thank you so much for meeting with me  today hi Stefanie how are you? I'm good how are  

you? good I'm good awesome well I want to quickly  give everyone a background whose watching this  

video because you're a YouTuber yes and my cousin  sent me one of your videos and she was like look  

Stephanie this is so cool and I adored this video  it was uh teaching you some Southern slang yes of  

course and I just got such a kick out of that  video I actually rewatched it yesterday and I'm  

like this video is so good um and I learned  so much because you're where are you from?  

Kentucky Western Kentucky wow Western Kentucky  and you guys use words over there and phrases and  

expressions that I have never heard in my life and  I learned through your video sure yeah so there's  

so many more too oh my goodness, so basically  when my cousin um sent me this video I immediately  

thought oh my gosh one day I would love to  interview her on my channel, have a conversation,  

because first of all my subscribers they're always  asking for conversations with real native English  

speakers like other native English speakers they  want to hear how we speak in real life yes and  

um, you know, a lot of my students say "I want  to learn American English" and one of the things  

I tell them is okay but choose a mentor and learn  from you know one person if you're trying to sound  

a specific way because the reality is we all sound  kind of different yes we do, yes and people will  

hear that as we're talking because you have a  very strong accent or what I consider strong  

but probably when you're listening to me you  might think I have a strong accent too I don't,  

I don't hear an accent in you but I have  a very strong southern accent born and  

raised in Kentucky wow, okay so we have a  really fun uh conversation coming up I've  

got a lot of questions for you we're going  to talk about slang I'm gonna test you on  

some Californian slang and we'll just roll  with it yeah, this will be fun yes cool so  

um really quick your name is Renee you're  from Kentucky and what can you tell us  

about yourself? so I'm gonna be 52 this year,  I'm born and raised in Kentucky I'm a very  

Southern Girl in the South we will call each other  "redneck" I'm sure you've heard that term it's  

just a slang term for in the South specifically  Kentucky, Tennessee we live in the country  

um I don't live in a big city and we're truly  redneck so when people use this term over there  

are they using it in an insulting way? 'cause I've  I've used it just for fun in a joking way but I'm  

also careful because I'm like what I wouldn't want  to offend anybody by using it, do they find it  

offensive? it depends on how you use it I guess  redneck can be derogatory if somebody is doing  

something really stupid they're didn't educate  themselves they're doing things wrong and you say  

"well you're doing it the redneck way" like that  would be derogatory but we refer to each other  

as Redneck because we're out in the country we  drive trucks you know we're outside all the time  

time I'm always barefoot so that is more you know  the slang the southern that that is um a redneck  

reference if you live in the south or in this  part of the country and I just realized this, the  

people listening might not know why it's called  "red neck" now, do you know that? do you know  

why? I don't know I don't know okay so I heard I  don't know if this is right but it's because when  

you're working out in the fields in the country  you get sunburned on your neck and you get a red  

neck that would absolutely make sense because  guys who work outside, construction workers,  

my husband is always outside when he takes off  his T-shirt this is white and your neck is red yes  

that's absolutely makes sense and because because  we you know there's a lot of white people in the  

U.S we get really red if we spend too much time  in the sun you are right yes okay so, okay, so  

really quick how would you describe your southern  accent? my Southern accent is not as strong as as  

it could be I will talk to other Southerners and I  really hear their southern drawl I'm middle ground  

southern accent I guess and when you hear me you  said you don't really hear an accent first of  

all why do you think that is? because we do sound  different we do speak differently a little we do  

speak very differently oh I can tell Northerners  have an accent Southerners very south like  

Louisiana they have their own accent I can hear  the the Midwest but once you get out to California  

and like Washington State I don't really hear an  accent in those folks so that's you right? aren't  

you in California? yeah yeah yeah I don't hear I  don't hear an accent at all so my take on this why  

I think this happens is it has to do with exposure  the more you've been exposed to something the  

more normal it sounds because the more familiar  you are with it it's like my mom has an accent  

um because she's not a native English speaker  but growing up people would say oh I hear your  

mom's accent I'd be like what accent? like to  me she sounded totally normal because I was so  

exposed to her it like I couldn't hear an accent  at all so I think that's what happens because I  

know I do have an accent but when we think about  Hollywood and all of the films and TV shows that  

come out of Hollywood and if everybody's sounding  like me then everybody's used to that so it's kind  

of like standard in a way and then if someone  has an accent that's outside of that suddenly  

it's an accent because it sounds different does  that make sense? absolutely and you don't hear  

many Southern accents in Hollywood or in a movie  not at all no so anytime I'm out or traveling and  

I talk to people they always have a reaction to  my accent but definitely when I'm I'm at home in  

Kentucky I will just typically encounter people  who have very stronger Southern drawl than I do,  

so I would call myself middle ground for sure yeah  got it and quick question do you ever change your  

accent depending on what you're doing and who  you're with? like can you turn it on or off  

or make it stronger or less strong depending on  the situation you're in, who you're talking to? I  

never thought about that before but yes I think I  can I don't think I do it intentionally but um if  

I am in, like we go to Chicago or New York City  and I can tell that by people's reaction to me,  

by my accent, they're like whoa I can definitely  dial it down if I need to but with, when I'm home  

when I'm with my family and my friends and we  all get you know yapping and talking definitely  

the southern drawl comes out so um in a business  setting because I worked in a corporate world for  

23 years, definitely if I was talking to people  that were not from here I could pronounce my words  

more clearly and not use some of the slang terms  and yeah so I can turn it off and on just not I  

don't do that all the time yeah well I actually  think this is something a lot of people do without  

realizing it I know I do it too even though I have  you know my accent if I'm around a bunch of people  

that speak like you I tend to start saying "y'all"  more you know? and just like those things that I  

hear everybody else doing around me and I think I  don't remember what this is called but basically  

it comes from like the human need to be part of a  group right? and to not totally stand out and my  

husband does this, he's a native Spanish speaker,  when he's with a bunch of Mexicans start suddenly  

his his accent starts changing and I'm like hey  what are you doing? uh but it's you know I think  

it's normal actually my oldest daughter lives in  Milwaukee and she always tells me that when she  

comes home she doesn't really hear my accent just  you know talking to me on the phone but when she  

comes home and she's with the family and we're  all talking her accent starts to come back out  

and then when she goes back to Milwaukee she loses  a little bit so even this morning I said something  

and she's like Mom that was so country it's like  I guess that you know it's yeah so for those who  

don't know where is Milwaukee? it's in Wisconsin  Wisconsin and do you think they have a different  

accent over there or is it more like mine or  or what do you think? Milwaukee's about an hour  

north of Chicago so they would speak very similar  to folks that live in Chicago so big city accent  

not necessarily a drawl, just not Southern at all  yeah I have a feeling some people are watching  

this going "what?" like "people have different  accents in the U.S?" because gosh yes yeah and  

but when people are learning a language and they  think American English they think it's just one  

kind but it's not and we'll actually get into that  later because we're going to compare our accents I  

have a little exercise we're gonna do for that  yes um but okay so let's teach everyone some  

Southern slang so the first one we already talked  a little bit about it it's "y'all" what is this?  

y'all is short for you all some people will say  you guys hey you we take you all and we make it  

one word y'all we just draw it out that way so we  I can say y'all for any reference yeah talking to  

you know my husband y'all doesn't have to  be a lot of people it could be one person  

you know? oh really? oh yeah y'all come on over  come on in how are y'all hey y'all you just, it  

is how you address anyone or any group of people  so do you ever address your husband as y'all?  

that's not a name I give him but I well it's kind  of hard to explain but like do you use y'all just  

really just talking to one person once in a  while? sometimes I can be like what are y'all  

doing? but really I'm talking to him you know  what I mean? oh that okay I haven't heard that  

before that is interesting I know that I do use  y'all not on a regular basis but I think I tend  

to use it when it's like I don't want to say when  like an attitude is kicking in or something but I  

remember one time it was like one in the morning  and my husband and my nephew they were playing  

video games or something and suddenly I was  just like y'all need to go to bed it is late  

I was like where did that come from? I don't  know but I do use it but not like I have to get  

to a level to use it if that makes sense whereas  for you it's probably just normal it is in every  

every day every sentence thing yeah that is so  funny yeah okay this next one I loved "Johnny  

up" never heard it in my life never? Johnny up  is to be spontaneous you didn't plan you didn't  

make preparations you just up and do something so  let's just say my husband will be in the living  

room at night he will just out of the clear blue  say let's go get ice cream so we'll just Johnny  

up and get ice cream but like it's just we just  you just do it there's absolutely no planning you  

just Johnny up and do something and probably no  idea how this term started right? I have no idea  

that is so funny I don't know I like I literally  I've heard a lot of Southern slang but this one  

I was like and is this something just in your  family or does like everybody know it there where  

you live and use it I don't think most people  around here have heard that one yeah okay it's not  

a family thing now we do have some family slang  terms um some terms I use on my YouTube channel  

which is funny because I have one terminology  that I use all the time that my subscribers  

from all over the world now say it and I actually  printed shirts with it on there one time a couple  

years ago share it with us so there's a story  behind it if you're taking a nap like you can  

see my dog behind me on the couch well can you?  yeah it looked like a pillow but I see it now he  

is "taking a Judy" J-U-D-Y taking a Judy and years  ago my mother-in-law fell asleep in church and my  

sister-in-law was with her and my mother's name is  Judy my sister-in-law took a photo of her and this  

was on Christmas Eve and she sent it out to all  of the family because we're getting ready to get  

together she sent us the photo of Judy sleeping  in church and somehow or another it just became  

"take a Judy" and it's caught on so everybody now  refers to taking a nap as taking a Judy well that  

is a really great example of how slang starts  and how these terminologies come about because  

if another if enough people start saying this  who knows in 10 years maybe people around the  

world are going to be talking about taking a  Judy and it will be something you have started  

yes absolutely yes that is so cool okay and then  the next one, again, I love I want to start using  

this this one is "draggin' booty" what is draggin'  booty? you're tired you're exhausted you have no  

energy you are dragging your behind, draggin'  booty, like if you just you know worked super  

hard and you're tired or draggin' booty doesn't  necessarily have to be a physical tiredness it can  

be you know you put a lot of effort into a project  and you're at the end and you're just dragging  

booty to get to the end so it can be mentally  it can be physically but you're just dragging  

your behind you're worn out you're tired does this  also mean like you're going slow? yeah sure yeah  

draggin' booty draggin' booty I love it okay and  then the last one this is also another good one  

um like the South I'm convinced now has so much  great slang that we need to get exposed to here  

where we live because it would be so fun to use  these uh phrases that we can't really use because  

nobody knows but you know I think I'm gonna start  using it and I'll explain to my family what it  

means they'll start using it okay the next one  is "having a comin' apart" having a comin' apart,  

you just are upset you don't understand you just  are all worked up about things you've heard having  

a tissy you've heard that? yeah I've heard  that you're having a comin' apart you're just  

coming apart about something I mean it can be  anything so yeah having a comin' apart yeah  

like a like an emotional breakdown or a mental  breakdown or something like that yeah anything  

okay or you know you could be in the middle of  doing something and it's not going right and  

you're just all worked up about it that's havin'  a comin' apart it can be big it can be small it's  

just having a comin' apart that is so fun okay  um could write a book with slang terms and maybe  

you should yeah because these are really fun so  now I want to test you on some Californian slang  

and I kind of roll my eyes at this because I was  like do we even have Californian slang? I had to  

Google it because I was like I don't know what  kind of slang do we have and then I got these  

terms from like a list on Google but I don't  even know if it's true Californian slang you  

might know it you might I'll be shocked if you  don't know it let's just put it that way okay  

so do you know what it means to put someone on  blast? does it mean you're talking about them?  

yes kind of yes so when you put someone on blast  it means to embarrass someone in public so let's  

say um you know like Judy fell asleep in church  and you guys put her on blast by sending that  

photo to the whole family you put Judy on blast  and then this whole thing came came to be about  

taking a Judy that's putting someone on blast so  have you heard this before? I've heard that but  

apparently I didn't know what it meant okay and  so you probably don't really use it right? no yeah  

because if you don't know what something means  obviously it's really difficult to use it that's  

something I teach in one of my vocabulary uh or  in my vocabulary course so yes I actually use this  

all the time so I guess we can confirm that maybe  this is Californian slang apparently yes yeah yeah  

I'll be like oh he totally put me on blast like  he shared that piece of information with you know  

everybody over there and it's almost like throwing  somebody under the bus too oh you know that one's  

a common we know that one yes okay the next one  is "butthurt" I've heard that it means you um  

somebody hurt your feelings yeah when someone gets  upset over a small thing and maybe they're like  

pouting or they're upset about it but you feel  like they shouldn't be upset about that right?  

so he's over in the corner all butthurt because I  I don't know or you could say Judy's in the corner  

butthurt because I I sent the picture like it's  no big deal but Judy's over there butthurt you  

know? so my poor mother-in-law sorry sorry Judy  sorry yeah oh she would love it she would love it  

oh man so yeah so you don't use butthurt then? no  okay that's another one I've been using that one  

for years no I see, I would I would probably say  in that scenario he's over there in the corner  

havin' a comin' apart because blah blah blah yeah  and you know the other thing we could consider too  

is that slang sometimes is like generational like  there might be things that people in Kentucky use  

that are my age that I also use or that you're  using that younger people aren't using because  

I know that that's how words come into existence  too like sure there's so much new slang out there  

that I don't even use that I'm finding on the  internet and I have to Google and I'm like oh  

my God what does this mean I ask my niece she's  16, if I hear something I'm like I'm texting her  

what what does so-and-so mean? and she laughs  at me but I'm like how would I know that? yes  

um one that I recently noticed was when people  say like somebody died or something they're  

saying they unalived themselves and I'm just like  oh that's a new one and it's also longer it's  

longer than just saying they died anyway there's a  lot so yeah another conversation for another time  

but the last one is when something looks sketch  or sketchy have you heard this? yes sketchy we  

say that it's sketchy all right yeah so for those  that don't know it basically means something looks  

not safe or dangerous or like if you see a dark  alleyway that's look sketch or looks sketchy yeah  

I think people used to say it looks sketchy and  it has evolved to sketch because I don't remember  

people saying sketch as much in the past what  about you? we say sketchy yeah like that's what  

we use the Y yeah just untrustworthy not not gonna  do that yet sketchy yes a situation or a thing or  

anything yeah exactly Okay cool so now um let's  move on we're gonna compare our pronunciation  

a little bit when I was watching your YouTube  videos I noticed your intonation patterns are  

sometimes slightly different from mine and your  rhythm is sometimes slightly different from mine  

um but the most obvious difference I would say is  in the pronunciation of the I diphthong so that's  

um like a vowel that changes right I it's not like  a straight e sound e that doesn't change so I you  

tend to pronounce this like ah so for example  the question "why?" how would you say that? why  

why so our letter "as" we say them like your  "I" so are well no that's not true yeah it's  

like yeah like because I would say why yeah yeah  why yeah that takes a lot of effort why yes well  

I understand because you're not used to it and  when I try to you know pronounce things in other  

ways I'm like wow that's actually really hard  because I'm not used to it um but I have some  

words here so for example I would say why I my  try and what would you say? "why my I try" yeah  

so we can totally hear the difference there it's  ah and I and sometimes my I it might not be as  

prominent like that if I'm speaking quickly or  something like that I might reduce it a little  

bit but for the most part I make the full sound  the diphthong and for you it's just a straight ah  

ah and another word where I heard this earlier in  our conversation was the word tired I say tired  

what do you say? tired tired yeah I'm tired yeah  so I just wanted to point that out because that's  

one of the easiest um pronunciation differences  and it's like we're both from the same country  

we both speak the same language but there's  this very big difference in our pronunciation  

and that's one of the most obvious ones to spot  yes very much so and I'm so used to saying you  

know the full sound the I or whatever so it's  not hard for me but I can see why it would be  

difficult if you're not used to doing that it  feels like it just takes more effort sure oh  

it does take more effort yeah yeah so I actually  have a sentence we can say that uses this sound a  

lot so people can really hear the difference and  the question or the sentence is "why did I even  

try?" why did I even try? how would you say this?  why did I even try? yeah why did I even try? yeah  

cool alright and then there's one more difference  that's pretty obvious to spot and it happens with  

ing words these are words like something  going saving sometimes I take off the g  

um but not always but I notice that in your  accent you tend to drop the g a lot more so I  

would say maybe something and how would you  say that something is probably a word that  

I do say the g but like driving I say drivin'  tryin' I don't say somethin' I'm a somethin' I  

don't know that's weird for that word but yeah  drivin' tryin' cookin' eating but eating I do  

say the g so it I guess it just depends on  the word I'm not sure yeah and it could also  

depend on the context because it depends like  basically something a lot of English speakers  

don't realize is how our pronunciation changes  depending on the stress of the sentence the  

context what words we're emphasizing when  we speak so sometimes I say something and  

sometimes I say somethin' yeah somethin's weird  somethin's weird about this somethin's weird  

and then I can say going or I can say goin'  like yeah they're just goin' around talkin'  

goin' around talkin' rather than going around  talking so I do it too but I I guess my point  

is I noticed you tend to do it more regularly in  your accent like that's a feature of your accent  

to drop the g more frequently than I would yes  I probably drop it 90 percent of the time yeah  

I'm goin' to the grocery not going to the grocery  yeah and um in one of your videos that I watched  

the 25 things about me video I noticed a really  good example sentence from this you said "I love  

savin' my money" right? that's right I love savin'  my money yes savin' savin' savin' by the way this  

is something that a lot of English students  struggle with because when they're learning  

English in their classrooms maybe they're learning  like the most formal the most complete way of  

pronouncing words and then they actually go travel  to the US or they watch movies and they're like  

that's not actually how people talk and they're  mortified because they don't understand and  

they're frustrated so that's also kind of why I'm  focusing in on these differences sure yeah we are,  

in the South we have a drawl it's like a lazy  drawl so we will draw things out and like you  

said drop off letters and shorten things up  to come up with slang that's just our nature  

I guess yeah well actually I like that you say  that because when I was comparing this sentence  

and the way you said it in your video you said  I love savin' my money I noticed also that you  

lengthened the word love because I wouldn't say  with my accent like I love saving my money or I  

love it it just sounds weird right? I would just  say I love saving money I love so it's shorter but  

that's probably where the drawl comes from right?  you're drawing out the word I love it's longer you  

draw out the verb I love saving my money or I love  cooking or I adore so and so like yes a lot I do  

that a lot now that you point it out yeah yeah  and for those watching who will study English  

this has to do with the rhythm of the sentences  the length of the words creates the rhythm and in  

English we have different types of words that are  different lengths and like some are shorter some  

are longer but also depending on where they're  at in the sentence and how the speaker emphasizes  

the words or the accent it can make the words  longer or shorter like in this example really  

interesting I guess for me at least uh features  of English and how people use it differently,  

again, in the same country like we're from the  same place but we're not but we're not you're  

from a different state and I'm from a different  place and anyways there's differences okay,  

so I have some true or false I guess questions  for you or statements they're statements and I  

want to know if they're true or false it's  like stereotypes of the South that I have  

heard so first of all everyone from the south has  a Southern accent, true or false? and we can also  

say everyone from the south has the same southern  accent, true or false? depends on what you define  

the South so the South technically is any if  you fall below the Mason-Dixon line so Kentucky,  

Tennessee, Florida is in the South but they don't  necessarily have the southern accent so to me the  

southern accent is Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas  can get Southern-y Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia,  

a little bit of South Carolina but but it kind  of stops there as far as the southern drawl yeah  

so does everyone in the South everyone have a  Southern accent? if you're born here and you  

grew up hearing this accent yes okay that makes  sense that makes sense next Southerners are really  

friendly and open with strangers that is so true  absolutely true yeah? yeah I read that southern  

hospitality is a real thing like people just are  different there it yes so when I leave the South  

and go to other countries and other places in  the United States I'm like wow the southern  

hospitality is not here we speak to each other if  I am walking down the street and I see someone a  

total stranger you say hello when you pass them so  um you hold the door for other people you speak in  

the grocery I mean it's just it's just what we do  yes very much so it almost seems like living life  

in a bit of a slower pace like taking the time to  say hello taking the time to talk yes very true  

and on that note is it normal for people to use  the word ma'am? like yes ma'am yes sir in the  

south? is that something that is Southern? it's  yes ma'am yes ma'am I didn't know that like I  

guess for the most part we teach our children to  say ma'am and sir so even I'm 52 years old when I  

refer to a woman or I'm speaking to a woman I'll  say yes ma'am like it's just it's just what you  

do I would never say yes and stop there it's yes  ma'am like it's a form of respect yes or thank  

you ma'am or you know yes it's just part of the  the way that you acknowledge the person you're  

speaking to yeah and that is different because  over here I don't hear ma'am nearly as much or  

sir maybe if you're in the grocery store somebody  might say it especially if they don't know your  

name like oh ma'am did you uh I don't swipe your  card again please or whatever um but I don't hear  

it as much and um I actually have a YouTube  video one of my very first when I was first  

figuring out like how to teach online and what I  wanted to teach about and teaching English where  

I talked about mistakes people made in English and  I corrected something that I don't think anymore  

is a mistake but basically in the comments of my  YouTube videos I was getting a lot of comments  

where people were addressing me as ma'am and it  made me feel uncomfortable because where I'm from  

we we don't do that plus I was younger then and I  felt like ma'am is something you use for somebody  

who's older so I was like don't call me ma'am  like don't use ma'am and now I realize it's not  

wrong per se it's just a variation of normal yes  so I will say ma'am so I used to own an ice cream  

shop I recently sold it and when customers would  come in I could refer to a seven-year-old girl as  

ma'am if she handed me her money for ice cream I  would hand her her change and say thank you ma'am  

like this just you refer to each other that way it  has really nothing to do I mean I guess formally  

children would refer to adults as ma'am but  we refer to each other it's like saying your  

name instead of me saying your name I would say  ma'am at the end of my sentence but it's also  

a way to close out your conversation thank you  ma'am yes ma'am see you ma'am yes sir like you  

know? it doesn't really come up in the middle of  conversation so much yeah well actually I want to  

bring something up uh and then I'll continue with  my list but uh talking about how we can use ma'am  

in the South for older people or younger people  or anywhere when you uh when I first contacted you  

and I was like oh I really want to interview  you etc. and you replied and we were sending  

voice messages and one of the things you said was  yes I am a southern what did you say? a southern,  

a southern gal? with a yeah a southern gal with a  southern accent or something but I think you used  

the word girl because I wrote it down I was like  oh that's so interesting because usually people  

would think of a girl as a child right? but I,  I realized I'm like this is a very endearing  

way to speak about yourself you know? I'm a  Southern girl right? yes so I will refer to  

younger gals or like myself as a girl but if  I'm gonna talk about other women I typically  

will say gal I don't say look at those group  of women over there I would say look at those  

gals over there that's just a more kind and  welcoming way to say it versus look at those  

women oh yeah look at those gals you know it  just has a different a different effect yeah  

they're gonna feel gal yeah okay so I just  wanted to bring that in there and then okay  

um next I one time heard that when in the South  they say oh bless her heart or bless your heart  

it's like a nice way of saying "F you" is that  true? or what do you have to say about that?  

depends on the tone and the context that it's  being used so my mother will say bless your  

heart meaning you're so sweet it's another way to  say I love you or you've done something good bless  

you your heart it can be a put down if somebody  is doing something really stupid and you go well  

bless your heart oh my God wow I actually felt  that it was like you idiot yeah so it can go both  

ways yeah yeah well I think that's a big takeaway  from this entire conversation is like that's how  

language is, like it's not always literal there's  so many times where the tone behind what you say  

or the attitude behind what you say will literally  make what you say positive or negative absolutely  

bless your heart is one of those okay, so finally  we're gonna wrap up uh with some recommendations  

so yeah best Southern food everyone should  try do you have anything you recommend?  

oh my goodness there are so many Southern things  the first thing that comes to my mind is fried  

squash have you ever had fried squash? I don't  know if I have okay so how what is this and how  

do you make it? so yellow squash you slice it up  pretty thin you put it in buttermilk and then you  

flour it in a mixture that's 50 percent cornmeal  and 50 percent flour with salt and pepper and  

then you put a little bit of oil in a cast iron  skillet and you you brown it until it's golden  

brown and crispy and when I do fried squash  the squash has to be fresh out of the garden,  

that's the only time I do it I don't do like  grocery store squash and my family will stand  

there and eat the squash as soon as I get it out  of the skillet, it won't even make it to dinner  

it's just we we consume the squash it is so good  yes so is it true that in the South people eat a  

lot of fried food or love fried food? because  that's kind of another stereotype I've heard  

we eat a lot of fried food, fried catfish is  very popular in Kentucky where I live I love  

fried catfish wow I've never tried that oh it's  a white flaky fish it is so good if it's fried  

and it's crispy oh yeah nice, fried catfish  we will fry green tomatoes you've heard fried  

green tomatoes I've yes I've heard this but  I have not tried it yeah um fried okra again,  

not, haven't tried it yeah all the things, but  fried squash is really is a southern thing and  

that's something I love and then barbecue well of  course barbecue is more where I'm from, Kentucky,  

um and Western Kentucky we are known for our  barbecue and so that's you know something we do  

what is what is something that makes your barbecue  I would say different from, because I feel like in  

the U.S there's barbecue like places everywhere,  so is there something that makes the barbecue you  

guys do a little bit different? you can go to  places in the South where they will take their  

barbecue and just put it in a sauce so it's a  saucy, you know whatever you can have dry barbecue  

that was done with a rub where I live it's dry  barbecue with a little bit of sauce on top like  

if you're gonna have a barbecue sandwich or a  plate of barbecue you have slaw and fries and corn  

and then you put your barbecue on top it's not  dripping in barbecue sauce nice and is it smoked  

also or is it just done on fire? well it's both  you can do it either way so my husband loves to  

grill he loves to barbecue he smokes ribs you can  do brisket and pork but a lot of people do it a  

lot of ways but typically it is smoked or you can  put it on the grill at the end to char the outside  

he'll probably get mad at me because I'm saying  that wrong but mainly smoked so when you have  

barbecue and you start pulling the meat the very  top of it underneath that dry section you'll see  

red and then the meat gets a lighter color that's  your smoke ring on the outside oh wow and that  

would be that is what tastes so good that smoke  ring wow, okay I've seen the smoke ring I just  

never knew what created it or how to make it your  smoker yeah cool that's your smoker oh yeah Fourth  

of July, Labor Day, Memorial weekend we will smoke  ribs and smoke chicken nice yes we got a little  

smoker and my husband does smoke things once  in a while but not often yeah oh we did smoked,  

we did smoked salmon once, that was pretty good  have you guys done that? well so we do, we're  

getting off topic, we do salmon on a cedar plank  and put it on the grill we don't smoke it that's  

the kind of salmon like I used to like ordering in  restaurants I mean I still do but I just haven't  

in a long time because it's so good I didn't know  I could just make it myself but you can you can  

just buy the cedar planks absolutely very we'll  have to talk about that later I have a feeling  

I'm gonna need to get some recipes okay um next  one what is sweet tea and do you like it? what  

is sweet tea? so traditional Southern sweet tea  you take tea bags and you put them in water and  

you set it outside in the sun so it is sun-brewed  and it is sweetened with real sugar, no artificial  

sweeteners, none of that, it is real sugar and it  is sweet, sweet, sweet like when you pour it it  

is like sappy oh wow yeah oh sweet tea is sweet I  love iced tea I don't really I'm not a huge fan of  

sweet tea it can just be overwhelming and so sweet  and has oh there's a lot of sugar in there so I  

used to drink sweet tea but about 10 years ago I  decided you know what I need to get away from all  

that and now I drink unsweet tea yeah good yeah I  mean sure either way I don't drink sugar and I try  

not to put sugar in my drinks if it comes with it  it comes with it but um I've tried sweet tea like  

in fast food places growing up and I never really  liked it because well one was probably artificial  

not real and two it was really sweet but I've  been curious because in movies in the South and  

stuff I always hear about the sweet tea and  everybody's talking about the sweet tea and  

maybe even in country music they might talk about  the sweet tea and I'm like okay there's something  

with this sweet tea I need to ask about this  it is real sugar so funny that you bring this  

up because where I live in Kentucky last week we  have the quilt show here, my city that I live in  

is called Quilt City USA, that's our our nickname  we have the largest quilt show and convention in  

the world held here so I went downtown to the  quilt show and walked around the streets and  

did a YouTube video about it but they had food  vendors out for all the people who were at the  

convention center and several of them I would say  40 percent of them had signs out front saying that  

they served sweet tea to all the quilters yeah wow  and for the people that don't know what quilts are  

oh quilts um they're, blanket is probably not  the right term but I don't know any better way  

to describe I would say like a blanket or a  handmade comforter or something like that yes  

hand-stitched, very intricate can take, I mean,  forever to make a beautiful quilt but they're  

all done by hand and it's, they're beautiful yeah  yeah when you said a quilt convention I was like  

wow that sounds very American and very country  and it is right here yeah yeah oh my goodness  

okay next what is a really cool or interesting  place to visit like for people that already either  

live there or where you're at or in the South  or for people that are thinking of traveling  

to the South or to where you live if you come  to Paducah, Kentucky which is where I live in  

late September every year we have something called  the, it's a festival, called Barbecue on the River  

it is a huge three-day barbecue festival, so in  Paducah, Kentucky we live right where the Ohio  

and the Tennessee rivers meet, so downtown  which is on the river we have a festival,  

it spans several blocks and there's like I don't  know 40 or 50 different vendors there for a three  

or four day span that serve barbecue and ribs you  have Cajun corn and ribbon fries and coleslaw and  

funnel cakes, and you know, hot fudge cakes  and cheesecake on a stick and it's incredible  

yeah it sounds like if you want to experience  something American with a bunch of American food,  

that sounds like a great idea yes and that's  actually something that I really like that we  

do here in the US, we do festivals around all  kinds of things especially food-related like  

um growing up I used to hear about some asparagus  festival and I would think like asparagus? but  

apparently people get together they sell asparagus  they make things with asparagus and it's I never  

went, I'd love to go, but I've heard of  an asparagus festival, barbecue festivals,  

my brother actually, this is hilarious, um he they  invited us they're like oh we're gonna go to this  

barbecue festival, I don't remember if it was in  Fresno, California, or whatever but they traveled,  

they booked a hotel, they stayed overnight I'm  like wow you guys are some serious like you're  

serious about your barbecue ribs, like you're  really serious about it to go to a festival and  

to then book a hotel and like it's an event,  you know, but it's really cool it's fun yes  

we go every year I think I have this number  correct, correct but I heard somewhere that  

our city said last year thirty thousand people  people went downtown to Barbecue on the River wow  

that sounds really fun yeah you can smell the fire  and the smoke and the barbecue from about a mile  

and a half away from the festival I bet oh yeah  that smells so good yeah so last question here,  

um, about your recommendations is there a  Southern tradition, uh that you really love?  

we get together as a family and by family not  just my daughters but like my husband's family,  

his grandpa, like everybody 40 of us, get together  for any family holiday, Mother's Day, Easter,  

Father's Day, birthdays, Christmas, Thanksgiving,  we get together for a huge family meal so I think  

that I don't know that that happens elsewhere  it's a very southern thing um to have huge family  

gatherings, but yeah that's pretty Southern  that's yeah good tradition yeah cool well  

thank you for sharing all of this with us this I  feel like this has been really really interesting  

and where can everyone find you online? because I  would love to just send everybody after this video  

send them your way so that they can listen and  watch more of your videos and listen to more of  

your content and get familiar with how you speak  yeah because it's another way of speaking American  

English and I think they're going to learn a  lot and have a lot of fun with you absolutely  

so I have a YouTube channel it's called Welcome  to My Curls, curly hair, everything in my life  

revolves around my curls, it's kind of defined  who I am, and so it's called Welcome to My Curls  

I'm on YouTube I'm on Instagram under that same  name, I'm on Facebook and I post new YouTube  

videos every Tuesday and Friday those videos  are about where I live in the south I go out  

and about it's about my life and things I love  yeah yeah I actually think it's a really great  

um resource for everybody here that's watching  because it's lifestyle content, it's everyday  

type stuff, it's hey this is what I'm doing today,  this is what I did yesterday, and you know just  

so if you're curious about American life and what  it might be like to be here I think Renee has some  

really awesome stuff for you, I think you should  check it out, follow her, and you'll learn, you'll  

learn a lot about American life and culture just  by following her yes a lot about southern food  

I do a lot of cooking videos and I make southern  food yeah awesome well thank you from the bottom  

of my heart, Renee, I think this was so much fun  and I am so glad we did it, thank you so much  

thank you for having me Stefanie, I appreciate it  alright take care, have a good one see you later