Being from New Jersey I am pretty much used to common wise-cracks...about the beaches being polluted, about the people being fake and annoying, about the overall stench that hovers over the landscape (not completely true, by the way).
I have developed a pretty tough skin when it comes to the slams and even manage to politely nod and smile, taking comfort in the fact that people who say those things in earnest merely display they don't know squat about my home state.
So it was kinda surprising when I moved to Maryland and found myself on the other side of the table- being the one poking fun at places in Maryland and making myself look like the ignoramus.
On one specific instance I was sitting in a class my sophomore year of college. It was the beginning of the semester and I was doing what I always did the first day of class- finding an ally and maybe, a friend. There was a girl right behind me and we were just shooting the breeze when she mentioned she was a from a place called Dundalk.
Now, I hadn't been in the state that long, yet I had already heard "things" about Dundalk from recently acquired Marylander friends- about the landscape, people, and smell. They were stereotypes, sure, but I was used to people joking about the New Jersey ones, so I figured this girl was probably aware of her town's.
"Dundalk, huh? I've heard things about that place..." I said jovially.
"Like what.." she asked.
"Well, you know...that it's a bit rough..", I replied smiling...but she wasn't. And she continued to not do so for the rest of the semester.
Though I came off as a stuck-up snobby bitch and lost the opportunity for a friendship and alliance that would've probably lasted just the duration of the class, I did learn a few lessons- never knock someone's hometown, unless it was yours too, and never assume anything you don't know anything about.
Years later, and after working in Dundalk for a year, I can, however, attest to the smell...
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