If you are a Boston native,it is "tonic" and you drink water out of a "bubbler";#)

Just ask what kind of soft drinks they have and you'll get the list......included in that list, you'll get Coke or Pepsi, order the one you want........usually if you order Coke and they don't carry that, they ask if Pepsi is okay or the other way around......

Also realize that in the US lemonade is a non carbonated mix of lemon juice and sugar water - not Sprite or 7Up, and a jumper is a type of dress not a sweater!

And EnglishOne, try to keep a straight face when you see the signs for:

"FANNY PACKS ON SALE NOW! 50% OFF!"

Diana - lol, don't get me started on that one

One poster over on the Europe forum wrote: "My time in London last year resulted in getting my fanny pack picked while on the subway."

Ahem!!

OH NO!

I'm sure your family or co-workers did not come running to see what was on the computer that made you howl with laughter over that one!

How about, "Tourist Suffers Loss In Fanny Pack Snatching."

I s'pose its like us saying 'we fancy a fag' (cigarette)...

I say 'soda' because one time when I mentioned I wanted a coke (meaning caffeine free, diet coke) I got the fully caffeinated and sugared coke-cola. Since that mishap, I try to stay generic.

Though most places in the south will automatically serve sweetened ice tea, some may not. Ask first.

Now for my rant about tea: Sugar doesn't dissolve in cold water, therefore you should add the sugar in the steeping process. Stir all you want but that packet of sugar will not dissolve into the drink leaving a clump of sugar at the bottom of the glass.

Southerns, being smarter than most everyone else , figured out that by adding sugar in the steeping process and then cooling down the beverage works better.

Also, you should receive a wedge of lemon with your glass of 'sweet tea' because even though you can get all the refills of sweet tea, no one ever brings more lemon.

End of rant.

EnglishOne, don't tell me you are going to Memphis and NOLA and drinking Coke. While you are in the South, you should drink iced tea. Just ask the waitress for "a sweet tea". Nobody makes it like they do in the South.

In New York, a "coke" is ONLY a Coca-Cola, absolutely never any other carbonated drink. And as noted, if you ask for a Coke and the place serves Pepsi instead, or, more rarely, some off-brand (does RC Cola still exist?) they'll always tell you (because some people actually will drink only one or the other).

And I've learned from this discussion that "coke" DOESN'T always mean a Coke in other places.

Gothampc, Coca Cola is very much a southern drink. After all, its birthplace is Atlanta. Hard pressed to find restaurants that serve Pepsi products, mostly Coca Cola.

Trying not to confuse the poor Brit, when I tell my wife to pick up some cokes at the grocery store, she knows to get Coca Cola, 7-up, Dr. Pepper, Root Beer, etc.

Just want to put my 2 cents worth in. Can't help you with the soda question because since I've moved to NC from PA and tasted my first sip of sweetea I drink nothing else. It is fantastic!!!! You must try it!

Ok, will definitely try sweet tea! Thanks for the tip. Is it possible to have it without the sugar (un-sweet tea!), or won't it taste as good?

There are places in the midwest that when you ask for a Coke, they will serve you a Pepsi, or RC (Royal Crown cola)or a generic cola. They will serve these to you without asking is Pepsi ok. Being a brand name Coke drinker, I will ask first if they have Pepsi or Coke products. So that I won't get stuck being served a Pepsi. The same with with Sprite type pop. Sprite is the Coke brand lemon-lime, Sierra Mist is the Pepsi brand & then there is 7-UP. If you really care about what brand name you want to be served, you may want to ask what brand they have. By the way, if you go to a place that serves IBC Root Beer, give it a try.

EnglishOne, it is definitely possible to have unsweet tea. You will find that many places in the South make sweet tea extra sweet. The purpose of the tea being extra sweet is to combat the vinegar in the barbeque sauce. You have been warned!

I'm from Tennessee, and beachdreams has it exactly right: we ask for a Coke when we are at a friend's house, but out at a restaurant, you ask for specifics: Coke, Sprite, Dr. Pepper, etc. Generally, we think that northerners, also known as Yankees use the terms "pop" and "soda." However, I did know a guy once who asked for "sody-pop." I can understand how this all gets confusing. One more piece of information: did you know that out of all the dialects in the United States, the Southern dialect is the closest in similarity to the British? I learned this in a class in college about ten years ago, so I can't remember the specifics, but I thought this was pretty interesting.

EnglishOne, you can get sweet tea unsweetened but then whats the point...

Do atleast once try sweet tea.

I'm just guessing at this, but could it be that if you don't like sugar in your coffee, you won't like it in your tea either? If I pick up my husband's sweetened coffee by mistake and take a sip...there is no way I can swallow it. Nasty. And...I feel the same way about sweetened tea. Even unsweetened, I'll drink it only if nothing else is available. But then, maybe I associate it too much with my mother-in-law with whom I hooked horns from day #1.

I've evolved from being a Coke drinker, to Diet Coke drinker, to water only and sparkling if available. This wasn't a conscious "health-nut" decision. Coke especially, which I used to love, now tastes waaay too sweet and the diet version with artificial sweeteners isn't much better. Lets keep it pure...water or vino. A votre sante!!... gt;

If no sugar in coffee = no sugar in tea, then I'm an exception. Though I've been a Southerner my whole life, I've always drank unsweet tea. But when I drink coffee, I like it with sugar. Now, I don't like "cokes" (too sweet), so maybe it's no cokes = no sugar in tea?