Thank you, SFRabid. I knew I wasn't crazy (about that quote, anyway).After reading above I decided to pull up that scene on computer and find out exactly what she says.
Hoshi: "Didn't even graduate college. Learned about engineering working on boat engines, I think."
Has to be a continder for stupidest dialog in any Star Trek series. Right up there with some stuff from "Spock's Brain."
Frankly, I don't see anything in particular about Trip that screams "hick!" Southern, yes, but there's nothing inherently uneducated about him. As a New Englander, my first reaction to him was You might be a redneck... - but then I realized I was making assumptions that weren't warranted at all. I, after all, had no problem with Lieutenant Reed's obvious accent - isn't that because an English accent is perceived to be more intelligent and classy than a southern one? T'Pol had a favorite cultural food; but that's okay because she's Vulcan. Archer's a "steak and potatoes" guy - perfectly acceptable. But when Trip opens his mouth and admits that his favorite food is quintessentially southern coastal, and OMG! plays a harmonica badly, I jump to the conclusion that he's a dumb hick. When in reality, he'd have to be a ridiculously talented, highly educated, VERY adaptable warp theory engineer to even get near this ship, let alone be on its crew, and beyond that to be its chief engineer. Was he as smart as T'Pol? Nobody was. Was he kind of provincial? Sure, but so was every human on that ship (and Phlox and T'Pol, too, on occasion).
I sound like a Trip apologist. Wow, don't know how that happened! I guess one of the reasons why I couldn't get enough Enterprise is that the characters were all endearing to me, quirks and all.
I like your description of Trip its great!!!