Good morning everyone! I hope everyone is doing wonderfully!
On my side, I spent the weekend enjoying the “It’s always sunny” part of my home city for the next year, hoping that days like these will be numerous before the leaves turn orange.
The other day, I was discussing with my three roommates how it’s been ages since I arrived, and to what extent I’m getting used to the little cultural bridges that I did not expect. Coming from Europe, I had told myself that the USA would not be so different as it is still a Western country and that the change of scenery would not be so brutal. However this study abroad has been surprising in many ways, and the cultural shock is there!
Since last week we talked about the pre-departure step of studying abroad, now we should mention the arrival! It could be useful for an incoming exchange student and fun for an American student to wonder about the cultural gaps I’ve encountered in American culture.
The first and most pragmatic peculiarity of the United States is the absence of a level 0 in the building, meaning the street level is already floor 1! It was just very counterintuitive for me to go directly from the basement to the 1st floor, and I might have gone to the wrong staircase and else a few times when I arrived! You will probably get used to it very fast, however, it’s good to have in mind when moving into your accom!
Something I had been warned about, but still needed some getting used to is the size of everything. You might think it’s obvious Sally, the states are a bigger territory, so it would make sense that everything around it matches the size. Well yes, but even though I was aware of the territorial difference between here and France, I don’t think I had quite realized how that would translate into everyday life. For instance, my friends who are also studying on the East Coast (like Miami), on a world map, seem to be so close to me. Well no, it’s actually a 3 hour flight to get there. So the map doesn’t do justice to the distances, the cars to travel around those distances are also bigger but that is not all! I have found that the portions and products, whether in shops or restaurants, are also humongous compared to European ones! It does not help that the measurement units are divergent from the rest of the world, you don’t realize what a gallon of milk is until you see it at Giant.
and yes all of the units here are different! From the temperature (for cooking and the weather we use Fahrenheit and not Celsius), to distances (miles, feet, inches), areas (yards), and volume (oz ?)…. Honestly, don’t bother taking a look at equivalencies, you get used to it pretty fast 😉
Finally, the Paris-born and raised girl that I am has found the most amusing thing here is how nice and open everyone is! It is not in the city of croissants that servers and everyone you meet will ask how you’re doing with a smile as soon as they see you! I’ve also really enjoyed being able to have relaxed but full conversations with total strangers in a park and wishing them a good day when they depart.
There are so many more details I wish I could tell you about! But I’m afraid I might bore you with my curiosity about the most tiny details of everyday life here 😉
But worry not dear readers, for next week I might bring you a bit of adventure 🙂 Talk to you then!
