Much of life in America is pretty similar to that in England, but there are some cultural aspects that have arisen that really are completely different, in good and bad ways. Before I came away I was bombarded with people’s ideas on the stereotypes I’d encounter, some of which I have and some of which have turned out to just not be true. Here are just a few of the things I’ve found to come as a bit of a shock whilst I’ve been studying in the United States.
One of the things I’ve struggled with most whilst being here is just how hard it is to get around if you don’t have a car; as an exchange student I can’t really justify buying one but that means relying on the kindness of others to take me everywhere as public transport here is virtually non-existent. I asked about buses when I got here only to be told that whilst they do have them, no-one is totally sure where or when they run. This is obviously something that comes with living in a mid-size town in the Deep South and wouldn’t be a problem in a big city but when everything is just so far away it can make all that exploring I’d planned to do a lot trickier than first expected.
There are most definitely positives, however; I said I had to rely on the kindness of others to give me lifts but luckily that kindness is present here in abundance. I’ve noticed relationships here seem to work a lot differently to back home, in England people can be a bit cool at first, that friendships build gradually and take a while to solidify, whereas here everyone seems to be your best friend from the get-go, especially when they hear the accent!
One of the stereotypes about Americans is that they never leave America, but I’ve found that this isn’t really true, whilst the slim majority may not have ever been farther than Canada; I’ve met countless people who’ve been all over the world from England to Azerbaijan. To be fair, there’s so much to see in America, and the rest of the world is so far away that it’s not really a surprise that many have never been outside of America, but I was pleasantly surprised by how many had.
Something I was not expecting to be unprepared for was the fashion, or perhaps lack thereof. I’ve probably been spoilt by Elle and Vogue who often cover street style in NYC, San Francisco and Seattle etc. that portray young Americans as being on the cutting edge of fashion always one step ahead. As a complete trend-junkie what I found came as a bit of a shock. I do realize that what is worn on a campus in Mississippi isn’t going to be representative of a nation but upon talking to other people studying in the U.S. I’ve realized it’s a pretty standard uniform across the board: Nike shorts, trainers/flip-flops/chacos (I’d never heard of them before either, I hate them) and an oversized T-Shirt. I know in Exeter we like to keep it fairly casual, or at least we like people to think we haven’t made an effort but this is a whole other level. I suppose the hot weather and humidity has something to do with it but so far this is something I have been unable to adjust to.
My last observation is probably my most serious: America is very religious, or at least very Christian. When asked what our most important value was, almost half the people in my class answered with ‘faith’ over things like family, love, or intelligence. Church attendance is a regular thing and I’ve noticed my fair share of purity rings and non-ironic cross necklaces. There are a huge number of Christian societies on campus for all the different denominations and religion permeates a lot of the music, there have even been anti-abortion protests in the middle of campus complete with graphic posters and a man shouting about murder.
Even in the short time I’ve been here so far I have already learnt so much, and it’s been really eye-opening to see how different somewhere can be that I thought was so similar. I have already seen some incredible sites and met some wonderful people and can’t wait to experience even more!
Photo Credits: theeconomiccollapseblog.com, freefoto.com, chereefranco.wordpress.com