1. Weather:
Expectation: Every day is a warm, sunny day. The breeze is gentle and sweeter than southern charm, and there is nary a cloud in the sky. You text pictures of the idyllic weather to brag to all your friends freezing in the north.
Reality: The air is thicker and wetter than hot soup. Jeans cling to thighs like clingwrap. During one of the numerous torrential downpours, you suspect your god is punishing you for something, but you don’t know what. You paddle across puddles to get to class, and show up wearing more mud than clothing.
Expectation: The majesty of Virginia wilderness is in your backyard. The melodious cacophony of birds inhabit your autumn days, while the chirping of crickets and frogs lulls you to sleep at night. From time to time, majestic woodland creatures stroll by your window.
Reality: It has been two days since you saw your last cockroach, but you know they’re skittering in the shadows, watching, waiting. Mysterious insects bites pucker your skin every day. You run across a massive spider outside your hall, and your dorm mate from Virginia gleefully tells you it’s the venomous variety.
3. People:
Expectation: All the girls wear pinks and pastels and call each other “sweet pea” and “sugar” in low southern drawls. The men flash blinding white smiles and woo you with their gentlemanly etiquette. You become exhausted with all the cordiality and pray to someday run into another northerner so you can finally be rude to someone.
Reality: Even though it’s the beginning of the semester, you already see people walking around in pjs or old t-shirts. The boys look plucked straight from your high school and the girls right from your neighborhood. Everyone is more friendly and helpful than the expected mild-mannered and polite, which is actually refreshing. Pretty much all manner of people go to your school.
4. Food:
Expectation: The food is delicious, with rich southern food and juicy barbeques as the staple. Everything is comfort-style, warm and satisfying. After a while, though, you begin to miss the flavor and variety of food back home.You also notice a lack of fresh, healthy meals and abundant vegetarian options that you could easily find where you used to live.
Reality: Dining options are certainly better than your high school cafeteria, but they’re it’s nothing like home cooked or restaurant food. As expected, you begin to miss the more numerous options of food back home, as well as multiple fresh and vegetarian options. It’s difficult not being able to prepare your own meals. But, at least you have Wawa hoagies and Qdoba to tide you over until you return home.
5. Entertainment:
Expectation: All major cities are an hour or more away, and you have no car. On the weekends you idle away the time throwing pencils at the ceiling. Your friend suggests going into Colonial Williamsburg for the 57th time since you’ve been there. The lack of stimulation slowly drives you crazy, until you think horse drawn carriages are actually a cool thing to do.
Reality: To be honest, there really isn’t much to do in the immediate area, especially without cheap transportation. But, it turns out that a lot is planned on campus through the school, clubs, or friend groups, from Virginia Beach trips to debate tournaments to simply hanging with friends in your dorm. It turns out that you can always find something to do- and if you can’t, then that’s a good chance to catch up on homework.
Main Image Source: http://www.wm.edu