Hi!
I apologize for not posting yesterday. Since we pay for internet by the GB I try to write my posts offline and then copy them over, but yesterday I forgot to do that. The post I wrote was about culture shock, and then I realized it would be just as appropriate to write today's post about culture shock as well... So here is one lumped together post, and I'm sure as the semester goes on there will many more!
I had an idea of culture shock in my head before I came here. The way the exchange coordinators described it made me think it was something that happened all at once within your first week or so and makes you either hate or love the new place in which you're living. I expected culture shock to be overwhelming and exhausting, and sometimes it actually might be. However, I've learned that culture shock is just another mechanism of learning.
There is so much here that is different from home that we Americans have had to adapt to.
-There are homeless beggars on the streets of Morgantown. However, here, they don't speak your language and sometimes they are children.
-The street signs are located on the curb of the street; I'm sure you can imagine us trying to find our way around during the first days.
-The drinking age is 18 so the culture is very open to alcohol sales and consumption.
-Not everyone is willing to accommodate the Americans by speaking English. This has been one of the hardest realizations so far for everyone. My friend Lisa is taking a mainstream course, which she was told would be taught in English, but the professor spoke in Afrikaans the entire time. When she approached the professor after class and asked why she wasn't speaking English, she got the reply, "this is South Africa, you can't just expect me to speak in English all the time." She has a valid point, but a student behind Lisa felt the need to chime in and let her know that she shouldn't be in South Africa if she doesn't know Afrikaans... ouch. Which leads to my next point...
-We are learning that not all South Africans are as friendly as we had thought. We have mostly mixed with the international students, a group of people facing the same struggles as we are, so we are all friendly with each other. However, a small minority of South Africans our age are not willing to be open minded about our being here. We girls all wanted to find somewhere to dance Saturday night, and we happened to walk past a place called Tollies, which had a big crowd and loud music. Keep in mind we are entirely sober. A few of us made our way to the dance floor while the others looked for a restroom. While we were dancing, a random guy reached over and ruffed up my hair. It was weird, but I took no offense; I just laughed and kept dancing. Later, we found a few students we knew. While everyone was talking to them, Molly and I walked out to dance to one of our favorite songs. We were facing each other when a different random guy walked up behind Molly with a lit cigarette (you can smoke pretty much anywhere here) and stuck it in her ear. He looked at me and laughed as if it was some prank. Now, there are a lot of jerks in college towns and Morgantown is no exception. But never in my life have I ever seen someone stick a lit cigarette anywhere on someone else's body... except for some creep on the evening news who is going to prison for child abuse. It was a huge shock to us all, and a wake up call that you constantly just have to be ready for that kind of thing.
-Moving on..Restaurant service is slow, but maintenance and cleaning services are very quick. Any restaurant or bar we have gone to has had several uniformed staff members that walk around and take glasses and plates off tables the moment they are emptied.
-Not only is it quick, but there is service everywhere. Workers still pump gas here. There is an attendant in our laundry room who takes out our laundry and folds it for us. Security guards cover our campus. Each big grocery store has several workers at the entrances and exits, almost like guards.
I am sure there will be plenty more to post about culture shock, but I think this gives you a pretty good start. The first week is almost over and registration ends tomorrow at noon, so wish us all luck on getting set up and finally settled in!
Wishing you a wonderful day from South Africa!
Corie
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