A Whole New World...

Welcome again to my blog! It's my first time in America and when I was coming here I didn't know what to expect. I've come to America and found that it's a whole new world. Everything (or almost everything) is different. I thought I had prepared my mind enough from the Hollywood movies I had watched, the internet, and books, but I've realized that America is totally different from what I had initially imagined.

It's finally getting deep into fall. The trees are changing color and shedding their leaves, and it's getting quite cold, especially at night. Very soon, we'll probably have to start using the heaters. And I'll have to go to Wal-Mart to get some warm clothes in preparation for winter. Back in Nigeria, the coldest it usually gets is 20 degrees centigrade, but I hear winter in Iowa feels colder than drenching yourself in cold water and locking yourself in a deep freezer! And that sounds really scary.

I think I'm doing quite well adjusting to American food [actually, I realize it's a combination of foods from different parts of the world]. Nonetheless, it's still a lot different from Nigerian food (which I miss a lot). During my first meals at Luther, I didn't know which food was which and so I would just pick the ones that looked good to me, and this determined the proportions in which I served my food. Then, I would return to my table and discover my assumptions were completely wrong - the items I took too little of were the ones I liked and the items I took a lot of were the ones that didn't taste good to me. And this happened over and over again. So, I had to make conscious efforts to know the specific kinds of food that I liked - by name and appearance - to avoid wasting food. Now, I think I'm much better than I started off. In fact, things I didn't like before now taste a lot better [as if I've discovered a new way to eat them different from the way I used to eat them before].

When I just got to Luther, it was a bit hard to communicate. Back in Nigeria, I always assumed that we Nigerians had a neutral accent and it would be easy for anyone to understand us because we stress every syllable. In fact, it seemed to me that it was people from other parts of the world that had accents. But it turns out nobody has an accent, and everybody has an accent. In my first days at Luther, I couldn't make a complete explanation without the person I'm talking to asking me to repeat myself, or even having a complete blank look on their face! And it was really frustrating. Now, I think it's a little better; people are finally beginning to understand me much more easily. Could it be that I'm beginning to talk 'American,' or my roommate and friends are just beginning to get used to my 'Nigerian accent?'

So far, I don't think it's been such a huge culture shock for me. I know I've found it difficult adjusting to the different weather, accent, food, greetings, and a lot more, in America; I've even had difficulties with jokes - someone says something to me that he feels is completely funny, and I seem not to get the joke, and someone just says something carelessly and I find myself laughing [and it makes me feel silly]! However, the good thing about it is that people at Luther are not out to make fun of cultural differences but embrace it and try to learn from it. They want to know how things are done in other parts of the world and clarify their initial views of other countries. And this makes me feel more proud of my culture and happy to contribute to the diversity at Luther College.

Peace,

-Opeoluwa