The non-existent bus schedule on Oahu

The purpose of this blog is to write about a cultural practice from my host country. When I read the attached definition of a cultural practice – ways of doing something which relate to particular cultural environments and may therefore be unfamiliar to newcomers – I immediately thought of public transportation on Oahu. I am doing my semester abroad at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, which is located on the island of Oahu and in Honolulu, the capital of Hawaii. Although Oahu has the best infrastructure of all the islands of Hawaii, the public transportation is very different from the public transportation in Switzerland.

A College town in Texas

In my first few weeks in Texas, I was amazed by how an American College environment differs from the University of Bern. Obviously, I informed myself before and knew roughly what to expect. But when I moved into my dorm and started to have a day-to-day life on campus, I noticed some big differences between an American College and what I was used to from the University of Bern.

It is all about community

Already in my first few days in Huntsville, a small town near Houston, I got the strong sense of belonging to the Sam Houston State University. In the first two weeks, the university organized a lot of events with the goal that the students should get to know the university but also to ensure that incoming students form part of the university community and feel comfortable. However, it turned out that there were a lot of events taking place throughout the whole semester and I felt there was always something going on.

“What the heck is this place?” Letting go of postcard Hawaii

One of my first feelings in Hawaii was surprise. Nothing was as I had expected. And I think expectations are a dangerous thing. They can be good in some ways, because that’s how we prepare ourselves mentally for what might await us when we arrive in a completely unknown place. In my case, however, expectations didn’t help me at all. I had an idea of what Hawaii might be like. I had never been there, but I still had this idea. Before I went abroad, I wasn’t worried about the unfamiliar because I didn’t think it would actually be that unfamiliar. I thought it would be a little bit like my language school in Australia, a little bit like my trip in Brazil, a little bit like my study abroad in Spain. Somehow, I created an expectation based on many experiences I’ve already had. Experiences I had in places or situations that I thought were similar to Hawaii. Also, I thought that culturally Hawaii can’t be that different from Switzerland because it is part of North America and North America itself is pretty well known to us here in Europe. There are so many movies, series and books from there that I thought I knew what life there was actually like. 

The Ins and Outs of the US University System

After living in the US for more than 10 weeks, I would say I have become familiarized with some of the cultural practices and institutions, but there has still been nowhere near enough time to get comfortable with all of them. It would probably have been delusional to expect it otherwise, though. However, there is one major part of my daily life that I really had to get used to, namely the US university system.

Lessons in Politeness

Since I was little, it has always been my dream to live in the USA. Probably influenced by too many Hollywood movies and American books, I wanted to experience studying at an American university and just living the American way of life. Honestly, I still cannot believe this is what I am actually doing. I left Switzerland on the 12^th of January and flew to Laramie with a stopover in Denver. Laramie is the third biggest town in the state of Wyoming, the state with the second lowest population density after Alaska and the lowest number of citizens. Due to its small population and the vast natural landscape, the residents go through life more slowly and are very friendly, because in a town like this the residents know each other.  

Volleyballs and cheerleaders flying through the air

Before arriving in Honolulu to study at the University of Manoa, Hawaii was like a country on its own in my head. Of course, I knew it belonged to the United States, nevertheless I was surprised to what extent it resembled the cities on the mainland, that I’ve already visited. Mostly because it is very car-dominated. However, what flabbergasted me the most was the way sport events are carried out here. A sport event here is not just a game between two teams in a discipline, it is a giant celebration on its own.

From Winter Wonderland to the Desert

The semester in Canada starts in January and finishes by the end of April. Therefore, my exchange semester in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, is already over. I finished all my assignments and packed my stuff. It was hard to say goodbye to all the people I met here, but at the same time I was very excited for what was to come! I flew to Denver in the US where I met my brother for an eight-week road trip on the Westcoast. 

Getting used to the American way of life

When I first arrived at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater I was expecting a lot of unfamiliar habits that I had to adjust to.

Sometimes English is not English

Since I am studying in the United Stated of America the language used at my exchange university is English. In my opinion I had a pretty good knowledge of the English language even before I arrived here. Still, I faced a few challenges which are linked to the English language.