One aspect of U.S. culture that I find very prominent among my peers is that we are always too comfortable in our surroundings. For example we leave our bags hanging on the side of our chairs instead of on our laps, we also walk with our phones in our hands or sometimes even leave them just laying out on a table, or at least at Rollins, most students use phone wallets so every card they own is on the back of their phone. In other countries, this is something that is unheard of. I think that this aspect of U.S. culture is bizarre, like how we are so confident in the security around us. Someone outside of the U.S. would probably find us insane to be doing stuff, as I said before things of that sort are unheard of. However, in other countries, people use the fact that we are naive to their advantage. Being a tourist, they will try to pickpocket you and will most likely get away with it. This exercise has helped me to prepare for my time abroad because it really made me take a step back and reflect on all the times I have done stupid stuff like this. It is truly crazy to think about how in Europe you have to walk around with your bag in front of you and shut while in the United States, you can walk around with your bag practically open and almost never have to worry about someone taking something from it. This activity has really put into retrospect how careful I really need to be, some steps that I am taking to ensure that I am being as safe and alert as can be is I removed my phone wallet, I am bringing a crossbody bag so this way no one can take anything, and I am making sure to always put my phone away and hold my bag when sitting down. This realization is something that can really help me in the states when it comes to being more aware of my surroundings and being more careful as to where I put my things when I am out. Another aspect of American culture that I think is very intriguing is how we can go out of our houses practically in our pj’s. In most European countries this is unheard of, most people are well dressed and look presentable, this is something that I am definitely going to have to get accustomed to while abroad, I am not used to having to get dressed up everyday, but it will definitely make things a little bit more exciting.
