Winter is coming in Germany… The initial exciting “honeymoon” phase has begun to fizzle out and reality is setting in. To say it has been difficult would be an understatement. From finding last minute housing in the middle of a housing crises, to bank difficulties, to developing tonsillitis and keeping up with my studies and…
Cultural Confrontation
To start, studying and spending my time at Queen Mary University of London has been nothing but amazing. However, there are some aspects of culture here in London that differ from what I am used to in America. Most notably, the approach to academics at my university is much more relaxed and unstructured. Each individual…
Cultural Confrontation In Switzerland
It’s not easy to write about confrontation while you’re sitting in a sunflower field in the Swiss alps. Up to when I write this, my whole experience has been better than I had pictured it. I haven’t had a language barrier with my home stay family and I’ve been integrating very well which could be…
Cultural Confrontation in Aus
I was expecting to experience more culture shock in Australia but it is really similar to the U.S. in a lot of ways. So many people told me that Australia would be expensive but it’s no more expensive than the U.S.. Eating out is around the same price if not cheaper than it is in…
Cultural Adjustment
One cultural confrontation I have experienced in Rome, Italy is the grocery store products. As one who likes to cook at home and meal prep for the entire week, it is extremely difficult to do that here. The first problem I was presented with was the different brands the store offers. The store is a…
Cultural Confrontations
The cultural confrontation of transportation has been hard, but knowledgeable. I have become so used to having everything within a short distance of me. It’s made me become more and more aware of my surroundings. It’s also made me become more confident with directions and guiding myself. Before coming here I was not at all…
Cultural Confrontations
Since living in Newcastle, Australia for the last three months I have not experienced nearly as much cultural confrontation as I thought I would. However, I have come to notice the cultural differences are indeed there but being able to live and experience everyday life here has allowed me to notice them opposed to a…
Cultural Confrontation
Thus far, living in Rome has been nothing short of amazing. The American University of Rome and the city have been incredibly welcoming to us students abroad. We are made to feel very comfortable in public spaces such as restaurants, and the Romans have a lot of patience (despite some of us having little to…
Cultural Confrontation
Since living in New Zealand, I actually have not experienced as much culture shock as I was expecting. New Zealand is quite similar to the United States and is even Americanized in some ways. For example, New Zealanders watch all the same movies, listen to all the same music, and even wear clothing with American…
Blog Post #2: Life in London!
Since arriving in London almost a month ago, I feel like I have adjusted wonderfully to city life and British culture. To be transparent, I do not think I have faced many cultural confrontations while here. Some of the aspects of London that friends had warned me about, like navigating ‘the tube’, have been easy…