This short entry just to raise some observations that I have witnessed over the past few days regarding what my expectations of America would be and how they are in reality.
1 - America may be the most obese country in the world but here in Oregon the locals seem very health conscious. So far the majority of people I have seen don't even look overweight, never mind obese. This could also explain the sports orientation of the university itself. Everybody takes part in a sport. If you don't then you go to the gym, or jog. For me, this was surprising since the stereotype of an American is often overweight, loud, and not entirely clued up on the junk food that they consume each day. I can say that thus far the reality has been the opposite coupled with the American 'can do' attitude. The one expectation on this front that I can safely say matches the reality is the food portion sizes. The sizes are a step up from British ones (so if you order a small drink the cup will be the equivalent of a medium at home) and the portions can easily be shared between two people. This is why it is also surprising that people here stay in shape so well despite still being surrounded by 'portion distortion' (Thank you to Amy Shortland for that phrase)
2 - Slightly linked to the above point but I have not seen a McDonalds yet whilst I have been here! Yes I don't have a car and yes I haven't explored the entirety of Eugene but my expectation was to find one more or less on every street corner. Recently I have even ventured to a local mall where yet again the golden arches were no where to be found. I suppose this is a good thing really.
3 - Various people have warned me about the huge amount of rain which descends onto Eugene and the rest of Oregon but so far the weather has brought nothing but glorious sunshine. This reality however is destined to change relatively soon so I will make the most of it while I am here. I even managed to badly sun burn one of my arms after only being in the sun for a few hours. Because of my expectations I didn't even pack suncream
4 - Americans don't get sarcasm? I am starting to wonder where this statement ever came from, they are so sarcastic, to the point that I'm not sure what to take seriously and what not to.
5 - People really don't like to walk here.....I could understand in the 100 degree heat of Arizona that you wouldn't want to walk in the blistering heat but in a mild 70 degree pleasant afternoon? I met a guy in my halls who does a really extreme workout every morning, he is getting fit, he has lost weight....great! But when he had to go to the pharmacist about a 40 minute walk away he insisted on getting the bus! The walk to the centre of campus from my halls is around 25 minutes and is aesthetically pleasing and yet students see it as too far. They wait for ten minutes for a bus to transport them literally two blocks down to the entrance of campus from which they will have to walk to their class anyway. This behaviour is very alien to me but I guess it just isn't in the American culture to walk if there is the option of motorised transport.
That is it so far for expectations and realities. If you think of anymore feel free to comment but I am still waiting for all of the Americans to get here so I am sure there will be more comparisons brought up once term has begun
Have a great day!
Sarah x
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