14 Sep A Brit Abroad

I didn’t experience culture shock until I started at university in San Francisco: until then it had all been happy days. Then meeting real Americans and experiencing school over here became a bit of a struggle. For one, no-one seems to be able to understand my accent, or understand that my name is Katie, not Kasey (my professor called me Kasey for two whole lessons, even after I explained to him that it’s Katie with a T.) Although many of the American students have been really friendly, I have had a few socially awkward moments: the main one being in the queue on the way to a club, a Californian asked where I’m from (I replied England) and then continued to ask whether we speak English there. It was painful. Also, many people have also asked where my family are originally from (they are basically asking why I am the colour I am because, of course, English people have blonde hair and blue eyes) and when I respond with Cyprus, they have no clue what I am talking about. I forget that not many people here have been to Europe, and that it is very far away from here. I stated that it is an island in between Greece, Lebanon and Africa, when they replied ‘Ooooh, so you’re African?’ No. On the other hand, it has been so interesting to meet people from countries all over the world, and has been fascinating to discover everyone’s experience of culture shock.