First Time
The instant I walked off the tarmac I felt the clear difference: although the had-been flourishing greens in the woods were fast bleaching off their lively tones to give way to stretches of gaunt and seemingly impoverished vegetation in deference to the fall season, I could not but pull close my jacket as the chill gently lashed at it. I took in the city, my host – at least for the first two days – cruised through the night enlivened with the amber glow of street lights.
On getting home, I was somewhat tired, but not precisely knocked out by jet lag, so over the late dinner, I engaged my host in a light chat about Boston city. I later had a shower and got set to settle into bed: the following day was a Saturday and promised to be an unprecedented adventure into my newly arrived city.
After a sumptuous breakfast at Paneras, I set out to the mall in company of my host. We strolled through Target, the Dollar Store amongst others, whose names I cannot recall, as I bought carpets, pots, and other household paraphernalia. The bed would probably come later as I thought I could make do with the carpet for the time being before the winter fully sets in. However, few days later, I bought my bed and mattress and hauled it home on the roof of my host’s car.
Shortly after shopping on Saturday, my host took me on a brief tour of Boston College. Once we got into the school it was not difficult to locate the hall that housed my department – Devlin Hall: it stood colossal as an awesome mesh of modern architecture with tints of orthodox masonry. The hefty doors to the hall stood tall and potentially challenging to access, but we pulled through to take a peep into the building, which for me was the commencement of the orientation program that I missed because of the late August hurricane that caused my flight to be rescheduled.
As I resumed school on the Tuesday after Labour Day, I made my first stop at the Earth and Environmental Science main office to inform the departmental administrator of my arrival; I was then shown to my desk by one of the professors. Later that morning, I met my colleagues and for a boy like me who had just made his first voyage to this other side of the Atlantic, everyone looked alike. Katie looked like Maricate, Steve looked like Tyler, but I could easily make out John because of his prominent beards. The climax of my culture shock played out as the reality of the brisk walk-by greeting poked at me: on my side of the Atlantic we are used to a culture of relatively long greetings and verbal pleasantries.
Looking back now, my first day experience in my department seems only like a mirage embellished with happenstance; the potency of time has perfectly meshed me into the American culture. Perhaps the diverse cultures of the world are not as different as seen from a foreign frame of reference.
Oluwaseyi Bolarinwa wrote in from Florida. In his words: "Some of my friends perceive me as an anomaly. If you care to know my opinion of myself: I am a playful, happy boy who likes to make others smile." He has a comic style of writing, adding humour to even the most serious topics.
On getting home, I was somewhat tired, but not precisely knocked out by jet lag, so over the late dinner, I engaged my host in a light chat about Boston city. I later had a shower and got set to settle into bed: the following day was a Saturday and promised to be an unprecedented adventure into my newly arrived city.
After a sumptuous breakfast at Paneras, I set out to the mall in company of my host. We strolled through Target, the Dollar Store amongst others, whose names I cannot recall, as I bought carpets, pots, and other household paraphernalia. The bed would probably come later as I thought I could make do with the carpet for the time being before the winter fully sets in. However, few days later, I bought my bed and mattress and hauled it home on the roof of my host’s car.
Shortly after shopping on Saturday, my host took me on a brief tour of Boston College. Once we got into the school it was not difficult to locate the hall that housed my department – Devlin Hall: it stood colossal as an awesome mesh of modern architecture with tints of orthodox masonry. The hefty doors to the hall stood tall and potentially challenging to access, but we pulled through to take a peep into the building, which for me was the commencement of the orientation program that I missed because of the late August hurricane that caused my flight to be rescheduled.
As I resumed school on the Tuesday after Labour Day, I made my first stop at the Earth and Environmental Science main office to inform the departmental administrator of my arrival; I was then shown to my desk by one of the professors. Later that morning, I met my colleagues and for a boy like me who had just made his first voyage to this other side of the Atlantic, everyone looked alike. Katie looked like Maricate, Steve looked like Tyler, but I could easily make out John because of his prominent beards. The climax of my culture shock played out as the reality of the brisk walk-by greeting poked at me: on my side of the Atlantic we are used to a culture of relatively long greetings and verbal pleasantries.
Looking back now, my first day experience in my department seems only like a mirage embellished with happenstance; the potency of time has perfectly meshed me into the American culture. Perhaps the diverse cultures of the world are not as different as seen from a foreign frame of reference.
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