America at last!

I have finally made it to the land of the free! After travelling for about 24 hours I finally arrived in Goleta, CA and found my apartment which from the outside looks like a motel. I managed to mess up my wi-fi access on the first night and have been without it for a few days, so I'm writing this on my third day here.

According to some of the bumpf I've been given I'm meant to be in phase one of cultural adjustment: Euphoria, "You are excited about the newness of your environment and initial discoveries of your host country." With me that lasted only a few hours before heading straight towards phase 2: "Culture shock - You begin to realize all of the cultural differences between home and your host country and you may not be happy with these differences. This is a common homesickness period." Whilst I'm not homesick I'm already fed up of not knowing what the hell is going on, I cannot trust myself at all. Most previous assumptions that I've used my whole life I now have to rethink, its all the tiny things that get me, like not hailing buses - in America if there is someone waiting at a bus stop then the bus stops, even if they don't want it. I have made a fool of myself about this and many other things. I'm only now realising what I've let myself in for.

Just before I left my next door neighbour told me that America isn't really that different from England, that I wouldn't encounter too many problems. Maybe that's true for tourists, but living here is entirely different. I have to ask help for everything. When I first went to Uni in England it took me a little while to adjust and I had to ask questions, but that was more a matter of geography, not basic things such as what something is called, or whether it is possible to buy jam. I know that soon enough I will know these things, they will seem automatic, but at the moment I feel that I'm on a steep learning curve and I'm going to have to work much harder than the average student just to keep up.

I actually really like the place I'm living in, its a suburb of Goleta called Isla Vista (or just IV) that is populated almost entirely by students, it is really relaxed and is full of underage drinking and illegal drug taking. It is so different from my home Uni. Its a short walk (or cycle - there are loads of bikes everywhere) from both the beach and campus and everyone is really nice. I got invited to a party that was being held in the flat below me and one of the guys just knocked on the door and invited me down. I went and had a few beers and met some new people, they weren't the kind of people i would usually hang out with but it was a good experience non the less. There is an English girl living next door to me and she's been really helpful, she brought me some tea bags earlier and we've had nice long chats (it was her boyfriend who fixed my wi-fi). I like the place, but I don't feel like I belong here yet, I can't relax properly, but when I do I know I'll love it.

This blog was meant to be light hearted, but at the moment I'm suffering from jet lag (my body wakes me up at about 6am) and fatigue brought on by thinking about everything. Hopefully when I reach phase 3 (surface adjustment) I'll be able to tell you about all the silly things I see, such as gas stations called Jiffy Lube and an English pub in Santa Barbara that has "No Wankers" written on the door, but at the moment I'm too tired and have to pack for going to San Fransisco tomorrow. I'm looking forward to just being a tourist and not having to try and buy things such as duvets (which I discovered are called comforters)or blue tac (tac), I think it will be much easier and more fun. I am now definitely able to see why foreign students often hang around together, its just easier. Hopefully I'll fight this urge and will come as close as possible to assimilation.