Expectations vs. Reality

Louise has been here nearly 2 months already! Join her for a look at her experiences so far.

Our wonderful intern Louise has been in Seattle for nearly two months! Here she shares a brief window into her personal experience, as well as some tips for other International students arriving in Seattle.

Louise relaxing by Blanca Lake

Making transitions and big changes in my life has always been something that made me a little bit nervous and anxious. To conquer that anxiety and feel more comfortable I have developed a distinct strategy that I turn to without even thinking about it; I get ridiculously over-prepared.

Before arriving in Seattle, I had figured out my housing situation, reached out to connections in the city to start getting social, had bought gifts for my hosts, started a bucket list, and had spent many hours browsing the web to get to know my new city's geography, history and sights. This level of over preparation has been very helpful to feel confident and competent in Seattle and has helped me with priorities and time management.

However there are some things you just cannot prepare for no matter how hard you try, because sometimes you don't know what things to prepare for, and learning the theory about something won't always translate into being able to apply that information in practice. Based on my academic background in English (with a lot of classes focusing on American culture and society) and my hands on experience with American exchange students in Copenhagen, Denmark, I will say that I have a pretty well rounded knowledge on America and thought I knew what to expect when I got to Seattle.

I expected and was prepared for things to be pretty different from Northern Europe, but actually my biggest "culture shock" has been to prepare for things being very different, and actually realizing that Seattle is very similar to my home environment. This may be because my previous experience with America has mostly been with the East Coast and I underestimated the regional differences, although, I myself have previously lectured friends and family on how diverse America is. It really is hard to grasp the vast scale of this country until you have spent 6 hours flying across it - you only need 20 min. to pass over Denmark, to put that into perspective.

In reality I feel so much at home here, which is a good thing, but it was not expected. Seattle is sustainability focused, liberal and progressive, the people are a bit reserved just like Danes are said to be (nobody talks to you on the bus or in the street), religion does not seem to be very prominent and the Seattleites are very focused on organic, locally grown, healthy diets just to name a few things I’ve noticed the Pacific Northwest seems to have in common with Denmark.

This has let me to think about the assumptions and preconceived notions we have about a new place before we actually get there. I think we should be aware that most of these ideas are a coping strategy that gives us a sort of security to hold on to as we are heading into unknowing territory. We have to be ready to let go of our preconceived notions and keep an open mind and bring a sense of cultural curiosity when we get to our destination and transition from expectations to reality.

I want to end with some advice that I try to keep reminding myself of even 6 weeks into my stay. The first one is to make healthy decisions for my mind and body; exercise, eat well and remember to rest. I want to experience as much as possible in my short time here, but I also know that I have to have take it easy once in a while. I'm very mindful of my sleep pattern - your sleep cycles are one of the first places that will show when you are out of balance.

The second big advice is that it is okay to be insecure about things! I want to be confident and competent, but I can't always be so and often I reach out to my colleagues from FIUTS, my host family or my new American friends and I will ask them MANY questions. Usually I will start off by saying that I'm really confused or insecure about something and I always get great help. You don't need to be an expert on your new home, bring your curiosity and never be afraid to ask questions. Most people are really friendly and accommodating and will want to help you. Who knows, you might make a friend or two along the way by daring to ask for help. Be brave, keep an open mind and take on Seattle!