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Student studies abroad in 'bloody' Brockport By Natalie Armitage Around this time last year, in my dorm room at Brunel University, West London, England, I got an e-mail telling me that I got into a college in New York, United States to study abroad for one year. When I went into the communal kitchen and told the 13 people who lived with, I was greeted with: “New York! You’re going to be living in one of those tall skyscrapers they have.” “No she won’t. She will be living in one of those apartments with long stairs like they do on ‘Sex and the City.’” “No way, you are going to be on ‘Sex and the City’” “No, she’s going to college, you idiots. She is definitely going to meet Van Wilder and drink out of red cups at parties and have crazy stories like they come from American Pie.” Sold. I landed in Brockport Aug. 28, 2007. After unpacking and checking out Main Street, I wanted to run full speed back to the airport to jump on the next plane back to London. Since then I have learned a lot about the real American college life, and apparently it isn’t quite like American Pie after all. I quickly learned that a British accent gets you pretty much anywhere, impresses anyone, and gets you as many free drinks as you want. I started to feel more at home. Once I discovered that the only places to go out were a couple of bars that look like they came from an old movie and a club that is actually a converted shed, I decided I had to make more of an effort to get involved and find out how to survive in this alien place. In the one year I have been here, I’m still not sure I have got it completely sussed out, but I have definitely learnt a lot about a place far from normality for me. I had to break it down for people when I went home to my friends and family in a way that English people understood: Hazing — Regular initiations, but it’s a bad thing. Fraternities — a group of mates that get together, make up rules of what you have to do to get in their gang, call each other brothers and apparently talk Greek, even though they are all American and never been to Greece in their lives. Sororities — the same, but female. College Sports — what our parents made us give up after we left school as we are in University to get a “real” education. Philly Cheese Steak — nasty meat with processed cheese and anything else you want shoved on top. Originates from Philadelphia? Beer — watered down normal beer. Football — rugby with more protection. Soccer — footy. Beer Pong — Ping Pong, but with beer, and usually it’s the center of every party in every household for everyone to sign up and play and wait three hours for their turn. Garbage plate — regurgitated crap on a convenient plate to take home. Fashion — generally speaking, what people were wearing in Europe more than a year ago. Photographs — Females: This is a time to stick your chest out, pout your lips and hang your arm over to make a swearing sign (don’t worry, it means peace here.) Males: Try your hardest not to smile and do the same peace sign, preferably throwing your arm over the nearest female. Facebook — Same as it is in England, but is used as a deadly serious campus creeper directory and all profiles need to be set to private. Tanning — Compulsory for everyone. Yes, even straight males. Explaining to people back home that you have to be 21 to drink instead of 18 was a tough one. Especially since at 18 here you can have a gun and go to war, but a beer is far too dangerous. That was a baffling logic for most English to get a hold of, particularly as our police officers in our country rarely even carry guns. However I didn’t just learn, I also taught people things at Brockport too! For example: There is no such language as “European.” Yes, we do own microwaves. No, I do not know or have ever met the Queen. We never say “Cheerio,” “Old Chap” or “spot of tea” unless you are about 100 years old. London is the capital of England, not a country itself. The United Kingdom is the same as Great Britain, and consists of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Yes we do have black people, no we are not all rich, and I guess we all do drink tea. Among all this learning and teaching between cultures, I realized that my family was wrong — Americans are very nice people — and most of them don’t even like George Bush. However, they still haven’t quite grasped that everyone in the planet loves soccer apart from them, and no one likes baseball outside the U.S., but there are many things we do share the same appreciation for: The Spice Girls, David Beckham, Harry Potter and both versions of “The Office.” Brockport is a place somewhere between New York City and Canada, near Niagara Falls, outside a city unknown to most Brits called Rochester. However, walking along the third floor of McLean Hall there are people from Vietnam, Guyana, Nigeria, Bulgaria, Romania, Jamaica, Australia, Nepal and Cyprus. Why here? It has a good reputation, a quaint town with houses so near that you can walk from one street to the next and pass at least a couple of people who you know. In the summer you hop from party to party, which are out in the front yards, and in winter it is never too far to run home and have fights in the snow. It’s far enough from a busy city to keep it cozy and close enough to escape to the mall. The people are from all over New York, a fusion that results in a true New York State of Mind. I never got to meet Van Wilder, or Carrie and the girls, or even see the Empire State building, but I met the most amazing, interesting and crazy people of my life that I will never forget at Brockport. When I return to the left-hand side of the road, the local pub and all the foul-mouthed footy hooligans that are going crazy because Chelsea scored, I’ll miss a small place upstate New York called Brockport where that bloody eagle is still jumping about like it’s Mickey in Disneyland, the hockey team is wild, the dance team are still full of beans, the basketball players act like they’re celebrities, the gymnasts are perfect, the Culture Clubs are the most beautiful people on campus — and the Brockport Student Government will undoubtedly be fighting over whether Kanye West is really performing this year or not. |
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