When I first moved out to Colorado, it was after roughly 25 years on the east coast, at least 15 of which had been in the DC area. I had learned how to drive on I-95, and most of my road trips had been through New York and New Jersey. Living in Northern Virginia, you can go from shotgun-toting, chickens-and-rusted-trucks-in-the-front-yard areas to million-dollar neighborhoods with security cameras and locked gates within a half an hour. Everyone keeps to themselves, and if you have to interact with others, it's best to establish a pecking order as quickly as possible, lest someone think you're just another hanger-on to the DC area.
Moving out to the midwest was a massive culture shock, probably because I wasn't expecting it to be. When you go to another country, you expect things to be different- new language, new culture, new everything (except McDonald's and Starbucks). Moving across the country, however, I had expected things to be roughly the same ol same ol. Perhaps some new hobbies, different scenery, but America is a mixing pot- a homogenous society, right? Right?
WRONG. Due to my final work assignment being overseas, I had my very gracious family move my stuff out here for me, and I flew straight in from the Philippines. While that country is very nice, and the people are courteous, I had been training new agents for my company during the night shift (it being halfway around the world from the US), so I had lead a fairly solitary life for six weeks. The first thing I noticed when I landed was that good lord, the sky is massive out here. One the east coast, you're pretty constantly boxed in by either trees or skyscrapers, and the farthest you ever get to see is for a brief instant or two when cresting a hill on the highway, you can possibly see 2-3 miles away. The Philippines are pretty much the same, being either rural jungle or massively westernized city. In the midwest, though, you literally see from horizon to horizon, and it's not uncommon to be able to see the next state over on a clear day.
Once I'd gotten used to the fact that half of the world was now either bright blue or cloudy white and intent on turning he rest of the world white, I began to notice the people out here. In case you didn't know, Colorado is very outdoorsy, so finding someone who doesn't walk, run, bike, ski, snowboard, hike, mountain climb or trail run is very, very rare. There are walking paths and bike lanes everywhere, and I've seen people cheerfully biking to and from work in honest-to-goodness blizzards. While it is a little nerve-wracking at first, you eventually get used to sharing the roads and don't think twice about it. (Unless a biker/ driver is being a jerk, but that's a whole 'nother topic).
What really blew me away, though, was the attitudes. Everyone- from cashiers to random strangers walking down the street- everyone is so, well, friendly! Smiles are commonplace, people offer help instead of epithets when accidents happen, and it's not unusual to have a nice conversation with someone who happens to be walking in the same direction that you are for a while. One of my friends from Maryland visited a couple years ago, and every time someone started chatting with her, she would look at me as if to say, "what on earth is going on? Is it safe to talk to these people??"
This isn't to say that there aren't self-centered jerks out here, too, they're just substantially more rare than out east. If items are dropped on walking paths, other people hang them on nearby branches, fences, or posts, in the hope that the person who dropped them will come back. I've even seen a keyring with a BMW key hung on a fence. How often does that happen? When I went back to the east coast to visit last year, I was appalled at how closed-in everything was, both physically and mentally. People seem to walk around in their own little boxes of self-importance, and god forbid you interrupt them or make them late!
Unfortunately, the career that I've chosen is mostly centered around the east coast and major cities. As graduation crawls nearer and nearer, I am beginning to dread the potential need to move back out there, and trying to stock up on sunshine and friendliness. Just as monks study peace and forgiveness in the quiet solitude of monasteries and then venture forth to practice these things in the real world, I feel that's the fate I'll be looking at if I have to go back. Here's hoping I can keep my serenity and happiness.
Moving out to the midwest was a massive culture shock, probably because I wasn't expecting it to be. When you go to another country, you expect things to be different- new language, new culture, new everything (except McDonald's and Starbucks). Moving across the country, however, I had expected things to be roughly the same ol same ol. Perhaps some new hobbies, different scenery, but America is a mixing pot- a homogenous society, right? Right?
WRONG. Due to my final work assignment being overseas, I had my very gracious family move my stuff out here for me, and I flew straight in from the Philippines. While that country is very nice, and the people are courteous, I had been training new agents for my company during the night shift (it being halfway around the world from the US), so I had lead a fairly solitary life for six weeks. The first thing I noticed when I landed was that good lord, the sky is massive out here. One the east coast, you're pretty constantly boxed in by either trees or skyscrapers, and the farthest you ever get to see is for a brief instant or two when cresting a hill on the highway, you can possibly see 2-3 miles away. The Philippines are pretty much the same, being either rural jungle or massively westernized city. In the midwest, though, you literally see from horizon to horizon, and it's not uncommon to be able to see the next state over on a clear day.
 |
| Guess which I prefer? |
Once I'd gotten used to the fact that half of the world was now either bright blue or cloudy white and intent on turning he rest of the world white, I began to notice the people out here. In case you didn't know, Colorado is very outdoorsy, so finding someone who doesn't walk, run, bike, ski, snowboard, hike, mountain climb or trail run is very, very rare. There are walking paths and bike lanes everywhere, and I've seen people cheerfully biking to and from work in honest-to-goodness blizzards. While it is a little nerve-wracking at first, you eventually get used to sharing the roads and don't think twice about it. (Unless a biker/ driver is being a jerk, but that's a whole 'nother topic).
What really blew me away, though, was the attitudes. Everyone- from cashiers to random strangers walking down the street- everyone is so, well, friendly! Smiles are commonplace, people offer help instead of epithets when accidents happen, and it's not unusual to have a nice conversation with someone who happens to be walking in the same direction that you are for a while. One of my friends from Maryland visited a couple years ago, and every time someone started chatting with her, she would look at me as if to say, "what on earth is going on? Is it safe to talk to these people??"
This isn't to say that there aren't self-centered jerks out here, too, they're just substantially more rare than out east. If items are dropped on walking paths, other people hang them on nearby branches, fences, or posts, in the hope that the person who dropped them will come back. I've even seen a keyring with a BMW key hung on a fence. How often does that happen? When I went back to the east coast to visit last year, I was appalled at how closed-in everything was, both physically and mentally. People seem to walk around in their own little boxes of self-importance, and god forbid you interrupt them or make them late!
Unfortunately, the career that I've chosen is mostly centered around the east coast and major cities. As graduation crawls nearer and nearer, I am beginning to dread the potential need to move back out there, and trying to stock up on sunshine and friendliness. Just as monks study peace and forgiveness in the quiet solitude of monasteries and then venture forth to practice these things in the real world, I feel that's the fate I'll be looking at if I have to go back. Here's hoping I can keep my serenity and happiness.
No comments:
Post a Comment