Experiencing College Life in the USA - 4 Big Culture Shocks - Part 2

Recently, I published the first part of this series.

This is part 2 of the biggest culture shocks of being a college student in the U.S. over the past three years.

Let's get into it.

Sports are a Religion

So especially in the South, American Football is treated like a religion. I've never seen something like this in my life.

100,000 people, old and young, showed up to the games just to see some 21-year-olds playing on the field.

It's not like in Europe, where sports are only huge once you made it pro.

Over there, at such a young age, sports are so important.

I mean the money they put into these facilities is ridiculous.

Clemson University recently purchased a new athletic facility for $37.5 million.

I heard stories where donors donated $20 or even $60 million for new facilities. $60 million?! Of course, they will get benefits from that, but bro…

Walking around town, you'll see college team stickers on every third car or people put flags of their favorite college team in their yards.

College football is bigger than the actual NFL. How crazy is that?!

Imagine you still go to class but you're treated like a celebrity. You turn on ESPN and see all the sports commentators talking about your performance. It's nuts to think that they're actually just like any other student and if they don't make it pro, all this hype will not be part of their life anymore. Must be a crazy identity crisis.

And also, the US is big in selling all kinds of merch and it seems to be a tradition that everyone wears clothes from their university or high school.

Without a doubt, football is the biggest sport in the south, but other sports are well represented as well. Basketball is huge too, Soccer, Baseball, Lacrosse, Track and Field, and more.

That brings me to my next point.

Great Sport Opportunities

You will not see something like this here in Europe.

They have such a good system when it comes to balancing sports and academics.

In Europe, you go to school and the sport you play is completely independent of your education. This makes it so hard to balance everything out. Many people cannot focus on both and end up either quitting their sport, or their grades have to suffer.

In the US, many kids play 3 sports during high school. Almost everyone I was in contact with already played football, soccer, and basketball. Imagine you can try out several sports in high school because it's just part of their system. That gives you so many opportunities, no wonder sports are so big.

I was a student-athlete and my professors were super invested in our business. You actually represent the university. You can walk around campus and random students ask you about the game and wish you luck.

And they actually mean it. They will come to watch your games and we've had some pretty sick crowds before.

It's crazy. I never witnessed something like that.

Better Community Life

Finding friends in the US is so much easier compared to Germany. Like I said in my previous post, small talk is just part of their culture.

They are so easy-going in their conversations and most of them don't make it awkward at all. You get pulled into these conversations without even realizing it. They just start talking to you in class and have no problem reaching out to strangers.

This makes life so much more enjoyable because the baseline vibe is just much less tense.

After a while, I didn't have any problems with just reaching out to people and casually talking to strangers. As an introvert and usually always minding my own business, I felt like becoming an extrovert at times. The environment permitted that to happen.

Americans are really open and when it comes to hospitality, wow. Whenever Thanksgiving was, you would get so many offers from people to come to their houses and eat with their families. Even on casual weekends, you would be invited to someone's house, and their families are so incredibly friendly. They would help you with anything.

I've never seen something like that, shoutout US people.

There were also events going on all the time on campus. And most of them actually seemed fun. Every time something happened on campus, you saw students being invested and excited, typical Americans.

They just have this natural energy compared to us Germans.

It's amazing.

Guns

That is a weird one.

I told you before, that I already witnessed gunshots in front of my apartment. In fact, there were several shootings even during the semester. Some guy got shot at a party and casual gunshots in the streets at night.

I tell you man, sometimes it's too sketchy.

After practice, I drove home with one of my teammates and he casually mentions that he has a couple of shotguns laying in the back… okay bro.

Most of them, not everyone, are obsessed with guns.

As soon as you see them cowboy boots and a big ass truck, you already know what's going on.

That one time, a friend of mine picked me up from Atlanta and asked me if I had ever held a gun.

I said no. This guy really went out of his way, to drive to his house and show me his guns.

He opened the door.

"Dad, this is Yani. He's never held a gun before"

His Dad didn't even look at me, went straight to the kitchen, got a gun out of the fridge, and put it in my hand. Then he greeted me.  

I was standing with the gun in his kitchen and the whole family around me.

That was my first gun experience fellas.

When we went upstairs into his room, he pulled out a big-ass rifle. Munition and everything right there. This thing was heavy af.

After that, he told me that they have around 13 guns distributed in the house.

Why is that so funny man, just a different vibe.

Life in a Bubble

If you don't live in poverty, you probably live right next to it.

I visited several families and many of them were living in gated communities. The houses looked all the same, all really nice, and the grass was clean-cut and artificial. It was just like in a simulation.

But as soon as you drive 5 minutes outside, you're in a sketchy area.

And that was a constant phenomenon.

We would go into a nice city like Atlanta, Miami, Charlotte, Indianapolis, wherever. You have really nice streets that look beautiful and right next to them, you have crackheads and homelessness everywhere.

It's really sad to see and it kind of sets an uneasy vibe.

We have it here too, but not like this. It can make you feel really uncomfortable.

I remember walking around in Atlanta with my girlfriend. We had to switch sides every 2 minutes because someone sus was walking towards us.

Even in college, everything was fine on campus. Happy life, but once you drove 5 minutes down the road, you better watch where you're going.

Safety was a big factor that made life less comfortable over there. And since there are many crazy people and a lot of guns, anything can happen.

That really affects the vibe.

Conclusion

All in all, it was an amazing experience.

I lived a lifestyle that I could never have had here. I came into contact with people I would never have seen here if I had stayed where I was.

Remember when I said, that I pictured college life like the movies? It was that.

I had so many moments where I had to pause and say to myself :

"Bro, I feel like I'm living the typical college movie life."

It was so worth it.