Six months on a university exchange visit in San Francisco was a dream come true. Or so Warrnambool’s BONNIE ZIEGELER thought, until she arrived.
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It is near impossible.
As is telling people that no, my parents are not brother and sister; no, I am not related to the Crocodile Hunter and no, I have never been bitten by any one of the myriad venomous snakes or spiders in my home country.
In my exchange city of San Francisco, an Australian is as rare as salad.
Four out of six months in the States down and my montage of experiences is both good and bad.
Let’s start with my all-American buddy who met me at the airport.
Our e-mail conversations informed me he liked horseback riding, played tennis and was training for the America’s Cup.
Husband material, no? It turns out he may have stretched the truth a touch.
His greeting went something like this: “Why did you choose SF State University? There’s no college spirit. You’re going to find it really difficult to meet people.”
I walked away from that mishap into my on-campus apartment, excited to meet my new American besties.
You know what they say about putting too much stock in something?
The place reeked of marijuana.
I had been warned San Francisco had retained several of its hippie strains from days gone by. Indeed, weed is as blatant as the naked men in the Castro district and, in some areas, it replaces fresh air.
What had I done? Where were the sororities? Where was my quarterback?
Apparently San Francisco was the wrong place if I wanted all that.
For starters, SF State does not have a football team. You’d think as a journalist I’d have done the research.
While I was waging this war of self-doubt, I was being bombarded with messages from family and friends back home.
Yes, I am having the time of my life. Yes, I have met the president. Yes, I already have an accent.
In actual fact, I was looking for a new home on Craigslist and debating an early flight home.
But as luck or irony would have it, I met a surfer from Apollo Bay at orientation.
Later that day we met two other Aussie exchange students and together we found a house.
My housemates and I have encountered the country’s lack of health care first-hand.
“Whatever you do, DO NOT call an ambulance,” we were told during orientation.
Witnessing four fire engines race to the aid of a man hit by a car certainly ingrained that advice.
So we sat paralysed with helplessness the night my roommate knocked her front teeth out, in fear of racking up a $10,000 hospital bill.
But before you begin to think me a pessimist, do not get me wrong — this life is incredible.
I co-managed the university’s cheer squad — which may have had more to do with my accent than my aerobic ability.
It did however get me a free pass to the USA national cheer championships. If you are thinking the movie Bring It On, you are spot on.
I am also interning at an RNB hip hop radio station, writing a DJs’ daily blog.
I sent the whole office into hysterics on my first day with my chirpy “Good morning!”
It seems the customary greeting is “What up shawty?”
Food portions are every bit as oversized as we are led to believe. “Are you sure you want a small? It’s only the size of your palm.” I have developed an astonishing appetite for cheeseburgers ... and in doing so have put on 10 pounds — to make the American experience more authentic, you know?
Another bonus? Life is cheap. Uni students do not have to resort to goon because it costs $16 for a 1.75-litre of Smirnoff.
On that topic, red cup parties, beer pong and keg stand competitions do exist. Spring break was a casual cruise to Mexico. Girls Gone Wild is not an MTV exaggeration but a reality.
So my initially crippling culture shock eventually waned into a love of this “city by the bay”.
I have eaten clam chowder at Fisherman’s Wharf, walked the Golden Gate Bridge, explored Alcatraz and ridden the cable cars.
So yes, I am living the American dream, just not quite how I expected to.
Every day is an adventure but every day I think how incredibly lucky I am to live in Australia.