Samantha Russell
Hello! My name is Samantha Russell. My major is Computer Information Systems or programming. I was born in Pensacola, Florida. At 16, I moved to Louisiana where I graduated from high school in Chalmette. I moved here from Louisiana last November, to be close to a girl I met online. Spoilers: it didn’t work out. Don’t worry, I found love again and I plan to marry this girl. Anyway.
I didn’t want to move cross country again so I decided to stay in Iowa. And what better way to anchor myself than by going to school? That’s how I ended up here. But how do I like it? How well will I adjust to living in a new region? Well… the culture up here versus what I’m used to is going to be an adjustment, to say the least. A culture shock if you will.
The biggest shock to me is the lack of my favorite beverage: sweet tea. Back down south, it was in every restaurant. Up here, most places have unsweetened tea (insert nauseous/vomiting emote here). And no, I can’t add sugar after the fact after brewing. It doesn’t go down smooth and it’s not as sweet as it should be. Yes, I’m weird, no I don’t care.
Another shock to me is the weather here. I moved here in November as I said, so I got to experience snow for the first time. Real snow. It did snow down on the Gulf Coast but very rarely and it was only an inch at most. And it didn’t stick to the ground. Fun fact: I’ll wear shorts no matter the temperature cause I despise wearing pants. I’m glad I don’t have to worry about hurricanes every year. I have lived through two major hurricanes. Let me tell you, sitting for weeks without power isn’t fun. The trade-off to that is worrying about tornadoes every year. I had never heard of a tornado siren before moving to Iowa. We didn’t have them down south — didn’t get that many tornadoes down there. Not sure if they even have sirens down there.
Another thing that shocked me about culture was the lack of fresh seafood. Back home, I was used to being able to go to the store and get fresh fish straight out of the sea (after it was cleaned of course). No such luck up here, what with it being a landlocked state and all. Most of the time if I want seafood, it’s frozen fish sticks or something similar. If I can even afford to get it.
One last thing I noticed is about the people and how friendly they are, especially with people not from the area. Have you ever heard of Southern Hospitality? You know, “Welcome in neighbor, I made pie” and all that. Well, at least if you fit into Southern society. I found something similar to that. Heck, perhaps even better than the Southern version. People around here, especially on campus, have been so kind to me. And a shout out to the folks at CISS when I first came to Des Moines. If not for them, who knows where I’d be? Midwest hospitality is better than Southern hospitality in my opinion.
Am I glad I moved here? Yes. I love living here and I hope to stay here for a long time. Hopefully, the rest of my life.
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