Five Culture Shocks I’ve Experienced in New England From a Midwesterner

1. Everything is so close

Being from Minnesota, the entire state itself is pretty spread out and getting to other cities and other states takes many hours and even multiple days to complete the drive. I’ve loved how close and convenient everything is to UNH and in New England in general. One of the things that attracted me to UNH was all of the possibilities to get off campus easily and explore other places such as Boston and Portland that are only an hour away. Coming to UNH has allowed me to get to know the East Coast and the proximity of everything better. 

2. Everyone is a Boston sports fan

As a result of the states out here being much smaller, many states don’t have their own official sports teams so the outcome is that everyone rallies around the few major teams such as the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins, and Celtics. I’m used to rooting solely for Minnesota’s teams: Vikings, Twins, Wild, and Timberwolves. Even when they’re not that great or on a winning streak, my dad taught me that you have to root for your home teams. From what I’ve experienced in New England, everyone supports the Boston sports teams as well as rallies around their state school teams like the UNH Wildcats or the UConn Huskies. 

3. Red Bull addiction

Before coming to college at UNH, I had never heard of Red Bull infusions or refreshers. I knew what Red Bull was in general, the cans you buy at the gas station or grocery store, but I didn’t know that so many people love the Red Bull refreshers here on campus. Personally, I think the amount of caffeine in a Red Bull might kill me, but seeing all of the flavor mixes is intriguing and I might have to give the drink a try. 

4. New England sports

Another thing that shocked me coming to UNH, was the mix of sports we don’t have in the midwest. A few I’ve noticed so far are rugby, sailing, rowing, and field hockey. I genuinely thought rugby was only a thing in the UK until I started school this fall and learned we have a team here at UNH. I also didn’t realize field hockey was such a prevalent sport as it’s not common in the midwest. I was aware of sailing and rowing, but as I’m from Minnesota and nowhere near the ocean at home, we don’t have those options either. I love how going to school on the East Coast gives you a lot of unique opportunities you don’t find everywhere and ensures that you will find where you belong. 

5. Lakes vs ponds

After learning some of the New England slang and term differences, the one I find the most interesting is lakes being called ponds. In Minnesota, a small lake is just a lake, but out here it’s a “pond.” Obviously we have ponds of our own, but they are much smaller, un-swimmable, and more of a swamp than a lake. I think this difference is funny because Minnesotans pride themselves on being from the “land of 10,000 lakes,” so the fact that people in New Hampshire and in New England in general refer to small lakes as ponds, because they don’t think they are big or grand enough to be called a lake, was shocking and humorous to me. I think they see Lake Winnipesaukee and determine that anything smaller must be a pond, but in reality it’s just a big lake itself.