Anyone else have a child who is having a hard time making the transition?

amtc
Tue, 18 Oct 2011 08:48:14 +0000

EB - I think it’s important to understand that your daughter is from Wisconsin and has been “dropped” into Long Island so there is a bit of a culture shock on top of all the other adjustments Freshman have to make. I hope I’m not coming off obnoxious, but it’s true. Long Islanders are their own breed, have their own idiosyncracies, etc. I wouldn’t be surprised if your daughter is having difficulty understanding some conversations; between the speed and accents, she could be having trouble deciphering!

My older daughter is on the opposite side of that, although we’re not from Long Island, we are New Yorkers and as such speak quickly and are a bit impatient, we’re friendly but not midwest friendly. During her Freshman year at Northwestern she had to learn to not interrupt other midwest kids because she thought they were done speaking but they were just pausing and speaking slowly as midwesterners tend to do. When we were traveling all over the country for auditions and college trips she finally understood why New Yorkers are considered “not friendly” even though that’s not true, we’re just impatient and in a hurry; we’ll help if you need it and chat with a stranger for a moment, but we want to get on with whatever we need to. I think these cultural differences are great but they do take some adapting.

Enjoy Parents Weekend!