This is it, I have taken my last final and freshman year is over! And oh man have I been in for quite a ride.

Having spend an entire year in the American Midwest, I feel safe to call myself quite the expert on the typical American lifestyle. I thought that I was an expert before leaving, but there are some things you will only learn about a culture when you are living in the area.

I expected the American experience to entail cowboys and hamburgers, but what I got were frat boys and Chipotle. Even though I would like to say that my transition to the American lifestyle was relatively smooth, the realization that I was foreign was in the little things, such as waste disposals in sinks and drinking fountains in hall ways.

What I noticed is that there is something in the way that Americans behave that is just different from Europeans and at times could be a little bit off putting, especially since I couldn't quite lay my finger on what exactly it was.

What surprised me most was that Americans don't smoke and curse. Apparently Americans are absolutely disgusted by the two bad habits that every European takes for granted. The entire anti-cigarette campaign has been a massive hit in the United States and I can count the amount of American smokers I know on one hand. Whereas the main consensus in Europe is that everyone knows smoking is not beneficial to one's health, but people don't care enough to quit and to be completely frank, I believe that there is still this notion of "coolness" around smokers in Europe. Moreover, Americans do not curse at all, meanwhile in Europe curse words are dropped in every single sentence. The U.S. has this big stigma build around swearing, while in Europe the fact that you swear just means you are down to earth and not stuck up. If you don't curse, you are inexplicitly saying that you are too good for everybody else.

Another argument I heard all the time was that something is "UnAmerican." I have never in my entire life heard anyone say that it is "UnDutch," "UnFrench," or "UnPolish" to do a certain thing. I guess this is what the American experience is truly all about, it is something unique and can only be found in the U.S. and probably only be understood by Americans.

But I have to confess that I have fallen hopelessly in love with this country, despite its unique perception of the world, which is also its major strength. The American experience is a great one that I recommend to everyone.