What are some things about the world (especially other cultures) that you believed before being exposed to the internet, military, college, or other life experiences?

When I was in my teens I thought parts of the country outside of the northeast, DC, Las Angeles and San Francisco were full of people who were at a slower pace, and who were not very receptive to people from outside their own area. Then, my father gave me Michigan State University as a good option for college. The school had many majors I had been interested in, so it made it to our top 3 to check out. When we visited in the summer I loved the campus. I remember voicing something about not knowing if I would get along with the people, and he threw that idea right out, saying only positive things from his experiences.

I did wind up going to MSU, and I loved it. I made friends fast, and had a wonderful experience there. It set me up to have more of an open mind about all people and places. Interestingly, I had grown up in a very diverse city, but still, they were all in that city, the city I grew up in. So, it didn’t have to do with nationality, ethnicity or race, I hadn’t even realized how diverse my city was until I left it.

Pretty much every negative thing I hear about people in other countries I ignore. I’m not talking about extreme things like violence and truly dangerous areas in the world, but when I hear people are not helpful, or won’t speak English, I just ignore it. In my experience there are nice people everywhere, and I never have a language problem. Just last week someone was telling me that in Montreal sometimes people won’t speak English. I asked, “do you mean parts of Quebec, or do you actually mean Montreal?” They insisted Montreal. Not my experience at all. That is one of the most bilingual cities I have been in. So, that example is not what I thought about people who live in Montreal, because I already had been there and had a good experience, but, it’s an example of how I think we should just go in with a positive attitude on things, and not let assumptions and other people’s words cloud or taint our experiences in life.

Not just different countries, but other areas of my own country. Nice people everywhere.

As far as climate, I don’t think I had big assumptions. The only thing I can think of is I thought Vancouver was colder in the winter than it typically is. I know there are still countries out there that I really have no idea the specific temperatures throughout the year, or how much snowfall they get, but I simply don’t know, I don’t have an assumption. I would just ask.