Coming to the U.S. as an international student from South Africa, more than just the slang is different — and this is to be expected. However, I never anticipated how much I would fall in love with fall culture.
Firstly, I just came from an icy cold winter to some of the world’s most tropical climates. It should be sSpring for me now and summer is a great season with many festivities in itself, but my body has felt out of place, not only with the humidity, but also because South Africa is six hours ahead time-wise.
Even though fFall is not celebrated where I live, I have decided to embrace everything that has to do with fall to get the full American experience, from burnt orange hues in my jumpers and pumpkin flavored everything, to buying pumpkins and ghost lights for my dorm. It atmospherically feels like fall, but it does not look like fall, which is weird for me because there is no better October activity than taking a long bicycle ride down the roads with trees deeply rooted on either side of the pavements, watching the leaves change in shades and graciously fall from the trees to crumble and crunch beneath the wheels of my bike.
Fall is also when the really cold season starts creeping into South Africa. So, after a day out, you’d come home and have a hot bath, jump into a fleecy onesie and drink a cup of warm soup before crawling into a pre-heated electric blanket in bed. I really miss the feeling of getting snuggled up underneath the blankets after this nighttime ritual. I can only turn the air conditioning so low here.
Secondly, fall shopping is to die for — excuse the pun. It is Halloween all fall long, and as a Halloween enthusiast, I literally could not have asked for anything better. Going to the stores here was already such a fun and exciting experience for me because I do not have any of them back home. Now, add the fact that they are filled to the broomsticks with decorations. From pumpkins in any color imaginable, to animatronics so scary you couldn’t keep them in your room, whatever your Halloween vibe is, South Florida has you covered. Lace up your boots, boil your cauldrons, drink your pumpkin spice lattes, pack your umbrellas and have the happiest of hauntings this fall.
