Isa Kapp – Living in Washington D.C.

Ms. Kapp discusses the culture shock she experienced when she moved from New York City to Washington D.C. She expressed surprise at how different the two cities are. In New York, people are always in a rush, and are generally self-centered individuals. Washington D.C. contains casual, laid back people who are there to make a difference in the world.

The experiences of Ms. Kapp are similar to my own experience with Washington D.C. Coming from a relatively small state, and living in a large, spread out city, I expected D.C. to be very similar to New York. I am constantly shocked at how much Washington D.C. and Portland have in common. In Portland, people are always courteous to one another. Working in D.C., I had expected for my co-workers to be so busy that they wouldn’t talk to me. Not only do they treat me as if I had worked there for years, but they have actually taken the time to explain complicated issues to me.