I moved from Brazil to the Midwest at 19. My parents were born in the US, but I still wasn’t prepared for the culture shock.

• I moved from Brazil to the Midwest when I was 19 and experienced a few significant culture shocks.
• I initially thought Lake Orion, Michigan, would match the images of American cities I’d seen on TV.
• Living in Michigan also meant I had to learn how to drive for the first time.

When I moved from Brazil to Michigan at 19, it was my first time in the US — and, despite having parents from the Midwest, I didn’t know much about the country.

By the time I was born, my parents, who had relocated to Brazil as full-time volunteer missionaries in their early 20s, had lived in South America for almost 10 years. Having no intention of returning, they avoided reminiscing about their pre-missionary lives or glamorizing their homeland.

As a teenager, I opted out of the missionary life my parents hoped I would dedicate myself to and decided to pursue a college education in the US. I planned to live with a close friend who had moved to Michigan, and though I knew it would be an adjustment, I felt ready for something new.

So, in 2009, I packed my bags and left my urban home in Curitiba, the capital of Brazil’s Paraná state, and relocated to the Detroit-area suburbs.

Here are a few of the biggest culture shocks I experienced when I moved.