Study in the USA - Student Blog

Ok… so by now I have been living in the United States for about 2 years, and I have completed almost 4 semesters in college and I still struggle at the time of the final exams. It takes a lot of dedication and time to be able to concentrate in the final weeks when knowing that summer is right out the door. This time I am staying in the USA for the summer, taking 9 credit hours (3 classes) and working while doing an internship! YES I  AM GOING TO BE SUPER BUSY!

I am excited though, I have to say that throughout these past 2 years I have improved my English in an unimaginable way…specially slang!

Also, today I just found out that I will be getting an scholarship!  I finally feel like trying so hard is worth it! Hopefully I can give back to the world!

Last week, I had the amazing opportunity to participate in an International Panel. You might wonder what it is; well it is a panel with about a 300 people in the audience listening to what International Students have to say about their lives as adolescents in their country before they came to the United States.

This year the countries represented were: Mexico (Me, of course! ), China, Japan, Kenya, Nigeria, the Ivory Coast Panama and Turkey. It was very interesting because even as International Students we learn from each other. For example, I learned that it is very important for Chinese students to do well in their end of high school exam to enter college. Also, my friend from Panama mentioned how in most of Latin America, Catholicism is the religion of choice for about 85% of its population.

There are many different things that people from all around the world can learn from each other. I know for a fact that having this abroad experience is helping me to learn more about different societies even the ones I have never even stepped on. I have grown so much as a person and I expect to keep doing so.

As International students, it doesn’t matter where you are from or where you are, share who you are and represent your country!

So far, I have never done any summer school in my life. I have to say that it sounds kind of boring, obnoxious and time-consuming.  The truth is that I will be able to accelerate my graduation if I decide to, and I can make up for the classes that I took when I was an accounting major that will not help me now that I am a Psychology major. I am actually very excited about summer classes. Sometimes we think, oh no I would have to stay in school, but maybe you have not considered the fact that sometimes you can take online classes and at the same time go back home. I decided I will take 2 online classes and one class on campus. I feel like concentrating on school is more important than anything else and I will still be able to go to Mexico. I just want you to consider that maybe summer classes is a faster way of getting ahead and sometimes even get rid of the classes we don’t want to spend much time on.

So, make up a plan and organize this summer to fulfill all of your goals (I know…. even if it doesn’t include taking summer classes haha )

I am going to concentrate on getting my classes taken care of, get into an exercise routine, and who knows maybe trying to change the world? Give me ideas!

J

There is something that I have seen happening in my classes that I don’t know if you have experienced. Well, while the professor is giving his lecture and the entire room is quiet, girls or people burp. Not just one class hour but in other class periods as well. I know that in Mexico it is very rude to burp, especially if it is a woman, but even more within a professional setting. None of these girls or anybody in the classroom for that matter seemed like that affected their concentration, or that it was something out of the ordinary. I turned around and tried to notice if anybody had noticed, and it seemed like nobody did.
Again, culture differences…but is it a culture difference or a personal difference?
I was very shocked by that action, and so I started asking questions to people from the same culture if burping in a classroom was normal, and actually many of them said it was rude and definitely not normal. I guess I am still learning about what is and what is not normal in a different society.
Hopefully, it will get easier with time.
If you have any other experiences like these, feel free to comment on them. Maybe you can help me to understand better if it was a cultural difference of a personal one.

I am in the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport waiting for my connecting flight, just 2 hours and 35 min away from seeing my parents. My spring break began on Friday and will last until Sunday, March 22nd. I am so excited about seeing my parents, my brother, and my house, eat the food I know and SPEAK MY LANGUAGE!
So many things have happened lately… I have been progressing a lot in my new major (Psychology), I have been working a lot, studying a lot, I have been trying to adapt to this whole new country still, even after 2 years of moving here. Things certainly get easier to understand, especially when talking about culture differences and habits, but sometimes it is not easy, sometimes the melancholy comes back and we miss home and wish we were back there.
As international students, we need to be stronger and try to overcome the obstacles that we face. And just remember, home will always be there, represent it!

There are thousands of miles away from where I am to home, which sometimes makes it hard for that time of the year when we become one year older. My birthday was yesterday and different from Mexico. Usually in Mexico, my family would have woken me up at midnight of my birthday with a cake singing me the Happy Birthday song. This year I was lucky enough to have my boyfriend celebrate it with me. Also, I got friends together to celebrate at this place downtown where poeple can go dancing.

If you feel melancholic, sad or homesick when that time of the year comes around, try to get people to accompany you. Try to get some friends, other international friends like you and try celebrating it in a new original way. Just make it memorable. Transitions are never easy, but who knows maybe you’ll have the time of your life!

We always think or kind of prepare ourselves to the changes we may encounter when we face a different atmosphere than the one we are used to. Well, I have to say that for me, even after one year and a half of living in a different country, I am still not used to the changes of weather, or how to manage my money very well in dollars coming from using another currency my entire life. There are many things that can give us cultural shocks, but it is up to us whether to make it a big shock or a small one.
I know that changing schools was a big thing for me, it helped me to be stronger and open towards meeting new people, but sometimes it feels like everybody is already in a group making it harder for someone else to go in. But, it is not as hard. Actually many people knowing that you are from another country feel curiosity about your origins, and sometimes even see you as exotic.
Another thing that can provoke a shock in us is the dramatic change of weather. These last couple of days, there was an ice-snow storm which was going to be the biggest in 15 years in the state of Missouri. It was literally raining ice, and you could hear sounds outside the window like little pieces of rocks hitting it, of course it was the ice. It started accumulating to the point where the University had to shut down for two days, and it didn’t help that after the ice storm it started snowing.
As international students, sometimes we can find obstacles but hey, anyone can beat them and overcome them to make of studying abroad an unforgettable experience.

So, here I am about to start my fourth semester in college, after a nice vacation back home (Mexico). It was great being able to see my family, celebrate the holidays, see my friends and be in known territory
When I got there, it felt like I was never gone, and a blink of eyes I was back in the U.S.A.
It can seem like a surprise to some of you, but yes an international student changed a major, I changed my major from Accounting to Psychology. If you don’t know, not many international students change their majors too often, because of the money that this involves, and because sometimes we are taught that the decision that you made as a senior in high school for your career has to be definitive and unchangeable.
But, guess what? It turns out to be that I may graduate a semester earlier with the required credits and including a minor. So, if you ever feel hesitant about changing your major, just investigate it, and check it out and if it turns out to be a major that can make you happier or goes along with your life goals, I advise you to do it and give a twist to your life, who knows maybe this can fit better to your life.

Lots of food… nice company…fun time….

Aren’t these not part of the experiences we face when we celebrate thanksgiving in the United States?

I have to say that I found myself surrounded by amazing people, making me feel so welcomed, and in a family setting, which sometimes is necessary being so far away from home. It has been about 3 months since I was home last and I sure miss it.

As an international student, I have found myself finding times when I miss my family and I miss home more than ever. Especially when everybody is saying “I’m going to go home, yeih! Tomorrow my dad will come pick me up…” and when they ask me: “What are you doing for this break? Are you going home?” I find myself wishing I could go back home as well, but it is not so easy being so far away.

I am grateful that I found myself in a place where hands have been reached to me for me to feel less homesick. For example, there is a program in the University called Friendship Families, where families invite the international students to have Thanksgiving dinner at their house. Another example is when professors and faculty call me inviting me to their homes as well. Just like this, the International Office and International Student Association organizes a dinner where all international students and anybody else who wants to come can celebrate together a dinner typical of the American holiday of Thanksgiving. In my case, this year I was surrounded by a great family. I had the opportunity to travel to Missouri and taste great foods, such as turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cauliflower/broccoli salad, strawberry jelly, pumpkin pie ( one of my favorites!), pumpkin cheese pie, cherry cheesecake, strawberry rhubarb, and delicious apple pie. I sure did eat a lot… I have to say that it is so much better than dorm food

I know for a fact that in Mexico, Thanksgiving as a traditional holiday is not celebrated, and by this same reason, it has started to grow on me the longer I live in the United States.

Being far away from home, can seem like a time where we miss out of a lot of our culture’s development. But what we forget and put to the side sometimes, is that we should take advantage of every experience that we face in our lives, especially as international students. In this case, we have to learn from the experience of Thanksgiving in the United States.

Thanks to all the people that make international students feel welcomed during the holidays! Thanks to the people that made me enjoy this thanksgiving, and that showed me fun a time! Also, thanks to the people that thought of me during the holidays! Happy Thanksgiving!

I can’t believe that I have been studying in the United States for longer than a year. I am already in my 10th week of my first semester of my sophomore year, and it feels like I just started yesterday. I am absolutely in love with the University I chose and I can honestly say that studying abroad is one of the best experiences in my life.

Today, we had our first Hale or as my Ecuadorian friend and I like to call it: SNOW! It was great, just looking through the glass and experiencing things and events that back home, in our countries, we don’t get to experience.

I found great friends, who have accompanied me through these ride and I am so grateful for them. Life is easier with friends you know? My friends come from all over the world (including the US) and it is great to know people from all over because I can travel so much and find friends anywhere I go. In the same way, my friends can come visit me anytime if they ever visit Mexico and I am there at the same time.

Some of my friends are from Germany, and they are really enjoying their time while living in the United States. For fall break, some of them visited California, surrounding parts of Indiana, Illinois, and many other places. Also, others for Thanksgiving will visit Miami, Bahamas, New York, Canada, and many other places. They are really enjoying and taking advantage of their time here and I feel like every student while abroad, should visit the country where they are as much as they can. Who knows when they will have the same opportunity again?

Classes are beginning to get harder and at the same time I am starting to feel more comfortable with the University’s academic atmosphere. I am getting a hang on of things and this is helping me to further immerse myself in the Academic world of Academics.

Everything can get to our hands if we fight for what we believe in. Definitely try harder than your normal standards and no challenge (especially the one of studying abroad) will be strong enough to get you down.