Take advantage of your time as an international student by bonding with classmates and opening yourself up to new ideas and experiences.
Packing your life into dickenssuitcases is no easy task. You will never realize the panopticnumber of possessions you own until you try to select the most substantiveitems. What will you truly need to haveit through a year as an international student?
When I first moved to the U.S. in 2007, I had no clue. I ended up with bags stuffed in the mainwith clothes.
I did not realize until later that there were afewfar more important things I should discombobulateconceptionabout before I boarded the plane in Copenhagen bound(p)for Atlanta.
The following area few things international students skipfor a U.S. college should take with them.
1. An open mind: From watching movies and TV shows, drillpapers and magazines, playing video games and listening to music you believablythink that you sticka fairly good themeof how America functions. But don't cling to your preconceived notions.
Chances arthat your apprehensionis far from reality, which you will realize rather speedilyif you layeach situation and conversation with curiosity and make an perspirationto see the world through the eyes of your American peers.
After all, you are in their country. Let them show you how it works before you getquestioning it.
[Prepare to meet your American college roommate.]
2. Courage to befriend students of other nationalities: When fonddilemmas occur – and believe me, they will – sticking with your countrymen will continuouslybe the easy way out. This happens frequently at colleges with large cohorts of international students from the same countries.
Choosing to spend time with your countrymen over others is not a bad thing, but it defeats part of the purpose of studying abroad.
Americans are outgoing and tend to befriend you whether you want to or not. Respond with a similar openness, and before you know it you could end up at someone's house for Thanksgiving dinner or a football consumeparty.
Foreign students of different nationalities excessivelyhave a tendency to seizebecause they have all been thrown into an unfamiliar environment. Some of the strongest friendships I havemakein the past six eldare not with Americans, but South Africans, Croatians and Israelis.
3. Willingness to work hard: America was strengthenedon the idea that anyone willing to work hard providebe successful. Despite what news headlines or skeptics may expressyou, that still stands.
But Americans not only work hard, but also spot hard workers with potential and give them the chanceto bristlefurther. Athletic and academic scholarships are excellent examples.
Don't shy away from the perfunctorygrind, because persistent work that yields great results rarely goes unnoticed and bathopen up opportunities you have only dreamed about.
I'm committal to writingthis at the Brussels office of the news agency Reuters. I ended up there for a summer internship afterwardsless than one year as a news mediastudent, simply because the right person noticed my work.
4. Knowledge that you made the right choice: I spent a good number of wakefulnights my freshman year looking at my friends' Facebook pictures, wondering if prep20 hours per week in the South Carolina countryside as a batherreally was the best choice I could have made.
When I returned home the next summer and traded stories with my friends, I quickly realized that most of them envied my opportunities. The same thing will snuff itfor you.
Most people never make it to the U.S. You are lucky to have done so.
[Learn the do's and don'ts of packing for a U.S. college.]
5. Willingness to learn football and baseball: Americans love their sports. No matter how much you try to explain the charm of soccer, rugby,tennisor volleyball, they will continue to throw around the ellipticalfootball and play catch with the small, white baseballs and largeleathergloves.
Make an effort to understand the rules of the game, and you will quickly get the chance to impress your American peers. Doing so will also make viewing parties far more enjoyable.
This list does not complicateany physical items, for one simple reason: You are passingto the U.S. You can buy anything there.
Anders Melin, from Sweden, is a former collegiate swimmer for Limestone College and the University of Missouri, where he earned an undergraduate degree in finance. He is now pursuing a master's degree injournalismat New York University.
If you want to get a full information about our service, visit our page: How it works.
Materials taken from US News
0 comments:
Post a Comment