There is an undeniable excitement about coming to study in the States – one reason why some international students do it – but it’s not all excitement.

You're about to hear the truth about schoolwork in the States...

Yes, it is America. Yes, it is the land of freedom. Yes, it’s the place where different cultures clash…and live together in peace. However, you guys might agree with me, it’s not easy to leave home, to leave the security of being surrounded by the family, friends and people who loves and care about us.  And doing it raises some questions:

Is it worth it? Can you rise up to the expectation? And are you competitive enough to survive America?

You might be sitting in front of your computer watching a show or a documentary about America, which tells you about the breathtaking view of skyscrapers in the Big Apple, New York City, the beautiful warm weather in San Diego, and the huge parties along the beaches of the Sunshine State, Florida.

Just so you know, it’s all true and they did not lie to you. I remember I had an adrenaline rush the first time I visited Times Square in NYC. I can’t find any words in the dictionary to describe how I felt at that moment. Someday, when you get lucky and go there, you will know what I mean.

Beaches are the best. We do party and we do have lots of fun with friends.

Unfortunately, TV and movies never show the other side of what students have to do to survive America.

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“Remember to keep warm when you get there. America is a cold place. And to call us daily. Don’t forget us.”

Brunch at an American dining hall (Creative Commons photo by Flickr user superfem)

These very words were the ultimate installment in a long series of many, many snippets of well-meaning advice from aunts, uncles, friends, neighbors, cousins, passers-by, cousins of those passers-by, and anyone else who had caught wind of the fact that I was, indeed, going to America.

I had been warned about things such as the perceived perils of overeating when I got there, and it had been predicted that once I tasted that delicious American food, I would surely eat too much of it until I fell ill or exploded.

Would I cope with speaking in English all of the time? No, it was hypothesized that I would surely forget I was in North America and I would end up confusing my American friends by cracking jokes to them in my native language while still expecting them to laugh at those jokes.

And what of the cold? Would I survive? I would never cope with all that ice! After all, America is colder than the deep freezer! (an actual quote).

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“America is a dream country full of great opportunities!” This is what many of you have probably heard from all sorts of people around you. It’s really amazing how eagerly some people make judgments about things and events they have very little understanding of. And how eagerly we, in turn, are inclined to believe whatever we are told without even spending a short time for critical evaluation of the information that has been fed to us.

The myth (Creative Commons by Flickr user feldpress)

Before I came to the U.S., I also fell in this trap of thinking that life in the U.S. is a paradise, and all you need to do is just enjoy it.

This is not surprising, since the vast majority of people in Ukraine, where I come from, strongly believe that all Americans own beautiful houses and brand-new cars, have well-paid jobs and solid bank accounts, spend their vacations in Hawaii and go traveling around the world just after they retire.

They live happy lives and don’t worry about their future, because the future must be even better than the present. It’s a pretty weird perception if you just take a moment to think a little deeper. But it does exist, and perhaps not only in Ukraine.

However, once you are in the U.S. you face the reality and the pain of broken illusions.

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While I was watching American shows and movies on Romanian television, the décor  around me became surprisingly similar to that on the screen. The small colored houses, with ducks and chicken raised in the backyards, were replaced by large, beige homes with perfectly cut grass, bird feeders and playful pets. The gray, block, low-rise buildings became taller, and the more I looked at them, the more they seemed like modern glass skyscrapers. Was I dreaming? When and how did this transformation happen?

One typical American experience - hanging out at the pool!

The change began with the first waves of democracy and modernity in Romania after the 1989 Revolution. To my delight as a child, long Communist speeches were replaced by exciting Western shows, movies and cartoons.

Democracy brought freshness, self-expression, enthusiasm for exploration and unknown possibilities. Just starting school, I was strongly influenced by the country’s newly liberated and celebratory spirit.

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This post comes from friend-of-the-blog Jose Navarro, who studies at Berkeley College in New York and writes the very good Berkeley College Life blog.  He has been home in Spain for the summer, and shares some of the most common questions people back home have asked him about New York.

These two months that I have been around here, I have met with a lot of people. It’s funny how many people ask the same questions about New York. This city has so many stereotypes! I’m going to make a [list] with the “Frequently Asked Questions” about the big apple. Some of them make me laugh a lot, some others are actually true! Let’s see what many Spaniards wonder about the city:

Are there celebrities in the street?
I must say that’s the one I get asked the most. Why are people so concerned about celebrities? Well, the answer to this one is YES. I was actually surprised of how ridiculously easy it is to find celebs around the city. To be honest with you, most of the times I recognize them because some of my friends do. At first I never know who they are!

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I received an email recently from a student in California – Sadia Awan from Pakistan.  Inspired by some of our posts on this blog about arriving in the U.S. and how foreign students are treated in America, she shared her story of going through airport security for the first time.  It was a shock, she says, but a positive one.  Here’s her story:

The day I received my visa to go and study in the U.S. after getting a Fulbright scholarship from the State Department, everybody told me the same thing: security is very strict, and it’s almost humiliating at the airport security checks when American officers deal with people from Pakistan.

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“America is another name for opportunity.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

So the journey begins. The name is Doc Alex Busingye and I am an international student from Uganda. It’s the late summer 2010 and this is the dawn of a new chapter. I finally made it to the nation’s capital.  Heaven knows what it took to get here, so excuse me if I shout out: “Somebody call the White House; tell them there is a new man in town!”

I AM I AM! They say the future belongs to people who see possibilities before they become obvious. It belongs to those very travelers who pierce through the clouds of oblivion with the force of their determination. I AM one of those people and I come with a suitcase, a dream, my admission to AU and a dedication to blog about the experience. So what’s up DC?!! This is history in the making!!!

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Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.
Alexander Pope, Letter to Gay, October 6, 1727
English poet & satirist (1688 – 1744)

Yes, of all the emotions that I have experienced since my arrival in America, disappointment is the greatest. Of course, I had not expected to see money trees lining the highways. Neither had I anticipated to walk on golden streets or to bump into Beyonce Knowles in Dunkin’ Donuts but still whenever I remind myself that I am finally in America, I cannot help but repress a despondent sigh. So this is America? I feel so let down.

Prior to my departure from Zimbabwe, I had braced myself for the worst type of racism one can ever experience. The tales of woe that some returning students shared fueled my fears: One student confessed that no one wanted to share a seat with her on the bus simply because she was black. Another told me about her biology professor, an openly racist man who would laud praise on her white research partner for an experiment that they had done together. The list goes on, with each story more mortifying than the last.

As a result, I arrived at Yale University full of apprehension. I immediately befriended fellow heavily accented freshmen from Africa and stuck by them. After all, we were going to go through the same ordeal together.

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