I was and still am used to thinking about the world in terms of meters, centimeters, grams and kilograms. Even though I had to memorize the conversion system when I was preparing for my SAT, I quickly forgot it because it felt very unnatural to me. So, in my first year in the U.S., every time I encountered inches, miles, pounds, and ounces, I was lost.

Of course, you can always do the conversion online or on your phone, but after a year in the States, I developed my own system of approximation that I can keep in my mind without any effort whatsoever.

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Thanks to everyone who joined our State of the Union watch party last night.  We had an amazing group that included some of our Student Union bloggers and other international students from around the world who got together right after Obama’s speech to discuss what he talked about … and what he left out.  If you missed it, we’ve got the replay for you right here.  Check it out!

Around this time last year, Nicholas regaled us with tales of spending his first Lunar New Year in the U.S. – the reunion dinner his Asian friends cooked together, the traditions he taught his American friends, and why it wasn’t so bad to be away from home during the holiday. But Facebook fan Nhat had to disagree. There’s one important thing missing from new year celebrations in America, he wrote:

I would say the old tradition is essentially important. The new way is not so bad at all, but to me it can never replace the feeling of the old one.

Even though we can manage to have an old traditional way to celebrate new year in a foreign country with friends, it’s still not original. We still miss our family. The meaning of this Lunar New Year is family and friend reunion. I’ve been away from home, Vietnam, where most of my family live, and I dearly miss this moment of the year.

They do celebrate Lunar New Year here in the US, but something is still missing, family…

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This addition to the Glossary of Confusing Words has been a long time coming, but at long last, here it is:  Your guide to the mess of letters and numbers that describe the standardized tests you might have to take when applying to a university in the U.S.

Not all universities require these exams – some colleges, for example, are test-optional – and highly specialized programs may require different or additional exams.  But these ones are the most common that you will encounter.

Tests of English
 Most schools require international students to prove their English proficiency by taking one of these exams.  Some undergraduate programs may accept SAT subject tests instead, and some programs may waive this requirement if you’ve already completed a part of your education in the U.S.

TOEFL – Test of English as a Foreign Language
or
IELTS - International English Language Testing System

Tests for undergraduate admission
Most schools that require standardized tests accept either the ACT or SAT exam.

ACT
or
SAT

SAT II – Subject-specific exams

Tests for graduate admission
Many graduate applicants will have to take the GRE, but certain graduate subjects require a different, specialized exam instead.   Older students can sometimes substitute work experience for exam scores.

GMAT – Graduate Management Admission Test (business school)
or
GRE – Graduate Record Examination
or
LSAT – Law School Admission Test (law school)
or
MCAT – Medical College Admission Test (medical school)

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Creative commons photo Shai Barzilay

Most international students have to take a flight, or even several flights, to reach their destination in the U.S. By the time we become seniors we are professionals at packing suitcases, navigating airports and making it through long flights. Very early in my undergraduate career I learned how unpredictable traveling can be, and got some lessons that have stuck with me every time I’ve traveled since.

One of the first big lessons about traveling that I have learned over the years is that I should always bring rolling luggage.  Carrying handbags makes it so difficult and time-consuming to get around the airport. On top of that, I often lost time by mixing up terminals and going to the wrong place.  Now I know to stay calm and even when someone working at the airport directs me to a place I should always double-check the airport signs.

However, even when you are careful, things that you don’t expect happen. Sitting on my first transatlantic flight, I learned that we would be arriving in New York a few hours late because of an additional engine check. A few hours of waiting should be fine, I thought, until it turned out that we had to wait an additional hour, which meant that I wouldn’t have enough time to catch the connecting flight that was taking me to my destination.

When my plane finally landed in the U.S., I ran through immigration and customs, baggage claim, and several terminals to reach my connecting flight, which was set to leave in thirty minutes.

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Is coming to this the same as rejecting your home?

“If you love your country so much, why are you leaving?”

That’s the provocative question South African student Nicola Soekoe asked in a blog post about her decision to study abroad at Yale University. She wrote:

I would ask myself, “If I am as dedicated to uplifting South Africa and Africa as I say I am, why did I choose to come abroad? If I am so quick to boast about the beautiful South African people to the my American peers, why didn’t I stay there and live with them, surely that would leave me better equipped to one day play a part in uplifting my country?”

Certainly some people back home may see the decision to study abroad as a desertion.  Anna wrote yesterday that her Russian friends and family see her differently now that she’s spend time getting an education in the U.S. “I can’t even remember how many times I have been called ‘brain-washed,’” she lamented.

But when we asked Nicola’s question on Facebook, the response was overwhelming: you didn’t see studying abroad as a rejection at all.

“Leaving is simply a quest to get a better education to make one more equipped to develop their country,” wrote Angel on our Facebook page.

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Not so free bird?

If you go to enough concerts in the U.S., eventually you will hear it.  It will probably be towards the end of the night, as the band is winding up, maybe trying to decide what to play for their final song.  And then someone will yell out,  ”Play Freebird!”

The response from the other concert-goers will vary.  Some may join in, others may snicker, and still others may sigh at hearing the overused trope.  But what does “Play Freebird!” mean?

“Freebird” is a 1973 song by southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, who are probably best-known for their anthem “Sweet Home Alabama.”  ”Freebird” hit the top 40, and has been voted as having one of the best guitar solos of all time.

The phrase’s first use, understandably, was to request the song.  On a 1976 Lynyrd Skynyrd live recording, the lead singer asks the audience what song they want to hear, and they shout back, “Freebird!” (the band obliges).

Today, however, “Play Freebird!” is yelled at bands who almost certainly don’t have “Freebird” in their repertoire, with no intention that the band treat the exclamation as a request.

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The sixth in a series looking at U.S. life and culture through its idioms.  View previous entries.

To pin (something/someone) down – to get exact or specific information on/from

There were a few things I was sure I was before coming to the United States: blond, big, and Uruguayan. However, all of these things, which were part of my identity, seemed to blur and fade upon my arrival here.

The first time I ever stopped to think consciously about fitting my ethnicity and skin color into a category was on the plane from Uruguay to Miami, when I was asked to fill out a customs form (if you ever travel to the U.S., you will have to fill in one of those). It gave me options for Latina, Hispanic or White. I didn’t know which to pick and eventually made a random decision to placate a less-than-patient agent at the airport.

After having been in this country for about five months, I have since given the question a lot more thought than I ever thought I would.

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It’s been a while since we had a new entry in the Glossary of Confusing Words, but we’re finally back on the case with a great suggestion from Muhammad: seminary.

Muhammad asked:

Under which category a seminary can be placed: college, university, institute, etc?

First of all, you may remember from our previous discussions of the words “college” and “university” that there is no official difference between these terms.  Dartmouth College, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Princeton University all offer undergraduate and graduate degrees. However, you’ll often see “college” used to describe undergraduate programs, while “university” is used to describe schools that offer both undergraduate and graduate degrees, or only graduate degrees.

A seminary is an institution of higher education focused on theology (the study and practice of religion).  Most seminaries are graduate-level schools offering master’s degrees, particularly the Master of Divinity.  Seminaries also usually offer academic M.A. degrees in fields related to religion.

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“I just got an invitation from one of my anthropology professors for a Christmas Eve dinner at his house. Would you like to go with me?” I asked my Chinese roommate while she was struggling with some high-level econometric problems. She immediately lifted her head up, “Nice! I’d love to!”

Why did my host ask us to bring him gifts? Read on to find out!

“Wait a second. This is funny,” said I, as she was about to go back to numbers and equations, “The professor asked me to bring a dish and a gift to the dinner. I can understand about bringing a dish. But how could someone invite you to his house while asking you explicitly to bring a gift?”

I found out eventually what the gift was for, but first I spent a lot of time getting excited about this Christmas Eve dinner, even when I was studying for my finals. I had traveled home to China during last winter break, so this year’s Christmas would be another of my “first times” in the U.S. Besides, as an anthropology major interested in America, being able to celebrate Christmas in the U.S. with Americans fascinated me.

My roommate and I got up very early on December 24th, Christmas Eve, to start worrying about the food we would bring to the dinner. We had no idea how to cook American food, and almost everything in our fridge was from an Asian market in town. “You know what? We can just make Chinese food. It would not look that weird. He is an anthropology professor, so he would probably be very interested in what we cook.” I said to my roommate.

My professor knocked on our door to pick us up at 5:50 pm. We said “Merry Christmas” to each other as my roommate and I came to his car, carrying a high-pressured cooker with Chinese pork rib soup inside. Of course we had our wrapped gifts in tow as well. “I am curious how Americans will react to a Chinese soup at a Christmas Eve dinner, and how they are going to eat the ribs in the soup,” my roommate whispered to me in the car.

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My family on Christmas

My American Thanksgiving was a truly wonderful experience and gave me a glimpse into what the holiday means for Americans and those living in America. I was privileged to have two Thanksgiving feasts with all the traditional foods, turkey, apple pie, green bean casserole, and the works! The first was at my church the week of Thanksgiving where the whole church sat down for a meal cooked by the ladies’ group. The second was a more intimate affair with my pastor and his family in their home.

What I loved about the Thanksgiving holiday:

• Turkey and apple pie are wonderful foods; either I ate food made by really good cooks or I just love food, but I am thinking it’s the cooks. The overindulgence of Thanksgiving is quite enjoyable and the truth is you can’t help but be overstuffed after digging into a lavish Thanksgiving feast!

• The significance of sharing with those without, including people far from homes or their families, is the best part of the holiday. Communities, churches and individuals don’t just make a huge meal and eat on their own, in a way they seek out those with whom they may share with so that the true meaning of the holiday is celebrated. I remember seeing multiple signs at churches for free thanksgiving dinners to all.

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One year ago: December 2011. A girl’s bags are packed and she is literally “ready to go,” just like John Denver was. She is leaving her home, her family to go miles away, halfway across the world, to the land of dreams, the U.S.A. Yes, she is scared. Yes, she is nervous. However, there is this small part of her which is jumping with excitement. And the reason for its excitement is not a normal one: after 19 years of Christmas in Pakistan, she is excited to finally witness the holiday in her dream land. Today, I, that girl, have come full circle, back to Washington, D.C. for that same holiday.

When my plane landed at the Washington Dulles airport on December 27 last year, I won’t lie, I felt a bit lost. It was a new country, with new people and it was just so cold. But as I rode away from the airport, every house that was decorated with Christmas lights and reindeers and Santas would just make me so happy.

Decorations on a house in Queens, NY (Photo: Reuters)

A house in Alabama all decorated for Christmas (Photo: AP)

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A woman puts a photo of a child on a makeshift memorial in the Sandy Hook Village of Newtown, Conn., as the town mourns victims killed in a school shooting

“Shootings in high schools and colleges are unfortunately very ‘American’ things in my mind,” Nareg once wrote on this site. “Maybe it’s because of the media coverage, but I’m not sure if I’ve ever heard of such tragic incidents with such regularity in other parts of the world.”

Nareg was reacting to a 2010 incident in which a student at the University of Louisville was arrested after pulling a gun at a meeting with faculty. Luckily no one was hurt in that incident, but it certainly wasn’t the first gun-related incident at an educational institution – universities are still reeling from the 2007 shooting at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, when student Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people – and, as we found out last week, it’s far from the last.

On Friday, December 14, the U.S. and the world were shocked by news that 20-year-old Adam Lanza had opened fire at a Connecticut elementary school, killing 20 young children and six women.

“I heard the news of this unfortunate event on Friday afternoon as I was coming from my final exam for my first semester in an American college,” said Phillip, a Zimbabwean freshman at Bates College. “I wanted to cry for the loss of the young lives. I wanted to cry for the loss of the creativity, intelligence, talent and enthusiasm for life in those young boys and girls.”

He also said he began to think about the gun culture in America, as did many other international students.

“I arrived in August, just a few weeks after the shock of the Colorado massacre [in which 12 were killed and dozens wounded at a screening of "The Dark Knight Rises"], and yet this ugly and tragic issue has come around again so soon,” reflected Tom, who comes from England and is studying at the University of Maryland.

“I have to admit, one of my earliest concerns when coming to America was my vulnerability to gun crime.”

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Earlier this year Rahela talked about how lonely she felt during her first year studying in the U.S. “I felt lonely because I could not make a friendship,” she said. “It was hard to share my feelings and experiences with other students.” Lily wrote in to say that she relates. But she also said she found out that part of making friends is just letting relationships form naturally. Here’s what she suggested:

I am an international student studying in Illinois. My first experience in the United States was somewhat challenging. I had a difficult time coping and interacting with the students around here. For the first time being about 5000 miles away from home, I shed tears like no other.

I am a really shy, reserved person and I do find it hard trying to make friends. One thing about this is that the Americans will find it hard trying to get close to you because you are really not open to them. But I later realized that it takes time for them to really know you, and one just has to be natural – no pretense and feeling of pride – and you will find them flocking around you.

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