Greetings all again!
None will ever know how difficult it is to struggle an international college life until they get to experience it. Let alone the language barrier, the hardest part is to be as enthusiastic and hard-working as possible to succeed. At the same time, it is crucial to maintain a decent social life to build good relationships and connections with friends, professors and so forth. So, once successful, people will get to realize what the taste of victory is like.
One of the moments that I have been through in my life was that I was fortunate enough to be chosen to study in the United States (an alternate participant that was later selected as a finalist) for a couple of semesters under a program called Global Undergraduate Exchange Program (Global UGRAD).
It is a program that brings outstanding college students from over 60 countries around the world (3 — 5 participants from each, depending on appropriation) to study for a semester or two in American Universities (Yes! randomly designated to live in 50 different states, wouldn’t it be intriguing?) to get a chance to experience college life in the U.S. or in other words, American education.
Consequently, the purpose of writing this article isn’t for guiding anyone to be closer to winning this scholarship but narrate my experience and to reflect on my life for complete nine months in the United States as an exchange student. In other words, I would love to share what I have gained or lost within the mentioned period and hopefully convince all of you to apply for it. As a result, there are several points that will be provided in-depth as storytelling to be easily and thoroughly understood regarding several orders such as my first arrival, my trips around the U.S., and how I went through the Spring Semester. (basically what I did there)
The First Arrival
Well, the first period of my U.S. life was when my feet stepped on Detroit, Michigan, but it was actually an airport (where it was my last transit until the final destination). However, neither was it my home nor the host state, I started to get shaken by the atmosphere around me at the moment. All of a sudden, I knew it was not where I called home nor familiarity, but a literally different world. In consequence, I wished my next destination was home instead of the campus. This was because people were so different, in terms of how they communicate, or likewise, they did not speak my language (that’s the fact). So, I began to fear. For those who have no idea what I am saying here, it was my first ever culture shock.
My destination was St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa. It is also an inter-state city of Iowa and Illinois.
Arrived at the campus (St. Ambrose University), after I met my advisor, got to the designated apartment, and everything, first of all, I passed out (I mean I was so tired after a long flight over 20 hours) and laid in bed until it was dawn, and also, it was because of too much tension at the time. Anyway, the following picture was the first thing I did after waking up.
Second of all, hunger has no mercy for anyone, neither did it for me. Therefore, the thing after all I did was try to find some food to refill the fuel to keep driving. Now it comes to the second culture shock experience which was the foods. This basically happens to everyone when traveling, I believe. I started to get sick of American meals after several weeks and missed my home cuisines so badly. Yet, I kept eating to save money because it was all free.
Still, I did not feel comfortable to be out. Well, it was my second day. As far as I can remember, I was so scared of American students because of their physical appearances which are way bigger and taller. It’s because mostly they are student-athletes. Honestly, the thought of being bullied came into my mind at the moment just because I watched too many movies, or it was a common perception that these people were born with aggressiveness. Conversely, it was all false. The genetic factor does not define who they are, and plus, because of their maturity and the fact that they are college students (I believe), morality does exist within these people. In fact, they are just too nice to anyone.
To keep a long story a little shorter, I am taking you to where my true journey started.
It was when I met other students who came with the same program such as UGRAD (the program I talked about before) and INTERLINK (an English as a second language program). Then, I started to get used to the environment because I’d got more friends to hang out with.
Because my TOEFL iBT result (53 out of 120. horrible, wasn’t it?) did not meet the criteria that were set to study at Ambrose, it was a necessity to take an English training program to prepare for any academic tasks that are laid before all students on campus. The program trains students to be poised for situations such as Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking or to be a little more specific, it is a program to prepare you for loads of academic work like presentation, reading and writing assignments, and exams. Additionally, it teaches students to be more independent in learning. This program is generally for those whose first language is not English.
Moreover, it was the first stage of mine to experience the hardship of studying in the U.S. where I had to be honest, enthusiastic, and prompt with any assignments. Nonetheless, compared to the actual semester that I survived, INTERLINK was just a mere part of all.
After graduation, to be very frank, I can say that the 53 scores which represented my English skills before coming to the U.S. were 95% redeemed. Besides, it was where a strong friendship was made, and more acquaintances added. Indeed, it was worth my time living in the U.S.
Life on Campus
There were a couple of semesters that I stayed in the U.S. as I have mentioned that the first was for English training and the second was for the real academic semester (the final battlefield). During my time there, I lived in a dormitory called McCarthy Hall which was an apartment designed mostly for international students. At first, who would have thought the dorm was so nice or even nicer than my own house.
Each room is designed for 4 people with one kitchen, two bedrooms with two bunkable beds, and one bathroom. Too, most of my classes were designated in this building. Luckily, the apartment designation was especially for me that I got to live alone without roommates settling in. It was because, in the second semester, not so many people signed up to live in the dorm nor came to the University at the moment. I believe that this is what everyone always wishes to happen at least one moment in time.
In addition to this, the weather was both the advantage and struggle. I encountered three seasons in one exchange year. However, the most memorable one was Winter which was actually my first time living in such blizzardous weather. Also, due to the fact that Iowa is located further north so that there is no doubt why the temperature does not go beyond 30 degrees Celsius all year long.
It was also the time when the Polar Vortex hit the mid-west of the United States which was negative 50 Celsius in Chicago (2h30m from where I lived), and this is what happened.
It was fun because it was my first time seeing snow, yet painful lol…
Time to Roam Around!
Devoting to studying is crucial. However, what is as important as achieving high grades is to travel. The purpose can be to relieve yourself from stressful work at school. Hence, the second part of the narrative is to talk about my travel experiences once the breaks started.
The very first thing I considered doing was to explore the backyard of the Quad Cities (This is kind of a bit confusing, but it was actually where I lived). It was the time when I was invited to explore Dubuque, Iowa & Galena, Illinois with a friend of mine. They are just small towns with the vintage sensation of the former colonization. In fact, historically, Iowa & Illinois were not the colonial states that joined the U.S.
Moreover, my first trip outside of the Quad Cities was made on the Fall Break, based upon my rule that I need to save as much money as possible to be able to travel to as many states as such. But, firstly, the plan was not well-aligned because I could not compromise with some other friends on which date, and how and where to stay overnight. Therefore, my decision was to travel alone regardless of any types of dangers, but instead, concerning the fact that I should get out of my own comfort zone. So, it was actually my first time traveling alone and all by self-reliance.
Well, I booked a flight, accommodation (Air BnB was good actually because there were so many cheap options), and everything to be ready for New York City. Who would have thought it would turn out truly amazing.
So much of the energy was drained by exploring the city, yet it was also really eye-opening. Traveling in NYC taught me to be more independent and confident because of the circumstances where neither I nor New Yorkers knew each other. Similarly, I was all alone with the curiosity that drove me to walk, ride, and get lost in an unfamiliar place with a limited budget which caused massive hunger during the trip. Anyway, I am not going to talk much about this because it will take a whole day to get through, or it requires another article to write to cover everything.
Wrapping up really quickly, my second, third, and fourth trips shall be laid ahead.
After NYC, I planned another trip to Las Vegas with a specific purpose to visit the spectacular Grand Canyon. Once again, I booked a flight, accommodation (Air BnB again), and transportation for the trip. Yet, this trip tended to be shorter because the intention was to visit the Canyon, not downtown Las Vegas, and because firstly, I was not 21 yet (not eligible to gamble or drink, lol). Secondly, I did not do much research on where to explore. However, I think it was worth it to be able to make it there which was better than none, and because I could not afford a U.S. road trip which has always been my ultimate goal so that I wound up taking a bus instead.
Before I forget, this trip was a solo one again.
My third trip was in Florida. This was no longer a solo trip now because I visited my friends. Also, because the Winter in Iowa was terrible so that I needed to flee from the cold to a warmer place. This was also a fascinating trip because I got to meet a number of original Lao and Lao-American people who lived there their entire lives. It was nothing but beach, beach, and beach…
*Should I regret not going to Disneyland in Orlando?
After returning to campus, I was fortunate enough to do another trip on New Year’s Eve in Chicago, Illinois, which is two and a half hours away from the campus. This time I got a chance to join one of my UGRAD fellows from Laos and her cousins. It was the day after the night I got back to my dorm, and then, I’d got to go again. However, there was still some energy left in my veins to roam once again before the spring semester started.
Last but not least, the most significant trip that took place in the program that fulfilled the Global UGRAD experiences was in Washington, or the so-called D.C. End-of-Program summit. This is because of the fact that the workshop’s purpose is to bring together the entire UGRAD participants from every corner of the U.S. where they stayed. Further, it is to bring huge ideas to be discussed, diversity to be mixed with leadership, and cultures to be shared.
These are just some highlights of what I did for traveling, but they are yet to be the final part of the story.
The Spring Semester
The time had finally come! the phase of anxiety and depression overwhelmingly consumed the whole of me. Either was it about the fear of potential failure in Academic tasks and everything or the prominent thing that troubled me a lot, particularly getting as many friends as likely.
Though, it turned out to be another stage that pushed me through my own standard of excellence. Being in an American Educational style taught me how to survive a night with loads of tasks that need to be completed in a certain period of time. This also means that when I have been through this, nothing else is considered difficult except for the fact that a financial issue comes into play.
Stop beating around the bush, there were four classes out of 12 credits I took for the semester.
International Law and Organization (approximately 300 level) (the hardest)
The U.S. History to 1877 (approximately 200 level) (the secondarily hardest)
Introduction to Public Speaking (approximately 120 level) (fair)
Introduction to Leadership (approxiamately 100 level) (easiest)
St. Ambrose Students will be issued an SAU email and an ID for them to have access to a site called Blackboard. So, they are able to observe their grades, catch up on any assignments posted by course professors, purchase transcripts, etc, etc. In addition, most of the students’ jobs shall be submitted through this site so that it is considered convenient. Even so, some professors require hard copy work, depending on their preferences or course requirements.
The classes mentioned require a wide range of ideas to be discussed and any work shall be assigned to students and let them be on their own independence in terms of learning. When showing up to the class, they need to be prepared and familiar with the topics they are given.
To me personally, most of the tasks that I struggled with were paper assignments because it was one of the great ways to be comprehensive of any type of subject. Also, it is because, in Writing, a number of pages of articles or books should be read and understood. Therefore, a variety of ideas will be assessed. Additionally, any research should be credible because of the rule of academic integrity, plagiarism is the most serious issue that every institution has taken into account of doing morally wrong.
That is the reason for my ultimate improvement in Writing so far.
Therefore, being a student in the U.S., even though as an exchange visitor, was one of the difficulties that literally helped me develop further.
I was not the only one who fought this battle. So, I had a chance to meet several folks from some places on this planet such as Jordan, Russia, India, Kenya, and elsewhere.
Another thing in the course of coming to the U.S. with the Global UGRAD Program, all participants are required to complete community services for at least 20 hours. I can tell that this activity is one of the great options to get to know the locals. Because being out with some other folks and strangers brings some new dialogues to be discussed and, doing numbers of activities allow the people to have a decent conversation about each others’ backgrounds and well-being.
In fact, I did not engage in so many activities, but at least I had finished the assigned 20 hours by contributing to providing food for people and volunteering for a multi-cultural event in which I had a chance to share my pride. That being said, I wish I could have done more.
Getting to an epilogue of the story, my exchange year provided me with lots of opportunities to be engaged with a bunch of things that I either lost or gained. Nevertheless, I did what I always wanted to do which was to study and explore (who wouldn’t?). As an exchange student, I was taught not only to be better academically but also, to be more open-minded and learn to embrace diversity, and further, it strengthened my confidence. All and all, everything shall last a lifetime.
This is yet to be the finality that I have achieved so far because I am motivated to do more than what already happened in life. Too, it does not mean I shall stop but keep on doing something similar to this even more for the fact that this is just the beginning of the great journey. Because once you are already far away from home, you no longer belong to either of the places whether it is your hometown or where you travel to (If you know what I mean).
I am saying that being in an exchange changed me as a person, both mentally and physically (literally changed).
Therefore, therefore, and therefore, I am convincing you, encouraging you, and asking you to grab any chances like this though it is not to the U.S. Because, after all, it will become your life-changing experience that lasts a lifetime. Again, I highly recommend the Global UGRAD Program because it is a great one for you to meet people from all over the world.
One final conclusion is that you will never realize how worth it is to be out of your comfort zone until you get an opportunity to make it a reality.
If you finally get to this part, congratulations! because you are now profoundly inspired (I hope) and guided to do something greater for yourself.
And as always: Once A UGRAD, Always A UGRAD,
Souksavanh
