|
Expectations
| |
Important Links to Remember
|
Living in the United States will be different. It is important for you to understand that the perceptions you have of the U.S. may or may not be true. You may find that the American culture is not necessarily what you gather from U.S. movies and music. Even though there will be components of the stereotypes you have that will be true, you should be open-minded coming to study here. Studying in the United States will be like no other experience you have had before in your life. With all of this excitement, adventure and learning comes a lot of change. The single most important thing to remember is to be flexible. You will no doubt have to adapt to new things you encounter in the United States. Simply thinking about some of the differences ahead of time can help better prepare you for life in the United States.
You should learn to expect the unexpected. Try not to expect everything in the United States to be the same as it is in your home country. Most likely everything will be backwards. People in the U.S. are very different from state to state, and you should keep that in mind when settling at the place of your studies.
The following are some very general and basic things to which you may be accustomed in your home country, but that may be very different in the United States:
-
Routines and Schedules: Your routine will change once you get to the United States. Not only might you be dealing with a time difference upon arrival, but you may have to adjust to a different "business hours" schedule. You may have a long afternoon break between classes so that you can prepare and eat lunch at home; or you may have a very short break in which you won’t have time to cook your own meal or eat at home. You may return to class late in the afternoon and have classes until later at night. You may eat lunch and dinner earlier or later than you are accustomed to doing. You might also have to adapt your routine to bus and metro schedules and to your roommates’ schedules. There are countless ways in which your routine in the United States can be different.
-
Facilities: Facilities may be modern or old, working or out of order, clean or dirty. Basically, you take what you get and learn to adjust to it. You have to decide when facilities like hospitals, restaurants, beaches, public transportation, apartments, or even phone booths are in safe, working condition. In many cases, especially in poorer areas of the United States, you may have to lower your standards a bit and accept what’s available to you. Facilities do not have to be new to be useful or safe.
-
Modern Conveniences: In American supermarkets, you probably will not be able to find certain favorite food items you always eat in your home country. But just because you can’t find something you’re looking for in the United States, doesn’t mean the United States lacks anything. If you like American food in your country, it doesn’t mean it will taste the same in the United States. You should not expect to find the same foods in restaurants or supermarkets, the same fast food chains or name brand items, the same style or sizes of clothing and shoes, etc. In short, if you can’t have or find everything you want, you will have to compromise.
 If you are looking for special type of food (international) most likely it will not be in your regular supermarket. However, there are specialized food markets for international foods. It can be called “Asian” or “Middle Eastern” food mart for example, but it does not mean it won’t have your type of food if you are from Europe. Most times owners of stores like that will order special food you may want to purchase. Ask your Office for International Students for locations of these types of stores.
-
Co-ed Living: If you are not comfortable living with the opposite sex, make sure to make your wishes known before you are assigned housing, or before you place an ad for a roommate. Otherwise, you may be assigned to live in a co-ed dorm, or find that your roommates are of the opposite sex. However, co-ed living is not so common in American universities. Some dorms may be co-ed, which usually means that both men and women live there but they are put on different floors. Make sure you read your residential life brochure as well as ask questions if anything is unclear.
If you choose to live off-campus in an apartment then you get to choose whether to live with people from your own or opposite sex.
| | | |
|
