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Thirty five hours on airplanes, four different airports and almost two sleepless nights. That was how long it took me to get to the destination of my dream from my home country, Turkmenistan.
On Aug. 10, I officially became an international student here in the United States of America. Although I fell in love with my new experience of the academic system, faculty interaction and student body, I still have to adjust to the drastically different type of community, culture and environment.
During my first week in a college, I found several challenges that International residents inevitably have to get through. Besides unfamiliar patterns of Americans’ demeanor, lifestyle and values, there is a language issue. Scoring top points in my International Standardized Tests, I would never expect to face any problems with understanding American speech. However as it went further, I’ve found some challenges in the communicating with people. Particularly, slangs and abbreviations made some conversations barely perceptible to me.
There is also a big gap between Turkmen and American life styles that naturally separates me from my own background. As an example, there is no dress code in American colleges; students wear whatever they find comfortable. More, a large number of boys and girls are deeply involved in the different kinds of sport, whereas not really everybody finds that occupation interesting in Turkmenistan.
Rachael Little, (Newcastle) Australia, says, “I didn’t really find differences between American culture and Australian’s; however, there is a big distinction in food and teenagers’ behaving.”
She was also finding it difficult to be such a great distance from her family, until the time she began to use SKYPE and social networks like Facebook to keep in touch. One more activity that drew her attention away from homesickness was soccer. By dedicating herself to that sport, she could find a bunch of new friends.
Another international student, Elvira Avdeyeva from Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, states, “It was pretty hard to get used to the small town of Iola, Kansas, because I was born in the capital, that is the big city in my country, but I was actively involved in the theater , so it helped not to get stuck on that barrier.”
To experience culture shock less painfully I suggest foreigners to seek advice from international advisors and college administration. These people are in schools to help find the ways to adjust to a new place quicker. I also support the idea of being deeply involved extracurricularly. Discovering new interests and activities, students will be socially involved and become an integral part of their new community. As a good example of activities for Allen Community College students let me illustrate some of the applicable; besides various clubs on writing, academic challenges and astronomy, there is Drama Club, Choir, Community Service , Honor Societies, Weighting room and much more. Everyone is welcome to join and fill their campus lives with the joy and experience.
No matter how tough it can be for international students to be abroad, that overseas experience will greatly impact their personalities and worldview. I think the chance to study in America will help us broaden our outlook and teach us to embrace diversity.
I also hope that more and more International ambassadors will come to such a great place as Allen Community College and acquire not only their high quality education, but also life-long experience.