Lin Oo
Staff Reporter
Where are you from? What’s it like over in your country? Do your people speak English? What’s the food like over there?
As an international student I am frequently asked questions such as these. I have always enjoyed providing answers to these and occasionally telling my audience a little humor from half way across the world.
At times people would ask me why I came here in the first place and how I got to know a small liberal arts college such as McDaniel. I would patiently explain to them how a person like me from half way across the world decided to come here in good ol’ Westminster.
Of course this is not to say that I haven’t had my share of fascination while studying in McDaniel College.
When I first arrived in the U.S., I thought that there really wasn’t much to learn. I thought that MTV, Hollywood films, McDonalds, the fashion trends of popular American rock stars and the internet had told me all I need to know about the United States.
However, I assumed way too much about the stereotypes that I saw on T.V.
The first time I heard the word “fraternity,” I thought it referred to some history course that a student could take. They kept referring to Greek life and I thought to myself why are college students all so obsessed with the Greeks?
The first time I saw snow at college, I walked outside my dorm room looking amazed shouting out loud “There’s snow falling from the sky!” Other students that passed by would stare at me confused.
My international amigos and I have always loved to share our stories about our favorite experiences in the U.S. However, I feel as though we needed to share these experiences to a larger audience.
This column is intended for international and American students to share their ideas on any range of subjects dealing with the international issues going on in the world.
Diversity is a treasured value of McDaniel College, and this article is planned to do just that.