International Student Perspectives

What’s something you like about the US?

People talk easily to each other, I like that. People are individualized. For some stuff, its good. Like you can stay alone and do what you want whenever you want. It’s very abstract. Very independent. Compared to other countries it’s very clean. I think the US is very respectful to areas and to nature.

What’s something you have found you dislike about the US?

We waste so much in the US. I live on campus, and I see a waste of water and food and plastic. You turn on lights when it’s still day. One of the things I don’t like is public transportation. We use a lot of carpools in France, it’s very popular.

Your family?

I have three siblings, two sisters and one brother. Until this year I was still living with my parents. I have one dog and two cats. The dog is Titof.

The cats?

Lulu and Plouf.

Plouf?

It’s a name when you put something in the water, in France they call that “plouf”.

What is your hometown like?

Tours is like 200,000 people. It’s bigger than here. It’s very nice, a historic city. It’s very popular because we have a lot of castles around and it’s not too far from Paris. Life there is very nice.

Has the transition been challenging?

For the first two weeks, it was pretty tough. You’re living here and everything is new. You don’t know exactly what you’re going to do, if you will meet, if you will get very good friends. And you already miss your food.

Has the experience made you more independent?

Living on campus, you don’t do anything, you don’t cook, you don’t clean your bathroom. I don’t think I’m very independent here, I was more on my own at home. I think here I am babysitted.

What do you do for fun?

I play volleyball every Sunday with teammates. I played volleyball back in France. We just play for fun every Sunday since August.

How did you decide to study in the US?

In my program we have to study one year abroad. This is mandatory. Afterwards, I chose the United States because I’m really fascinated by the overall culture, it’s history, it’s music. Like Jazz, hip hop, R&B… I got the opportunity to travel around the world, and the United States remains my favorite country because I love the landscapes, I love the people, and I love the overall culture. When I was younger, when I was shy, I used to watch the American TV Shows… When I was younger, I was just like ‘I want to live over there someday.’ Studying in the United States was one of my biggest dreams.

Has the transition to the United States been challenging?

It was not really challenging because of countless reasons. The United States remains a western country, you know. And I think that I would feel really homesick if I would be in China or in Japan or in India, because this is not the same thing at all. That is not the same way of living. That is completely different. But in the US, the transition was not really challenging. Further more, because I travel a lot, I already got the opportunity to speak English with my peers and with other people around me. This becomes a habit. So, this was not really challenging because I don’t have the issues with tongue or with people in general.

Are the courses here difficult?

What is really challenging the very first weeks is when I didn’t understand the teachers, at first. I can understand my peers and roommates, but with the teachers, at first it was a little bit harder to understand them. This was harder because they introduce some concepts that I didn’t know before, sometimes they speak very fast, especially my finance teacher I didn’t understand. And furthermore, in French I didn’t understand finance. In English, this is even worse… Now this is better. I understand everything.

Was it easy to meet people and make friends?

Yes, it is easy to meet people because you got your roommates, your meetings, your organizational life… This makes is easy to meet people. But it is hard to make friends because the conditions are not really efficient to create links, to create bonds, because you cannot see these people everyday. Because we have our own life, our own issues, our own stuff, our own business. So it’s very hard to create strong relationships with people. Yes, you can talk to them, you can hang out with them. You can share great moments with them, but to create very strong relationships, it’s challenging because we live so individually. So it is easy to meet people, but to create strong friendships, it is a little bit more difficult.

What something you like about Bowling Green?

Something I love about Bowling Green is the community. Everybody is super friendly and welcoming and smiling. Even when I’m just passing by, people always say hi. It’s so sweet. Something I like about the US overall is the freedom and independence that everybody has, that I have here.

What’s something you don’t like?

The food! It’s way different. Everything here has cheese. I think I love cheese but I miss home Indian food. I was really excited the first time I came to the US, I was like, “I get to eat pizzas and burgers everyday!” But now I’m tired of eating pizzas and burgers everyday.

Are the classes in the United States more challenging?

Most of my classes are easier, and I like that. I get to learn a lot more. Back at home it was more about getting the grades and memorizing and I feel like when I’m here it’s more about learning the information. So I like that more, the slower pace.

Has there been a specific class or professor that really helped you?

I loved my GSW 1120 class. I had Amy Rybak. She was wonderful. When I was back home in Kenya, we usually do the British curriculum, so I don’t say ‘trash can’ I say ‘dustbin.’ And we don’t say ‘elevator,’ we say ‘lift.’ So she helped me differentiate between the styles and how when you come to America, there are different ways to write things.

Are you involved around campus?

I’m a campus tour guide, and then I’m also an International Student Ambassador with International Student Services. I’m also the president of the Student Neuroscience Association on campus.

How did you decide to study Neuroscience?

I was actually in between psychology and biology. I wanted to study both, but I didn’t know about neuroscience. But when I looked at schools, a lot of universities had something called, “cognition mind and neuroscience.” I researched more into it and found that I love studying about the brain. One question I always had was how do babies react when they are small, do they understand anything? And why don’t you remember anything from when you’re a baby? I found out that there is a drug in your body, you can take it now that makes you forget everything, so that’s what you have in your body that is produced naturally when you’re a baby. So you don’t remember anything! So it’s things like that that interest me about the human brain and make me want to study neuroscience.