I cannot express more the gratitude I feel for being in the United States of America; experiencing this type of a modern life which some people call “American life”. It has been 11 months since last July 2014 when I first arrived in Washington D.C. I came here with all my pride, dreams, hope, goals, and a bunch of to-do lists. One of those lists was to meet Madonna, Obama and Oprah. It might sound impossible but there is still time left for me to make it happen.
For the first six months it was a struggle for me to acclimate to this new environment. There were several moments of culture shock that I would love to describe:
1) Social life. The people seemed nice and friendly. They smiled and greeted me genuinely. However, there was a time that I felt their entire attitude was fake and superficial. I became irritated when they said, “How are you?” In the end, I realized that saying that expression was a polite manner to encounter people in a daily life.
2) Individualism. In my home country I always heard about this trait of people in the western world. People seemed to not really care about what happened with their neighborhood or surroundings. I found it was true in some occasions, but I think it was about being independent and a culture of taking care of one’s personal business without intervening in others’.
3) Academic life. I had four classes in the first semester full of assignments, papers, and discussion. They contributed to my deep anxiety and sleepless night sometimes. The language they used was so thick that I couldn’t easily understand what they were talking about in the class. It was so stressful that it was normal for me to go back to my apartment and cry alone. I was doubtful that I could survive here. Eventually, I could make it through the rain. I could stand up and finish my duty as a graduate student with a satisfying result.
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4) Religious life. What a wonderful Athens! I found that this college town was full of churches and religious organizations. I felt like home. I joined many clubs, which were two bible studies, two churches, and many chances of fellowships. I giggled when some of my friends in my home country warned me to keep my purity because there was a strong concept that America was a land of obscenity. I found it untrue since I have been inspired a lot by some young generations who feared the Lord here.5) High technology. I was stunned by how sophisticated the USA is. Everything runs with a great system and technology. It helps people to do their daily tasks easily and effectively.
6) Trash and waste food. “How could you throw away food? Don’t you know that there are parts of the world craving meals?” sounded in my head. I felt so upset when I saw many people took food for granted. Moreover, I think American people produce a lot of trash in just one day. However, it was a good lesson to know that there is an effort of recycling. Learning from American people how to keep the environment clean was a precious subject.
7) Seasons. Seasonal Affective Disorder attacked me during winter. I never expected to be defeated by a season. I always thought that I could manage my body and emotion. It was a really difficult time for me to concentrate and do my daily activities.
Above all, I was so grateful to have some sources of social support. I could face all the difficult times and culture shocks because I had international friends who understood what I had been through. People in the churches, my friends and family in my home country were the greatest strength that I had so that I could defeat those discouraging mindsets. I cannot express how helpful they have been and want nothing more than to give my love back to them. Honestly, I am falling in love with USA now. Thus, I have set some goals to fulfill before returning to Indonesia. I will make the most of my time to enjoy every second that I have here till May 2016. Obviously, it is a blessing from heaven above that I can also serve the community here in my own way with a little love from the source of the unconditional love itself, Christ the Lord.
American life: I came, I saw, I conquered.