Alumni Advice: Western Hemisphere
We asked some of our alumni from the Western Hemisphere to give future generations of UGRAD students advice about living in the United States via our private Tumblr blog. Here’s what they had to say!
Koral Nunez Javier: Dominican Republic, University of Evansville
Give yourself a chance in this new country, in this new adventure, with new friends, and new people that will be like family to you! The first couple days will be awesome – you might not even miss home. That’s normal, but when you do (and trust me you will), remind yourself that this is for a period of time, and that you need to live this opportunity that has been given to you to the fullest. This is a new opportunity for you to get to know yourself, to let others know your country, to let people see what your culture have to offer, and even break some paradigms that some people have.
Enner Martinez Morales: El Salvador, Illinois State University
There was a point when I started to miss my food from home. Just like you can find hamburgers in every corner in the U.S., you find pupusas everywhere in my country. Nevertheless, I realized UGRAD is a once in a lifetime experience. Hence, I decided to try new kinds of dishes. All this led me to a conclusion: getting out of our comfort zone (everything we are familiar with) is AWESOME when you are studying abroad!
So, do not hesitate, guys! Make this a whole new experience awesome!
Evelyn Espinoza Yanguez: Panama, Missouri State University
If you can learn how to prepare a typical dish, that is always going to be welcome because you will have many opportunities to represent your country – and it is always great when others can also taste a little bit of your land. Overall, enjoy your time as much you can, and do not let anything or anyone steal your energy and focus.
Emmanuel Davalillo Hidalgo: Venezuela, American University
While in the U.S. you will essentially become cultural ambassadors of your nations. Although it sounds cool enough, such a role can in fact be really challenging. You can’t even imagine how much there is to tell, and you have to make sure you portray every possible aspect of your culture! Talk about a lot, huh! Imagine – your new job is a representative of your beautiful land!