I have been here for 10 days, and I’ve had a lot of things to do here at the University of Arkansas. I had an English test for 2 hours in the last 2 days and tomorrow I will know what my level of English is. Hopefully, I will get a perfect class that matches my English level. In my opinion, my first impression was my cousins here in the U.S. They drove from Kansas to pick me up at the Northwest Arkansas Airport. I could not stay with them so long because the university coordinator also picked me up to take me to the American dinner. So, I met my cousins for only 30 minutes. What impressed me about the U.S. was that here people in Fayetteville are very nice. They talked to me first and they always ask how I am doing, which in Laos we do not do. Lao people only talk to people they know. Therefore, it was also my culture shock that people who walked past me kept saying “hi”, “hello”, “how are you doing?”, “have a nice day, girl”, and so on.
Another thing I want to talk about are my advisors here at the campus. Cameron Caja and Taylor Smith are so helpful whenever I visit them with lots of questions. They do not complain and always smile with the answers, which makes me very comfortable. However, my World Learning advisor is one of my favorite people in the U.S., too. Even though we have not met before, I feel that I am not alone here because of you, Himani! You are such a good advisor and you have helped me a lot. All in all, I think my next 9 months will be just as great as these times. I am really looking forward to seeing you, Himani, and the other World Learning staff members.
Written by Keomany Phengmeuang, 2018-19 Global UGRAD Student from Laos at the University of Arkansas