As an international student here at Brown University, my adjustment to college life has definitely been harder than for most other students.
First of all, I had to overcome the cultural barrier. Growing up Italian, I was raised to believe that I would be living in my parents’ house until marriage. I applied to American colleges as a joke, or, should I say, as a nice dream, just to give myself a shot, but without really thinking I would get in and one day actually attend school abroad. When I read Brown's admission letter, it literally changed my life, and I had to get accustomed to the idea of leaving home.
But once I got here, I had to face more new problems. Mainly, the whole dorm situation challenged me a lot. I had to live with a roommate with whom (thank God) I got along with, but I could have easily been stuck with someone who I completely did not get along with. More over, the bathrooms are gender neutral in order to prevent students from having to pick which gender (and therefore which bathroom) they belong to, and I had to pretend I was totally OK with brushing my teeth with guys peeing right next to me with the door open and no shame.
More adversities came when one day, while choosing what I wanted to wear for class that day, I was greeted by a horrific smell from inside my closet that made me wonder if I was sharing the closet with someone, or, better, something else. I called campus facilities, and they were so nice to help me out by putting some old-fashioned mouse traps all over the 50 square foot room. Fortunately they are still there, rusted, and have not been used. However, I wonder if maybe since they didn’t spring and that smell disappeared from my room, that it was not due to their threatening power but rather due to all the poison, perfumed oil, and insecticide I put all over the place. And here we get to another part of my being an Italian abroad: when I need something (let’s say, in this case, mouse poison) I wait until I’m back home to buy it and bring it back here. This is for shampoo, towels, pencils, chocolate, batteries, whatever I need really. My friends make fun of me for this. They don’t understand why I can’t just buy the American equivalent of everything, but what is so hard for me to explain to them is that I’m now an actual immigrant. I feel more comfortable in doing something which is different for my friends but familiar for me than just following all the American customs right away. Having on my Italian deodorant makes me feel more protected against sweat than if I had on an American one, if anything because this and other supplies I have brought back from Italy make me feel more at home. I’m sorry, but it’s true. I will keep coming back to Brown from vacations with my suitcases filled up with supplies, helping me feel more at ease in my new home.
Lastly, I also had to face all the problems related to being a student here, where the classes are all taught in English. From the language and all the crazy idioms used in class that nobody ever taught me during English lessons, to being unable to even think about copying during exams because other students who might see you doing it would actually go and tell the professor (which is honestly an absurd idea for an Italian).
Anyways, despite all my struggles as an international student, I have to admit I also found myself in the end surrounded by interesting, fascinating and clever people, making strong friendships and even joining a sorority in order to live my American experience (I would better say, my American dream) to its deepest.
