My name is Adriana Salamanca. I am from Spain and I am in my third year of college as a business administration major. I first arrived in the United States on August 15, 2022 for a family trip. We visited Boston and New York until I moved into school on August 24, 2022.
In New York, my family and I went to dinner at a fancy restaurant called Hardrock. At the restaurant, there were different costumes that were once used by celebrities like Madonna or Elvis Presley in their shows. I also had the opportunity to see the musical Aladdin. On another day, I went to the oldest train station in New York. The interior was amazing. Everyone should also try to see the Empire State because one can get cool views of the city. Later, in Boston, we went to dinner near the hotel where we slept at for a few days and got to walk around the Boston Common park. At the end of this trip, I started a new chapter of my life that will continue to make me grow as a person and learn more.
On August 24, I arrived at Endicott College, which will be my new home for my last two years of school. I had a mixture of emotions such as happiness and excitement, yet I also felt weird at the same time. Between August 24th and August 30th, I met other international students through the Endicott College Global Ambassador Program. We visited Beverly, went to an amusement park, and had several talks about future plans for each month. During this time, I didn’t feel so homesick, but before I continue with the positive things about this experience, I must confess that I was homesick for a while. It is hard to be without your parents and siblings for a long period of time, but in the end this experience will make me an empowered person. I started classes on August 31. The atmosphere of the teachers and students was not too bad. Most of them were friendly and sociable. I was able to meet my best friend Jenka, who is a Bulgarian studying Marketing. She is the sweetest, most patient, funny, and charming person I have ever met in the entire world. Meeting people was one of the challenges of this experience, but I know there is always a new person I can meet.
Apart from this, I also wanted to join a club to meet new people with similar tastes to mine and Her Campus gave me the solution. I gradually feel more and more comfortable within the club. There are two special people who introduced me to this fantastic club, which are young ladies who live in the same suite as me named Alexa and Lauren. They are both members with different roles inside the club. As soon as they told me about it, I knew I wanted to join.
In conclusion, my days at Endicott are getting better and better. I am very grateful to be able to fulfill my dream, which is to finish my last two years away from home by finishing my degree in Business Administration. My family is very supportive and wants the best for me in terms of my education, and also to feel comfortable and happy. Since meeting the other international students, I have improved my relationships with them and try to be around as much as possible when everyone has the time. Also, my classes at Endicott are interesting because of the topics we learn and discuss. I am improving my grades on the assignments I am taking. My teachers are happy with the effort I make in their classes, since my first language is not English. I learned that if you want to do something, you can do it in your classes and should not be afraid to try to stand out from the crowd.