Many of you will remember your U.S. history teacher back in high school, who talked about the Puritans and their settlement in the ‘New World’ for hours and hours. Well, be prepared, because the New World revives! This time it’s the story of a Dutch international exchange student, spending a semester abroad at Siena College.
My American Dream officially started on January 11, 2016, when my plane landed at JFK and I traveled all the way up north to Albany, New York State. Just like the Puritans, I had no idea what to expect, the only thing I knew for sure was that this would be an experience of a lifetime: one that I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world.
People told me that I should not complain about the cold, but hey, I’m from a country with a moderate climate (that is mild winters and okayish summers), so I complain. The first Puritan winter were harsh and horrible, people died and they started to steal food from the Natives in order to survive. I ‘steal’ food, too, if you consider taking a banana on-the-go from Snyder Hall as stealing?
Even in the 21st century, studying in the United States is still a culture shock. I didn’t expect that this would happen, but living here is totally different from being on a vacation here. I feel as if the implicit thought is big, bigger, biggest. New York State is much bigger than the Netherlands: I can cross my entire country by car in three hours, whereas it took me three hours to get from New York City to Albany. A three-hour drive is a piece of cake here, while back home it would be seen as a world trip.
Every time my lovely housemate takes me to Wal-Mart, it’s still an amazing experience. Over the last couple of shopping trips, I realized that the size of an average US car is beyond Dutch standards, as well as the amount of groceries and products sold at Wal-Mart. Surrounded by isles and isles of products that are both useless and irresistible, I got completely lost. This wouldn’t have happened to me back home, because we don’t know chains like Wal-Mart and our federal law prohibits shopping malls, unfortunately.
When my mom and I drove down Route 9 South and I saw Siena for the first time, I felt as if I starred in a movie and Siena College was the set. It’s beauty reminded me of the tons of movies that I have seen with a college-related plotline. This is reality, however, and soon after my arrival, I fell off cloud nine and got extremely homesick. The Puritans might have missed Great-Britain too, because it was a source of familiarity and they left everything behind they were used to.
Campus life here is so different than back home: we don’t live in dorms with a direct roommate, and even though we get along well, it sometimes weighs down on me that I always have to keep in mind that she lives here too.
Another thing are the classrooms. I thought those chairs with adjusted tables only existed in movies, but keep on dreamin’ girl, it’s daily life reality. And even though they are not always super comfortable (my laptop almost fell of a couple of times), I think they are cool.
Back home, the majority of us travels back to their parents’ home during the weekends, to catch up with family, drop their laundry, and get some healthy homemade dinners, something that doesn’t happen here. Well, another comparison to th Puritan lifestyle: it took them ages to travel over the Atlantic Ocean to get here, and there was no way of going back home. The colonies were ‘The New World’ a source of wealth and prosperity.
My American Dream is on its way of being fulfilled. I even got the opportunity to spend Spring Break with family in California, and wow, I really needed that sun. And even though everything is so different, I’m slowly but surely adjusting to all of it. I don’t regret my choice for Siena, because I have never been at a place where people are so welcoming, friendly, and willing to help as they are here. The Puritans were able to get through there horrible circumstances four centuries ago, so I, too, should be able to survive my semester abroad with all the modern, technological facilities. I still miss my family, friends, and food back home with regular intervals, I already know for sure that I’ll miss the place that I can call my home faraway from home.