Through the Lens of an International Student

Our view from the inside of the plane going to the Phils. 2018

International according to Merriam Webster is synonymous with being foreign or "belonging to someplace or country other than the one under consideration". This has been my identity for almost 4 years now, an international student.

It all started 5 years ago as I was staring at the concrete ceiling of my dorm on a hot afternoon, alone in our small room after my classes. I was lying down on the upper deck of our double deck wondering that if only I could go to a medical school abroad as a working student, finish my studies there, it would definitely be a great help for my family. Fast forward, with God's grace through my grandmother, I was given the opportunity to study here in the US. That's when my journey as an international student begun. 

As an international student, I am holding an F1 visa and with it comes all the advantages and disadvantages. I am blessed and grateful that I get to experience different cultures through different people which I just used to dream about. I learned to eat salads with either ranch or balsamic vinaigrette dressing. I only knew fruit salads then. Thanksgivings with golden fried turkeys have become part of me, as well. Writing your name on a pollen-covered car is also fun but not fun when it comes to cleaning and all the allergies. I've also met wonderful friends and acquaintances. The warmth of the friendly smile you get as you meet someone walking down the street is incomparable. It still amazes me that a stranger can call you endearments like sweetie, hon, and dear. This really melts my heart every time. I also get to see for myself winter, spring, summer, and fall. I can't help but be really thankful as I look at my surroundings change from green to orange and sometimes to white.

As much as I love all the perks of being an international student, there are also downsides to it aside from being thousands of miles away from the people you get your strength from. Paying our tuition twice the tuition of US citizens out of pocket without any financial aid is number one in the list of cons. I also envy my classmates who can apply for all the scholarships available as I can't because I am not a US citizen. I just can't also apply to any job to help my grandmother because it is not legal to do so unless it is within the school campus or I have complied first with all the documents needed to be submitted. Although there are Optional Practical Training (OPT) and Curricular Practical Training (CPT) available for us, there are unique necessities for each of these training. Some of them are that I can only use 12 months of the OPT, once used, I can't use it anymore. Another is that we must wait several months and pay a filing fee of $410 for an employment authorization card without the guarantee of being approved. I will always be tied to the legalities, requirements, and paperwork when it comes to on and off-campus employment. Everything is so uncertain. This leads to my dilemma of acquiring work experiences. In addition to all these, I have a struggle of talking in front of a large crowd without shaking and feeling insecure about how I sound, how I enunciate my words, my word choices and if people understood me or my thoughts or my ideas. It is intimidating sometimes to speak a foreign language to someone who can speak it when they were like 2 years old.

Despite all these predicaments, I’ve never felt so blessed and thankful with all the blessings I am getting. I know other people are living my dreams and fantasies but what I should also remember is that I am also living someone else’s dream. Even with the challenges, I will not stop from reaching my goal of helping my family, someday. They are my inspiration. I have faith that everything will be worth it when I overcome my fears and challenges. It is not easy especially with my family being so far away. It will never be easy, but I believe everything happens for a reason. There must a reason why I got here in MUSC. I hope to contribute something big but for now, I am proud and grateful that I am an international student at MUSC, the place that I identify myself as "foreign", but ironically felt included, belonged or part of a bigger family.

References:

"Foreign". Merriam Webster, 2019, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/foreign.

“Working in the USA: Study in the USA.” International Student, https://www.internationalstudent.com/study_usa/way-of-life/working-in-the-usa/.