Life as a College Student Pt. I

It has been two months since I've begun this journey, as an actual University student. Ugh. "Journey". I apologize for using such a cliche' term. To be honest, though, I'm not sure how else to explain it. I mean, it has been two months of ups and downs (mostly ups, thankfully), new experiences and new friendships.

I guess I should start at the beginning. Where that is, I'm not so sure. So, give me a second.

Okay. So, it all started in a little town in the Philippines called Laguna --

No, wait ... too far. Fast forward ...

I had just finished my first and only year in Solano College, after two years at Sac City. I kept myself busy that last semester at Solano - Speech and Debate Team, the school choir. Plus, to top it off, I got straight A's to finish off my Community College career. It was nice. I also found out a few months earlier that I was accepted into UC Davis. So, obviously, I was pretty excited.

Then, I found out the initial disadvantages of being an international student.

Oh, that's right, folks. I am an international student. That wouldn't seem too strange, under normal circumstances. That didn't apply to me, however. You see, most international students are exchange students, meant to study here for a year, then go back to their home country. Almost all of them are brand new to this country, and have a limited understanding of the English language. As for me, I have lived here since I was six months old. Technicalities with immigration, various visa stati and such have prevented me from becoming a citizen of this country. Technically, I am still a Filipino citizen. Because of this, I was forced to enroll into UCD as an international student.

I have to admit, I was quite hesitant to attend the International Student Orientation, which, I later discovered, was mandatory. To be quite honest, I was pissed that I had to go - I felt that I didn't need to. It was a good thing I went, though.

At the orientation, I discovered it very amusing as I explained to person after person I met about my extremely unique situation, and gauging their reaction:

"So, how long have you been in America?"
"Oh, well, how old am I, 21? ... hmm ... 21 years, this December."

It was a nice primer for getting to know people - you know, getting them interested in you and your situation. It's how I met some of my new friends - Yoo-Jin Lee, for one. Korean exchange student who grew up all over Europe, from what I understand. She was fluent in English, which I found to be a pleasant surprise. We hung out for most of the first day. David Dry, an Econ major from England, secondly. Met him while Yoo-Jin and I were at dinner with a group of other int'l students. Good guy to talk to - I learned a lot of things about the legal drinking age in England. Pranita Praveen, thirdly, from Australia. She was an Indian (from India, not Native America), which I thought to be interesting. The thing was, I couldn't place her accent at first. She gets that alot, apparently. There was Conny and Daniel, a couple from Germany who I met while at an Asian Teahouse. Considering they were raised in Germany, their English was surprisingly fluent.

And, so, it came to pass, that I made some new friends at International Student Orientation. I was ready for move-in day, which was to come in about a week. For that, I will leave you to Part II. I dunno when I'm gonna write about it, but just look for it.