EXORDIUM
Call me a super lucky guy for my victory chasing my biggest dream ever so called "Chasing American Dream", and here I am..in the land of "Star Spangled Banner"..
When Dreams Met Reality
An elongate 24 hours flight from home to the first point entry of US, Chicago, did not fade my enthusiasm about USA because O'hare International Airport impressed me with its excessively large building. the visitor immigration gate was being squeezed by mostly Asian and Middle Eastern faces. it took almost an hour for me arrived at the immigration counter and i had anticipated some advices from the officer of U.S embassy in Jakarta that probably there would be a random secondary inspection due to the strict regulation of immigration, and yea .. i was being inspected by the immigration officer for secondary inspection. being anxious of what happened to me, i calmed my self by observing my"random inspection mate" whose faces obviously middle eastern, things that triggered my bias question of "random inspection" system. (then i figured out a fairly satisfed answer from an American woman who had frequently being inspected for her domestic flight due to her one ticket flight). my prejudice is terminated.
Early Observation
though i could not recall in detail, but one thing that fairly impressed me is impeccable infrastructure. the highway just perfect and smooth and the buildings are located neatly, yea no wonder coz this is America, but this really proved that U.S with his federal system made out something on track. that is why a small city like carbondale is well developed. comparing U.S with a developing country like Indonesia is pretty unfair, but the moral lesson that possibly derived from this situation is if everything runs in the right track, then the outcome would be a flawless smooth way.
Cultural Shocks
I found my self easily encountered the biggest anxiety when being abroad, that is cultural shock. frankly speaking, i have no problem with the food, the custom and the people, but once i experienced unfriendly moment when i dubbed as a dumb by an ill mannered bowling counter man for my misunderstanding to apprehend bowling game instruction. i lost my idea when he explained something in a hurry and yes, here in the U.S some people speak with their own dialect ( i accustomed to the articulate and clear english speaking) but its pretty easy too to find people who speak clearly and nicely.
UNIVERSe-cITY
Carbondale, Illinois considered as a small city compared to other cities within the state. but a vast population of international students who study in SIUC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Illinois_University_Carbondale) tangibly shows that this city is an international village within a university. i could easily find midle eastern, asian and hispanic looks in campus. once i met a Phd candidate in engineering called "mas Tudi" in student centre, and he told me that there a lot of Indonesian study in SIUC, well, it might be a cure for homesick by gathering with them. i hope so.
Campus Life
Summer in SIUC offers a difference ambiance with less students around (break for summer holiday). on my first week been in SIUC, i joked to my peer that this campus almost like a dead city, a zombie zone (exaggerated! hahaha) but i truly fascinated by the modern and vintage buildings. enlarged by huge extensive halls, parks, student center, student recreation center, library, auditorium and stadiums mark this University as one of the largest university in U.S.
Boomer Hall II the place where i live, located in the heart of the campus, so i can easily access fanner hall the place that i study most of the time.
When Dreams Met Reality
An elongate 24 hours flight from home to the first point entry of US, Chicago, did not fade my enthusiasm about USA because O'hare International Airport impressed me with its excessively large building. the visitor immigration gate was being squeezed by mostly Asian and Middle Eastern faces. it took almost an hour for me arrived at the immigration counter and i had anticipated some advices from the officer of U.S embassy in Jakarta that probably there would be a random secondary inspection due to the strict regulation of immigration, and yea .. i was being inspected by the immigration officer for secondary inspection. being anxious of what happened to me, i calmed my self by observing my"random inspection mate" whose faces obviously middle eastern, things that triggered my bias question of "random inspection" system. (then i figured out a fairly satisfed answer from an American woman who had frequently being inspected for her domestic flight due to her one ticket flight). my prejudice is terminated.
Early Observation
though i could not recall in detail, but one thing that fairly impressed me is impeccable infrastructure. the highway just perfect and smooth and the buildings are located neatly, yea no wonder coz this is America, but this really proved that U.S with his federal system made out something on track. that is why a small city like carbondale is well developed. comparing U.S with a developing country like Indonesia is pretty unfair, but the moral lesson that possibly derived from this situation is if everything runs in the right track, then the outcome would be a flawless smooth way.
Cultural Shocks
I found my self easily encountered the biggest anxiety when being abroad, that is cultural shock. frankly speaking, i have no problem with the food, the custom and the people, but once i experienced unfriendly moment when i dubbed as a dumb by an ill mannered bowling counter man for my misunderstanding to apprehend bowling game instruction. i lost my idea when he explained something in a hurry and yes, here in the U.S some people speak with their own dialect ( i accustomed to the articulate and clear english speaking) but its pretty easy too to find people who speak clearly and nicely.
UNIVERSe-cITY
Carbondale, Illinois considered as a small city compared to other cities within the state. but a vast population of international students who study in SIUC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Illinois_University_Carbondale) tangibly shows that this city is an international village within a university. i could easily find midle eastern, asian and hispanic looks in campus. once i met a Phd candidate in engineering called "mas Tudi" in student centre, and he told me that there a lot of Indonesian study in SIUC, well, it might be a cure for homesick by gathering with them. i hope so.
Campus Life
Summer in SIUC offers a difference ambiance with less students around (break for summer holiday). on my first week been in SIUC, i joked to my peer that this campus almost like a dead city, a zombie zone (exaggerated! hahaha) but i truly fascinated by the modern and vintage buildings. enlarged by huge extensive halls, parks, student center, student recreation center, library, auditorium and stadiums mark this University as one of the largest university in U.S.
Boomer Hall II the place where i live, located in the heart of the campus, so i can easily access fanner hall the place that i study most of the time.
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