It's official! I have been at Louisiana State University for a week. In my last post, I mentioned that the road to get to this point was rocky and difficult. However, I am pleased to say that is has been well worth the wait. I spent the last week attending multiple events and getting adjusted to campus. All week I have been getting to know my roommates and spent time with them.
On Tuesday, the UREC, which is LSU's massive gymnasium, hosted a large welcome week event. When I say the place is massive, I really mean it! The UREC has tennis courts, beach volleyball, indoor and outdoor pools, lazy river, and much more. The night was supposed to culminate in an outdoor showing of Avengers: Endgame, but I will get to that part later. My French roommate and I began the night with some "light" workouts. I can easily say that it's never wise to follow someone else's workout when you haven't been to the gym in months. I was sore for days. After our workout, we went around and enjoyed our reward in free food and free shirts. With our tired spirits lifted, we made our way to enjoy the outdoors. Now as I've come to learn, it wouldn't be Louisiana if it did not torrent rain every other day. Sadly the movie was cancelled, but we made the best of the situation and enjoyed our night in the pool.
The rest of the week held similar festivities. During one night, the library held a small party for the students coming back. Once again I spent time with the international students and got to know them more. Meeting people from all across the world has been my favorite part about this exchange program. Without this exchange program, I am not sure if I would have met such a diverse group of people. We partied the night away with food and drinks, board games, and, of course, terrible karaoke.
The rest of the week saw my friends from Georgia finally moving into Louisiana. It was nice to regroup and catch up with them. Of course, they put me to work moving the occasional couple boxes or so with my car. None the less, I am ecstatic to be here and can't wait to see what other surprises might be in store.
Sunday, August 25, 2019
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Day 3: Making Landfall
After months of waiting and no short amount of paperwork, I have finally arrived at the University of Louisiana (and Agriculture - everyone forgets that part). For those of you who don't know me, my name is Thomas Anderson. I am originally from the state of Georgia and study at the University of South Carolina. Now you may be asking yourself, "I thought he just said he arrived at LSU?" You would be right! I decided to participate in a program called National Student Exchange. NSE, for short, is essentially a study abroad program for those who wish to remain within the states. You, like so many others, might ask, "TJ, why did you choose to go to Louisiana when you could have gone to France, Spain, or anywhere really?"
Louisiana (and more specifically New Orleans) has always been a part of the United States that has always fascinated. I grew up with tales of this unique culture surrounding a very diverse people. I wanted to become more immersed in a culture that I did not know about. Plus, it didn't hurt that I already had a few friends here to get me settled. Regardless, I had no idea of what I should expect.
It would be hard to begin this story without admitting to the hardships that predated it. The process of applying for NSE and choosing a school to exchange to involved a lot (and I mean A LOT) of paperwork. Furthermore, I had a trouble communicating with the coordinator from LSU, which had me a little worried. After all was said and done, I ended up not getting my first picks for classes or housing. Now, I understand if it sounds like this story can't have a happy ending. However, closer to move-in day, all the pieces seemed to finally fall in place.
I finally met my roommates in person and it is an interesting bunch. I have a roommate from Texas, Puerto Rico, and France. Especially with my international roommates, it has definitely been eye opening to hear about how different America is from their respective countries. Did you know that the minimum wage is Puerto Rico is significantly lower than the U.S.? That is why so many choose to leave the country and come to the United States. Interesting facts aside, I was fortunate enough to be invited to lunch by my French roommate with the other international exchange students. At that lunch, I met people from Ecuador, Spain, Sweden, Britain, and Germany. It was truly a blessing to be able to hear their stories and how they lived back in their home countries.
Even though I chose to stay in America, it seems as though the world has come to me. It goes to show how often the phrase, "it's a small world after all," is often proven true. You never know what you might find around the corner. As for me, I can't wait to see what this semester has in store.
Louisiana (and more specifically New Orleans) has always been a part of the United States that has always fascinated. I grew up with tales of this unique culture surrounding a very diverse people. I wanted to become more immersed in a culture that I did not know about. Plus, it didn't hurt that I already had a few friends here to get me settled. Regardless, I had no idea of what I should expect.
It would be hard to begin this story without admitting to the hardships that predated it. The process of applying for NSE and choosing a school to exchange to involved a lot (and I mean A LOT) of paperwork. Furthermore, I had a trouble communicating with the coordinator from LSU, which had me a little worried. After all was said and done, I ended up not getting my first picks for classes or housing. Now, I understand if it sounds like this story can't have a happy ending. However, closer to move-in day, all the pieces seemed to finally fall in place.
I finally met my roommates in person and it is an interesting bunch. I have a roommate from Texas, Puerto Rico, and France. Especially with my international roommates, it has definitely been eye opening to hear about how different America is from their respective countries. Did you know that the minimum wage is Puerto Rico is significantly lower than the U.S.? That is why so many choose to leave the country and come to the United States. Interesting facts aside, I was fortunate enough to be invited to lunch by my French roommate with the other international exchange students. At that lunch, I met people from Ecuador, Spain, Sweden, Britain, and Germany. It was truly a blessing to be able to hear their stories and how they lived back in their home countries.
Even though I chose to stay in America, it seems as though the world has come to me. It goes to show how often the phrase, "it's a small world after all," is often proven true. You never know what you might find around the corner. As for me, I can't wait to see what this semester has in store.
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