Coming to Live in a Foreign Country - Essay Example

?Your Full Your 28 February Coming to Live in a Foreign Country There are momentous moments in one’s life when one feels deeply that this event could be the turning point in his or her life. The significance of such moments is usually so profoundly felt that one feels as if s/he is actually changing course of one’s ship of life. One such occasion is starting out on the path to your education, especially college education. However, for me this occasion was overshadowed by the fact that I was not going to attend college in my native Nigeria, but was moving to the United States for college enrolment. The fact is that momentous as starting one’s college is, coming to live in a foreign country is all the more exciting, not to mention intimidating, and is a turning point in one’s life. I was very excited when I got admission in a United States College. Though I had hoped for it, however, for it to come true so easily was very exhilarating. I was glad that I had been granted this opportunity, both by the college’s board of admissions and by my family who supported my decision to go abroad for higher studies. The delight at felt at being able to be on my own, and that too in foreign land was indescribable. I constantly made plans regarding how I would go about settling in once I reached the United States. I was essentially entering a new phase in my life and was very keen and enthusiastic about starting this chapter of my life. However, once I reached the United States, in fact as soon as I landed at the airport, I felt a strange sense of trepidation. Everything I saw and heard was new to me. All of a sudden I was surrounded by sights and sounds that were very unfamiliar. There were lots of people at the airport, in fact it would be right to say that there was a throng of people at the airport, yet I felt completely and utterly alone. Out of all of these people around me, I knew nobody. What is more, nobody knew me. I felt like an outsider, as if I somehow did not belong in this multitude of people. I was scared that this feeling of loneliness might get too much for me to bear, causing me to be unable to enjoy anything, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that that was not the case. All of a sudden, the feeling of anxiety was replaced by a sense of excitement. If I were essentially an outsider, then everything I was seeing was a new sight for me. I looked at everything I passed by closely. From the airport till I reached the college campus, I tried to absorb as much as I could. Everything seemed novel to me, even the simple and mundane things like air vents in buildings and how people had a different voice cadence in the United States than in Nigeria seemed to excite me. There was a sense of newness to everything. I noticed even dull and routine details around me and became excited over them. Though at first I only noticed the newness with an excited mindset, yet soon enough that excitement changed to trepidation. I simply had not taken to account the fact that there will be quite a lot of cultural gaps and cultural differences that I will have to cross. It is a given that all countries have their own set of norms and the adage of “when in Rome, do as the Romans do” entails that one follows local customs. I did not want to offend anyone for my lack of knowledge regarding local customs. Soon enough, though, I discovered that there were quite a bit of similarities between the two cultures of Nigeria and United States. I was still, however, afraid of offending others for my lack of understanding or knowledge regarding local culture. It was soon clear to me, though, that United States has a more relaxed approach towards following cultural norms and one can fit in without having to change or adapt much. Although that is true, nonetheless, I still looked forward to learning new things about the culture of the foreign land I found myself in. Perhaps it seems like my feelings were that of a child who is brought to a toy shop and told to go on an exploration, without any hindrance or any scolding from his parents or the shopkeeper. It seemed to me as if I was living through everything for the first time. A sense of novelty never seemed to have left me. Upon reflection, it seems, this trip was my coming to age in essence. I had matured and my family had sent me to be on my own and discover life on my own. I had a sense of independence that I had never felt before. A feeling that now I was the master, so to speak, of my own destiny. It was the first time I had been completely on my own, and maybe that is why I felt such an exaggerated sense of independence. But the fact remains that for a young boy like me, coming to live in a foreign land, and that too when I was reaching adulthood, is an extremely significant experience. Though it was my personal experience, yet there are moments in everyone’s lives when they feel as if they have grown up or matured and are seeing the world for the first time. The feelings are mutual; there is excitement, caused by one thing or another that causes one to look at everything anew. This is more significant in a coming to age scenario, where one is reaching one’s adulthood. Such feelings and such experiences are more profoundly felt then, and are more commonplace, so to speak (although, they sure do not appear commonplace when one is undergoing the feelings and emotions involved). For me this was triggered by having to come and live in a foreign country, though it does not have to be the same for others. Conversely, even if one considers only coming to live in a foreign land, without any coming to age scenario, it is a momentous occasion in one’s life. Specific moment in one’s life (Scratch outline) Thesis: Coming to live in a foreign country is both exciting and intimidating 1. My joy at being selected at a foreign college 2. My trepidation at entering the airport in United States 3. The excitement of seeing everything from a foreigner’s perspective 4. The joy of finding similarities and the fear of not knowing the culture 5. Significance of moment (pre-write) Opening paragraph – Coming to live in a foreign country is both exciting and intimidating 1. My joy at being selected at a foreign college a. The excitement at having the opportunity b. Exhilaration of getting to go and live abroad c. Enthusiasm of starting something new 2. Trepidation at entering the airport in United States a. The foreign sights and sounds b. The feeling of being alone c. The feeling of being an outsider 3. The excitement of seeing everything from a foreigner’s perspective a. How things appear novel b. Even simple things seem exciting and new c. A newness to everything 4. The joy of finding similarities and the fear of not knowing the culture a. Being able to connect with the foreign culture b. Being afraid of offending others for lack of knowledge regarding culture c. Excited about learning new cultural mores 5. Significance of moment a. A coming to age of essence b. First time of being on my own c. Independence. 6. It’s relativity with other such incidents in other people’s lives a. Feelings are mutual b. Coming to age is relatively the same c. Doesn’t have to be the same for everyone Read More