I never had the chance to talk about my trip to the states to all my friends. Pictures just don’t say everything, because at the moment you take them you try your best to either look beautiful or happy.There are hidden scenes beyond the photos we take.
And thus, I did never talk over what I really took from there.. I merely believe that i brought back eccentric “bohemian Souvenirs” that would remain forever in my mind . And so going there by myself was mingled with mere fun, happiness, achievements, dreams, a bit of homesickness, some of cultural-shock and a lot of patience… (.really a lot). Maybe, it was the perfect receipt for me at that time to become more mature and manage my own problems all alone.
It all started weeks b4 I traveled to the states. My passport was stuck in the US Embassy because of the May events in Beirut..And I was about to give up my dream that I will ever go to the states, especially that the airport was also closed…Then , all of a sudden ( Ofcorse, Lebanese politics, you never know what will happen every now and then), everything was resolved and I got my passport back with the VISA!!!Then my finals began..I had 6 finals in two weeks!! On June 14, I made my marketing exam in the morning, packed in the noon, checked out of the dorms in the afternoon and fare welled my family at night and America here I AM..!!!
I stayed there for 2 months approximately only ..However, every day was a new one, full of adventures and surprises. I made the most of my time there because I never wanted to lose any precious moment. I recalled myself when I was a kid & when we used to go to carnivals , trying all games, never losing any minute , then running away from my parents because I knew that as soon as they see me they would get me back home and all the fun would end
Thus, one of the best part of going to the states was exploring the new places and the beautiful sceneries, especially that Ithaca was surrounded by more 4 falls that end up down in a serene lake” Cayuga”..As well as Cornell University! It was a whole new world!..It’s campus was 5 times maybe the campus of AUB….(ya, ya there were bus shuttles to go around but who wants to go on a bus shuttle and miss all the gorgeous planetariums … and also miss seeing a deer or a rabbit , a squirrel and even a hedge-hog while walking!)...
I lived on campus at Balch Hall.,. Quoting my Brazilian friend Luciana, when we returned back daily from our work in Geneva: “Oh!!! I am back to my Castle “..Well Balch was like a 15th Century French castle!! And Luciana felt she was a princess inside it!!!Who could deny this???
And NY city…though I should write a separate note about it… but one sentence: MY Dream # 10 came true, ( ok I don’t really number my dreams in order but I thought I’d give NYC a number hehe )..I finally visited one of the world largest cities!! And I really heart NY!!! It is fabulous..crowded with high skyscrapers, underground metros, the muddle of people, china town, Brooklyn bridge, Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, the ferries , the museums, times square, Fifth Avenue, Broadway, the small Irish theater that I attended .. The hostel… and oh God, I ll never forget the Deli-Sandwich guy with his fury as if he was about to kill us all with his meat knife and the 60 year old Spanish tourist that started talking to me in Spanish thinking I was Hispanic!! And the list goes on…..NY I ll come and visit you again …inchallah!!!!
Another thing I really felt that ripened inside me was the Academic side ...Not just that working in a Chemo metrics lab, and dealing with sensory evaluation of Astringency then ending up with more than 4 Excel work sheets with a lot of statistics made me scholastically developed, ( side effect : "Arithmophobia" , I started having fear of numbers :P)....
But rather I learned a lot about my major: Food Science….and its importance in this world. Moreover, the food companies that we visited like Hershey, Pepsi, Kraft, Unilever really appreciated FS students, they want them to join their working forces because they know their importance of adding up value to their companies! Unfortunately, in my country, this realization is still not achieved..People here still underestimate this major despite its importance in uprising the Lebanese industry …Nevertheless; I will always be proud of my major and try my best to be experienced and educated to contribute as much as I can to it.
But the most fruitful experience I have ever learned was meeting new people…They might be people who live on the other side of the globe, on the other half of the planet. They might live a different way than us, they might have a different culture and a different way of thinking..But u know What?? This all craps!!! They are not that different from us…. (I wont generalize..they are not that different from “ me”) ..We nearly shared the same : thoughts, Jokes, plans hopes and even fears! Infact, what I have been hearing and reading in the past few years about Globalization, I came to see its tangible effects!! It is a blissful reality! Ok I won’t pull myself down and start talking about its adverse side. Anyways, I am a girl from Lebanon , I wont deny my identity but I felt the similarities more than the differences in terms of persons..not countries. Since on the country level like laws, technology, security, political stability etc, differences truly exist and Lebanon seems to be at the bottom of the gap!
Once one of my American friends told me : “ we, the Americans , don’t have a culture literally!!”Well, I say: “Yes, You do!! You have the most practical cultural of all!! The cosmopolitan..Where anyone from this world can fit , blend in and add his own cultural experience! Why??Because Americans are tolerant, and because they do have Freedom, freedom of act not just thought …Freedom to walk the Talk not just Freedom to talk the talk....
I came back home to Lebanon but I felt homesick to the states!! Indeed, I felt I have left a home there!! & i left brothers and sisters!!! I told them before that I learned from each single one of them something that I would affix to my personality .Indeed, I built memories with them that would be adjoined to my life each time I am going to take a big step , a small one or even just a random haphazard one!
And thus, I did never talk over what I really took from there.. I merely believe that i brought back eccentric “bohemian Souvenirs” that would remain forever in my mind . And so going there by myself was mingled with mere fun, happiness, achievements, dreams, a bit of homesickness, some of cultural-shock and a lot of patience… (.really a lot). Maybe, it was the perfect receipt for me at that time to become more mature and manage my own problems all alone.
It all started weeks b4 I traveled to the states. My passport was stuck in the US Embassy because of the May events in Beirut..And I was about to give up my dream that I will ever go to the states, especially that the airport was also closed…Then , all of a sudden ( Ofcorse, Lebanese politics, you never know what will happen every now and then), everything was resolved and I got my passport back with the VISA!!!Then my finals began..I had 6 finals in two weeks!! On June 14, I made my marketing exam in the morning, packed in the noon, checked out of the dorms in the afternoon and fare welled my family at night and America here I AM..!!!
I stayed there for 2 months approximately only ..However, every day was a new one, full of adventures and surprises. I made the most of my time there because I never wanted to lose any precious moment. I recalled myself when I was a kid & when we used to go to carnivals , trying all games, never losing any minute , then running away from my parents because I knew that as soon as they see me they would get me back home and all the fun would end
Thus, one of the best part of going to the states was exploring the new places and the beautiful sceneries, especially that Ithaca was surrounded by more 4 falls that end up down in a serene lake” Cayuga”..As well as Cornell University! It was a whole new world!..It’s campus was 5 times maybe the campus of AUB….(ya, ya there were bus shuttles to go around but who wants to go on a bus shuttle and miss all the gorgeous planetariums … and also miss seeing a deer or a rabbit , a squirrel and even a hedge-hog while walking!)...
I lived on campus at Balch Hall.,. Quoting my Brazilian friend Luciana, when we returned back daily from our work in Geneva: “Oh!!! I am back to my Castle “..Well Balch was like a 15th Century French castle!! And Luciana felt she was a princess inside it!!!Who could deny this???
And NY city…though I should write a separate note about it… but one sentence: MY Dream # 10 came true, ( ok I don’t really number my dreams in order but I thought I’d give NYC a number hehe )..I finally visited one of the world largest cities!! And I really heart NY!!! It is fabulous..crowded with high skyscrapers, underground metros, the muddle of people, china town, Brooklyn bridge, Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, the ferries , the museums, times square, Fifth Avenue, Broadway, the small Irish theater that I attended .. The hostel… and oh God, I ll never forget the Deli-Sandwich guy with his fury as if he was about to kill us all with his meat knife and the 60 year old Spanish tourist that started talking to me in Spanish thinking I was Hispanic!! And the list goes on…..NY I ll come and visit you again …inchallah!!!!
Another thing I really felt that ripened inside me was the Academic side ...Not just that working in a Chemo metrics lab, and dealing with sensory evaluation of Astringency then ending up with more than 4 Excel work sheets with a lot of statistics made me scholastically developed, ( side effect : "Arithmophobia" , I started having fear of numbers :P)....
But rather I learned a lot about my major: Food Science….and its importance in this world. Moreover, the food companies that we visited like Hershey, Pepsi, Kraft, Unilever really appreciated FS students, they want them to join their working forces because they know their importance of adding up value to their companies! Unfortunately, in my country, this realization is still not achieved..People here still underestimate this major despite its importance in uprising the Lebanese industry …Nevertheless; I will always be proud of my major and try my best to be experienced and educated to contribute as much as I can to it.
But the most fruitful experience I have ever learned was meeting new people…They might be people who live on the other side of the globe, on the other half of the planet. They might live a different way than us, they might have a different culture and a different way of thinking..But u know What?? This all craps!!! They are not that different from us…. (I wont generalize..they are not that different from “ me”) ..We nearly shared the same : thoughts, Jokes, plans hopes and even fears! Infact, what I have been hearing and reading in the past few years about Globalization, I came to see its tangible effects!! It is a blissful reality! Ok I won’t pull myself down and start talking about its adverse side. Anyways, I am a girl from Lebanon , I wont deny my identity but I felt the similarities more than the differences in terms of persons..not countries. Since on the country level like laws, technology, security, political stability etc, differences truly exist and Lebanon seems to be at the bottom of the gap!
Once one of my American friends told me : “ we, the Americans , don’t have a culture literally!!”Well, I say: “Yes, You do!! You have the most practical cultural of all!! The cosmopolitan..Where anyone from this world can fit , blend in and add his own cultural experience! Why??Because Americans are tolerant, and because they do have Freedom, freedom of act not just thought …Freedom to walk the Talk not just Freedom to talk the talk....
I came back home to Lebanon but I felt homesick to the states!! Indeed, I felt I have left a home there!! & i left brothers and sisters!!! I told them before that I learned from each single one of them something that I would affix to my personality .Indeed, I built memories with them that would be adjoined to my life each time I am going to take a big step , a small one or even just a random haphazard one!
Thanks for sharing us informative ideas.
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