Over some of my last few columns, I have talked about various experiences an international student from a third world country might have on arriving in the US: the differences in culture, the comparisons and contrasts within the societies and various other experiences from the perspective of someone who arrives to a Western environment for the first time.

America is easily seen as the epitome of Western society. In many tangible ways, it has the best, or at least almost the best of everything. From technology to military-might to the high social indices.

And yet, I had always been curious about what someone could be afraid of about the U.S. upon arriving here. What could be the most intimidating thing about America to a newcomer?

Of course, what makes someone afraid of anything depends on the person’s personal background and experiences, and what genuinely intimidates one person could be very silly to think of for others.

I had the opportunity to discuss this topic with a mix of international students at The Friendship House just across campus, where the vivacious Mandy Pathak organizes wonderful dinners and discussions every Monday specifically as a welcome for international students.

And from a mixture of Arabic, Indian, Chinese, European and African students, what seemed to have intimidated them about America when they arrived here were varied indeed.

For most Europeans, as can be imagined, America was at best just a change in language and spatial distances. But definitely not so for many Asian and Arabic students. For them, the language, culture and so many factors changed. So it wasn’t surprising when some of the friends from these parts of the world told me that the language itself and their endeavor to learn it within a short span of time so as to be eligible to finish their degree plans were something that kept their heart rates high for extended periods. But really, apart from language barriers and a sudden culture shock, they too were pretty much okay.

So were students from Anglophone countries like India or other commonwealth countries like South Africa. Being part of an imperialistic empire for centuries may also have its advantages, and one of them is an international outlook of the world.
Many Indians would tell me that they have had nothing to fear about America or American society before they reached here. Albeit with an accent, we are already armed with the language, and America definitely has a place in many Indians’ hearts.

And I believe it is to America’s credit that this is so. Despite being one of the wealthiest nations in the world and the greatest superpower, any tenderfoot who might come here even from a drastically disjointed setting does seem to easily adapt into life here.

Many factors would make this so: the open-arms economy where anyone can thrive if they work hard, a secular and accepting society and even an education system that encourages research and facilitates the incubation of some of the best ideas from anywhere in the world.

So when I think about myself, I realize that despite certain anxieties about my accent and my incongruous name format, I really had nothing to fear about my well being, acceptability or adaptability here. And this was despite the fact that before I arrived here, I did not know a single soul. And I have my motherland to thank for that as much as I have to thank America.

Sunil is a graduate student in Lyle School of Engineering.