Potlucks!

During my first week when I arrived to America, the international students were invited to an event called a “Potluck” hosted by a local church. Many locals brought different types of food, sweets, and beverages, and we had games that helped international students and locals get to know more about each other. It was a really nice gathering and people were very welcoming and generous, which is often the opposite of what we hear about Americans. I have already been to two potlucks and have another one coming up!

These events are a good chance to meet more people, to try a variety of new foods, and to just enjoy your time.

Noha Andrios is an Iraqi Fulbright student pursuing an M.S. in Training and Human Resource Development at University of Wisconsin-Stout.

My Pre-Academic program Experience at Virginia Tech

It was my first trip to the USA, and travelling from a small island in the Middle East to a huge country like America definitely worried me at first and put me under slight stress before arriving. Fortunately, the Pre-Academic program at Virginia Polytechnic Institute played a major part in helping me get over that fear right from the first day. That is, of course, attributed to the kind and friendly people I met both on and off campus. Everyone seemed to be ready to extend a helping hand to a stranger who came from thousands of miles away. Not only had I managed to interact with people from different parts of the world, but I was lucky to make friends as well. In fact, I believe that those friends added happiness to my six-week stay in Blacksburg, Virginia. In addition, the Pre-Academic program added value in terms of improving my English language skills and knowledge, whereby I managed to complete useful projects and compose research papers both individually and in groups.

Despite the fact that my stay in Blacksburg was a short one, I must admit that I miss a lot of things there including Virginia Tech activities, the class group, and most of all I miss the new friends I met, interacted with and spent happy times with.

Layla AlTurabi is pursuing a Master of Health Administration at University of Scranton.