My time in New Mexico is quickly coming to an end, as I must return back to England for tea, scones and sarcastic comments. As my first column was about things I did not understand, I thought I would end in a cyclical manner, talking about the things I will greatly miss about New Mexico.
College students are notorious for procrastination and laziness. While student’s grades waiver from “oh crap” to “dang, I’m good”, some try to appease family and friends with white lies but mean something completely different.
After high school, students usually feel fully prepared for college life. Countless people talk about the importance of engaging in school activities to make friends, how there might be a change in career paths more than once and how to learn to love and regret the classic “red cup beer pong” parties. College is a chapter in life where students become adults. To an extent, these comments became true. However, there are a few things I wish I had been told when I was a freshman.
Studying abroad is expensive and entails some culture shock. However, making the difficult decision to leave my family and friends for a year to live in New Mexico was the best decision I have ever made. While everyone else is back home in rainy England, I get to wake up to the best sunrises in the world, live an American lifestyle and experience every day the vibrant New Mexico culture. I highly encourage anyone to live abroad at one moment in their life.
Having lived in California for four years, I thought I was prepared for life in New Mexico. I was ready for the huge portions of food and over-friendly staff. However, there are few things about New Mexico I wasn’t prepared for.
’m currently studying as an exchange student from England. This doesn’t mean I eat scones and drink tea with the Queen or I live with the Earl and Countess of Grantham at “Downton Abbey.” It just means I’m an English girl trying to get used to some unexpected language barriers. On a day-to-day basis, I say certain words that cause American students great confusion or embarrassment. To break this, I’ve come up with an U.S. English to U.K. English cheat sheet.
Solutions by The State News
