Culture shock at Utah State

Fernando Ventura went to bed and started to cry.

It was his first day in the United States, and the full weight of the past few days had finally hit home.

Ventura, a sophomore in civil engineering, grew up in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic and one day saw a flier on the wall in his high school advertising USU. Ventura was one of the 44 students accepted for a spot at USU out of 118 applicants across the Dominican Republic.

“When I was still in the Dominican Republic I was thinking lots of things – how’s the food, how are the people, how’s the nightlife… The night before I left I was afraid. I was leaving my mother, my father, my twin sister and going to the U.S.,” he said

Ventura’s first stop in the United States was New Jersey, which, to him, “was another world,” he said.

“In the Dominican Republic I knew English. But when I got to the states I didn’t understand anything,” he said.

This was to prove one of the most difficult challenges for Ventura, as he found he had to struggle to understand Americans, and often had to just say what he thought was correct and hope others could understand him.

“When we got to Salt Lake we were very happy,” he said. But when the group of Dominican students arrived in Logan and settled into their dorm rooms, Ventura said he unpacked, went to bed and broke down.

“When I got to the room I realized I was alone and would spend a year away from my family,” he said.

Ventura’s experience is not unlike that of many international students at USU, though no two students experience exactly the same thing. Fawn Groves, assistant director of the Office of International Students and Scholars, said each student’s experience is going to vary based on the background he or she brings to USU.

“I can’t say there is necessarily a typical experience,” she said. “Students are as diverse as the countries they come from.”

Syed Sayem, a junior in computer science from Bangladesh, said he had little trouble adjusting.

“When I came to Logan I didn’t see much difference,” he said. “I’m from a conservative city, and you’re a conservative city.”

Rajitha Dhanasekaran, a PhD student in computer science from Cheninai, India, said she doesn’t feel her adjustment to life in the states was too difficult either.

“Basically I didn’t have a culture shock,” she said. “I think Utah is more conservative than India.”

That’s not to say she had no trouble at all. When Dhanasekaran first arrived in December of 2003, it was in the middle of a snow storm. It was Christmas break, so no offices were open and hardly any students were around.

Dhanasekaran checked into the University Inn and tried to get her bearings. She spoke to the clerk at the front desk for directions to the OISS, but she was told everything was closed.

“I didn’t know where to go for food,” she said. “I thought maybe I shouldn’t have come alone. I was about to burst into tears.”

Thankfully for Dhanasekaran, just then an Indian employee of the Inn walked by as she was talking to the clerk, and he helped her find out what to do.

“So many miracles happened throughout the day. It was like stepping into another land – like Alice in Wonderland,” she said.

USU’s international students are not alone when they first arrive, though it may feel that way. Adjusting to life here is made easier by the OISS. Groves said the people at the office try to help students meet others from their country and get them in touch with the student organizations available for international students. Student groups exist for Latino, African, Korean, Indian, Malaysian, Chinese, Arab, Eastern European, Taiwanese and Thai students. The International Student Council is for all international students.

Groves said these groups put on lots of events throughout the year that showcase international students’ cultures and help them feel at home. Some of the biggest of these events are the Diwali festival and the International Banquet, for which students cook dishes from home and provide the entertainment.

Sayem said American students have shown they are open to others’ cultures by attending these events.

“After coming here we still keep our culture,” he said. “The Americans are very good about cultural exchange and coming to our events.”

Despite support from other students, many international students still have a lot to deal with. Groves said though some come to the states fluent in English, it is a very new language to others. Many have a hard time finding food they are familiar with and often can’t go home more than once a year. Ventura only gets to go back to the Dominican Republic during the summer, and Dhanasekaran has only been back to India once since her arrival almost three and a half years ago.

Though Ventura, Sayem and Dhanasekaran said a lot of food items they can get in their native countries can be found in Logan, not everything is available. Ventura said after three weeks of hamburgers, pizza and Coke, most of the Dominicans in his group were ready to go home. He said they were used to a diet that consisted largely of plain, healthy dishes like red beans and rice.

Other things students have to adjust to include the climate (Ventura arrived with only a light coat), the religion (in Bangladesh most people are Muslim, Sayem said), driving on the right side of the road, and even the way people interact with each other.

“If you’re walking on the street (in Logan) everyone smiles,” Ventura said. “In the Dominican Republic you don’t. Unless I know you I don’t care what you’re doing.”

Besides the adjustment to the culture, students from other countries have to become familiar with campus and Logan, just like other students. Sayem said his first day he was trying to find the Taggart Student Center, got bad directions and ended up in the Logan City Cemetery.

Though students come from all over the globe to attend USU, most would say they would go back home in a second. For Dhanasekaran, who is from a big city, even the quietness makes her miss home. Overall, though, many say Study Abroad is a good experience.

“You will become very independent,” Sayem said. “I’m becoming a leader, and that’s good.”

-ella@cc.usu.edu