The Lure of Wander

Going back to the Philippines surely wasn’t as happy as it sounds like, at least when I left Fayetteville after the Spring semester. It just meant that I will be left all the people that made my stay worth the time and effort. It was the first time being away from home for more than four months and it was made very easy by every one I met at University of Arkansas and the community.

During a workshop in Washington, D.C. with the organization that administers my program (Global Undergraduate Exchange Program), all the scholars were thanked for being brave—for taking the challenge and risk to be away from home and learn be inside an American university and learn both inside the classroom and the culture. That time, I also thanked my self for the same reason. If I weren’t brave enough to accept a year of delay in my graduation, I wouldn’t have met the people who have made such a great impact and difference on my life.
On my way, I’m going to bring with me unforgettable memories, millions of stories, countless realizations, and a brand new self.

My adjustment period was never easy. The food and the weather are just two of the things a Filipino can’t easily get used to when in the U.S. But then I had so many people with me who were experiencing the same thing so I ate them all like they were how I like it cooked. The new international students were my first friends. The Cross Cultural Mentors (CCMs) did a really good job in taking care of us, patiently answering our sometimes stupid-sounding questions. From the very the very first day, they never really let us feel homesick, alone, or different. They were as interested in us and our countries as we were to their culture and daily life.