Cultural Shock Visiting the USA from India — A Student’s Perspective
If you plan to visit the US and are too curious to know the culture, this may be the perfect spoiler for you !
“Yaaayy, I was going to the US to live my dream” — that was my first reaction when I got a PhD admit from North Carolina State University, which is situated in the small but vibrant city of Raleigh. I had seen the US in movies, in the media and heard about it from numerous people. Clean cities, sophisticated systems, and cool people — I was excited to experience it all. Then the day came when I had to leave India. With a huge rucksack and two overweight check-in bags full of utensils and Indian savory snacks, I was all set to experience my new life. I will confess that I was a bit sad about leaving India and tensed about going to a new country all alone, however, the excitement kept my enthusiasm alive. Sure my parents were sad, and my mom would have definitely cried, but I knew — they were proud of me than ever before.
The first shock for me was when I arrived at the Raleigh airport in the US. Family members would come inside the airport till the baggage belt to receive their loved ones. I was so amazed because back in India, none of the airports allowed visitors to come inside the Airport. Also, it was at first, a bit weird not seeing your countrymen around — no uncles wearing loose shirts, no aunties wearing sarees and no old man being grumpy unnecessarily.
Whenever we leave a country, it’s not just the place we leave behind, but also the people, the feelings and the culture.
After a couple of days in the US, when I was out of the “jet lag disorder”, as I like to call it, I visited my university to get some formalities done and have a look around the campus. And I must say, after every couple of minutes, I would be like
OMG ! OMG ! OMG ! That’s amazing . . .
Here is my experience on things and situations which I found to be radically dissimilar to the environment and culture that exists in India — my home country.
Everything is astonishingly organized
No, it’s not a shopping mall. I too was confused when Google Maps pinned this location as the Student Union of my university, but to my shock, it was true. The campus was so beautiful — every building, every color harmoniously complementing each other. It was unlike any university campus I had seen in India. Moreover, every system was so sophisticated, that it left me amazed. If you are used to standing in long queues, and hopping from counter to counter to open a bank account, you will really miss it here. It took me just 7 minutes to complete my formalities to open a bank account. And that’s true for most of the services that you choose to take advantage of.
Expenses may get you confused
The first thing that probably every international visitor does in the US is converting the dollar prices to their home currency. Yes, I too belong to that group. When I went to the groceries, I converted everything to INR. Basically I started multiplying whatever price I saw by x70, and think — “OMG, that’s so damn costly. I could just get that for 1/10th of the price in India”. Let me tell you my friend, how much ever you might be tempted and enjoy to compare the prices to counterparts in your home country, DON’T DO THAT. Why ? — because you want to get those important nutrients in your body, which are especially important at stressful times like migrating to a different country so that your body can cope with the timezone and environmental changes. If you are curious to know, living in small cities like Raleigh — you can have a very good diet by spending $150-$200 monthly on groceries.
Not only groceries, but most things at first, will seem to be massively expensive. For example, a 30 minutes cab ride in India would cost me about $2, but in US, just a 10 minute ride costs about $7. I rarely used cabs at first, but when I got the sense of expenses here — it made it much more comforting mentally.
Grab ‘n’ Go
A very popular culture, when it comes to meals, especially lunch during office hours, is the “Grab n Go” concept. Unlike in India, where working professionals and college going students bring lunch boxes from home, in US, mostly people buy packed food from their favorite Food Truck or Fast Food outlet. They eat it either in their offices, between classes, or while relaxing on the soft green grass while enjoying the warm sunlight. Even the concept of Food Trucks was very new, yet amazing for me. When I first saw, I thought to myself — “they look beautiful”. And honestly, they do — I think that is one of the major selling points of these trucks to earn amazingly in the nomadic way that they operate.
The homework culture (and strict anti-plagiarism)
This was, according to me, one of the most stark differences between colleges in India and the US. For literally every single course I enrolled for, there were regular homework (weekly or biweekly). This was very different from my experience while I was doing my bachelors in India, where we were hardly given any homework. At first, it was a bit troublesome to keep track of the homework deadlines and do them regularly for all the courses I was enrolled for. But eventually, I realized, that they really helped me stay up to date with the classes, and keep me “mostly” prepared for the exams. I am not sure whether I wish I had it in my bachelors (trying to be diplomatic, LOL !), but this is one of those things which really helped me stay prepared with my courses all the time.
Another rule, which is kind of engraved in our brains in the orientation is “anti-plagiarism”. Yes, these guys take it seriously ! Every orientation I went to, every class I took and every professor I met — no one, literally no one I found who didn’t mention this policy. I heard of many cases where students were charged for plagiarism in homework and assignments, so take my work for it — Americans take it damn seriously. You will be shocked to know that first time in my life, I also had to do a short online course regarding plagiarism in research, before I could start with my PhD work.
Tip : You have spent lots of efforts, money and time getting your admission in a great university to get amazing education. So why plagiarize ? Be real and learn more !
I don’t have money to buy a car
Having spent most of my life in metropolitan cities in India, I was always used to public transport which was both cheap and abundant. Even in small cities in India which have big colleges, there is generally a strong public transport which becomes a source of living for the community around. However, that is not true for small cities in the US. Unlike New York City or Washington, most small cities in the US merely have a bus transport system. In cities which have it, though the buses are amazing and comfortable, they are very spotty, which means that you got to time yourself very well if you want to use it. Cabs are costly, and unlike India, there is no concept of “rickshaws” here.
What I felt after staying here for nearly 2 years now is that, mostly everyone has a car. Be it an undergraduate student or an office going individual, everyone owns a private car to get around the city. But as an international student, just entering the US, it is very difficult to get a car.
Everyone greets you
Probably it was my third day in the US, and I was just walking around the campus, when a man passing by asked me — “Hey, how are you doing?”. It was awkward, I didn’t know what to reply. Does he know me ? Have I met him somewhere ? Why is he asking me this ? — all these questions left me both horrified and confused. I thought it was safe not to answer, only to realize later that inadvertently, I might have seemed so rude to the man. In the next couple of days, I saw this happen to me numerous times, when I realized it is American culture to greet and ask about your day — what they call “small talk”. Be it a grocery store, a restaurant or a 15 second elevator ride, people love to greet you with a smile — so don’t be afraid, smile back and give a short but sweet reply. This is very rare in India, where you will seldom find a random person ask about your day or say a “thank you” to the bus driver while getting off !
Working part-time
Almost every student I met here did some kind of job (on or off campus) to put themselves through daily expenses like groceries and house rents. I was left in awe when I saw students working part-time at coffee shops, event organizers and at helpdesks simply to be independent and earn enough to satisfy their daily needs. In India, we are much more dependent on our parents to send us money for our expenses in college. A person seen working such odd jobs in India is thought to be having financial problems in their family, and so, this amazing culture is almost completely absent in India.
Cheese burger
When I first bought a cheese burger, it went straight to a homeless man. No, it’s not what you think ! Cheese burger in the US means a “beef burger” with cheese. So if you go to Burger King and want to order the cheapest vegetarian burger, DO NOT BE MISTAKEN.
Not only that, if you ever ask for a biscuit, no you won’t get biscuits which you eat while sipping your tea. Here biscuit, means a soft crusty baked bread with a crumbly interior. While the biscuit which you might be thinking of, is called “cookies” in the US. So remember this when you visit a coffee shop in the US and ask for a “cookie” with your hot coffee.
See you for dinner at 5pm!
The first time I was invited for a dinner at 5pm in the US, I went a bit late assuming that probably we would have a chat first and eat dinner later in the evening — and I was never more embarrassed to make a whole hungry family wait for their stunningly delicious meal. Don’t get shocked if you get invited for dinner by your American friend or colleague at 5pm in the evening. Unlike India, where we have our tea and snacks at around that time, people in the US love to eat their dinner early, with majority of them finishing their dinner by 6.30pm. No, they do not retire to bed that early, but spend time with their family and go to the gym post dinner.
Cars don’t mess with pedestrians here
Most of us in India at some point have experienced a near accident situation where a car or a bike might have almost struck us. In the US though, pedestrian safety is of prime importance. If you are crossing the road, cars will stop and wait until you are completely off the road, instead of honking at you. That does not mean that you should not be careful while crossing the road — accidents take seconds to happen.
To conclude . . .
The transition to the US culture is not that easy, but that’s what makes it fun and adventurous. Everyday, you get something new to see about this culture and think to yourself “How would this have been if it was India ?” and giggle, while nobody looks at you. I hope this article helped you get a hang of what you might expect to see if you ever come to the US as a student and even vacationer. For those already here, I am sure, you can relate your experiences with mine. If you would like to share any other incident you experienced, feel free to use the comments section.
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