Coming from India to the United States as a Grad Student, Not Always Glorious
Reporter Kingkini Sengupta looks into her decision to come to Reno, Nevada for a Master’s degree in Journalism, and how life in the West is perceived versus how she experienced it.
To an average individual from outside this country, the idea of studying or working in the United States of America is a dream. A similar dream took away the life of a family of four on January 19th. This Indian family was walking towards the U.S border in extreme cold temperatures in southern Manitoba in Canada and were found dead in an empty field just yards away from the border line.
No one prepares us to face the harsh realities of studying or working in a foreign land. But sometimes those tough decisions need to be made in the pursuit of a better life and work opportunities. It was one thing to be told that my distant cousin in the U.S. is getting a higher degree and earning six figures. It was yet another when I had to pick up my bags and land in the U.S to fight my battles alone.
I had some external pressures which I prefer not to disclose. But I came here to understand the global media situation and how it affects the world. My parents who are both bachelor’s degree holders from colleges in India had decided never to move from their native land — but I did to pursue a second master’s degree.
If you look up Reno, Nevada as a city on Wikipedia, you will get to see the neon lights on the streets, the casinos, the Reno Arch, the gloriously flowing Truckee River, and the Sierra Nevada mountains. All that glitters…
Wikipedia showed me the casinos in Downtown, but it did not reflect the houseless situation on the same street most of those casinos are located. It showed me the snow-capped mountains, but it did not tell me that my arriving flight from India could get delayed for hours due to the wildfires happening on these mountains. I was shown the flowing waters of the river but not the sweeps of people living in tents around it. Google searches show off the Tesla showrooms in Reno but do not talk of the multiple jobs many people work at to run their household here. Google points the way to various local celebrations but does not give any immediate insight into the treatment of a Black or a brown person here.
Life is caught in an endless loop between rising costs of living and credit scores. I have seen my friends dread the dropping of their credit scores after a car accident more than their own scars from the same. My own credit score that popped up on my account two days back gave me more joy than my childhood report card.
Healthcare costs are unimaginable here. For a student who barely makes $1000 and pays close to $700 as rent, falling sick can be quite a nightmare if a bottle of ibuprofen costs $10.
I was a news producer in India but started to re-discover my storytelling skills in Reno. I look for people-oriented stories. With assignments, and a part-time reporting job, I have become a story-hungry monster. I look for stories in almost everything. Most people want to share their stories, they want their voice to be heard but they also change their mind. After all, it is not easy to trust an outsider. Therefore, as a reporter all days are not the same for me. Some days are better with extraordinary stories to tell, other days are about earning that trust.
Like it can be said that India is not just about malnutrition, slums or yoga, the U.S. is not only about glitz, glamor, and money. Having been in the U.S over 150 days now has taught me many things, some of the most important ones being patience in the wake of all situations, kindness even in crisis, the art of giving even when I have very little to spare. It has taught me to endure, to take inspiration from what others are doing- be it four jobs, multi-tasking, or just volunteering for an organization. It has taught me to be grateful for whatever I have.
Friendships and community participation are the two main reasons why my time in Reno has been smooth sailing even though I came here during the peak Covid surge.
People in Reno often go out of the way to help each other. They are always giving and ever caring. My friends have made sure that I am never left alone at a time of sickness. People in the community have made sure that I never sleep hungry, oftentimes the houseless people I have interviewed have offered to share their food with me.
