Traveling for Education

Traveling is something everyone does at some point or another. Some travel for pleasure, some for business, and some for education. Now, imagine, if you will, traveling over 8,000 miles to a foreign land without knowing a single soul, all for the betterment of your education. No family is waiting for you on the other side of this nineteen plus hour flight. This is your first time traveling to this foreign land, first time traveling overseas, all because of the promise of a trusted friend. This was the exact scenario for one of the two international graduate assistants interviewed by The Bottom Line [TBL]. 

Sree hails from southern Indian, more specifically, Hyderabad, the capital of the Indian state of Telangana. Sree applied to multiple schools in states from Texas to Maryland but only began to hear about Frostburg State from a friend whom she has the utmost trust in, a graduate from Frostburg who currently resides in DC. Sree decided to attend Frostburg State before even seeing the campus in person.

“The research took a lot of time,” Sree stated, “but the application process to the University was very straightforward and easy. I didn’t even have any friends who applied to this university.”

Coming to Western Maryland around the third week of January in 2018, Sree was shocked by the cold. She was warned of how bitter the winters are in this part of the country. Sree stated that “I was not prepared as I should be.” Taking into consideration that the average temperature annually for Hyderabad is 80 degrees, Western Maryland winters did not agree with Sree too well.

Coming from India, Sree had trouble with the difference of accents noting, “People talk a lot faster here. But most understood that I’m an international student and try to talk slowly to me in the beginning. So, that really helped me.” The English language itself was never a problem for Sree. It was her third language, the other languages being: Telugu, Hindi, and English.

Out of all the cultural differences here, Sree was pleased to see how free we are here to express ourselves on Frostburg State’s campus. “That’s really great because here I can do whatever I want; they can choose their own major, go out, its all their own decisions. Back at home, It’s not quite the same because parents and the community played a major role in any of the major decisions we take. This is great, but also, people here are very active. Not everybody [at home] thinks that way.”

When asked if she could change any experiences she has already gone through she mentioned, “ it would be better if I could connect to students who are already studying at Frostburg before my admission or even arriving here because initially, I found that very hard to find an apartment to share or rent. After I first arrived it took me about a week’s time to find an apartment and get done with that process.” But she does miss the food back home in Hyderabad, because of how bland the food taste here. Western Maryland is not too well known for seasoning food.

Sree wants to thank of the people that gave her assistance. “I met a few people on campus like Vickie Mazer, Professor Hegde, and John Kelly who really helped me out.”  Sree has enjoyed her time here in Frostburg (10 months and counting), but wishes the public transportation system was better as a whole. “I don’t drive. I’ve never driven in my life. So, if there was a better public transportation system from here to Cumberland or DC or any other place that would be better.”

She a mentioned that, “if there was any way the housing situation could be communicated to international students better would be nice.”

Sree also recommends that, “any international students should get in touch with professors before coming here to help with classes and course selection.”

Sree hopes to work here for a number of years to acquire experience after graduation and return back home with her degree in computer science to find a career.