It is Wednesday's evening, and all new international students around 200 are invited to join a portluck party. We were given a number, and I was told it was the lucky draw. I saw number 3 or 4 of number 13 so I picked that number since I thought it was something to do in group work. I did see some number that existed only 1 so I didn't pick. People were asking where I were from, and I told them Cambodia. They were so surprised because it is the first time for most of them to see a Cambodian. I am that happy about being unique and the only one here. OK now it came the eating time and I swear it was my best food since I come to ISU. I didn't have time to take a picture since people were in queue. I could eat a lot of Asian food, especially my favorite Chinese food with rice. My goodness I was so grateful for the evening. The second section of the program is the lucky draw, and guess what. The number with the least holder won the first prize. My friend from Malaysia got around 30 people who share the same number to her. Poor her she got a sticker and a pencil. I got a Tshirt. I should have picked the number that had only one. There were around ten people who won the big prize which are bicycle, tv, refrigerator, and money. My gosh... I am so jealous. I am going to have a picnic on Saturday, so I hope it going to be fun
My roommate has not arrived yet so his bed is occupied
My bed (1/3 of the size of my bed in Cambodia)
Me and my Indian friends
Manchester Hall (the taller building) is my dorm
Me and Roger with the Cambodian shirt
August 16th, and now I am moving to ISU for the very first time. I have met many nice people and some not-so-nice people. The day is exclusively for international students coming to check in. I was like wishing there was another Cambodian student in and I will be thankful to god. Hell no! No single Cambodian in ISU. I think most international students are from China, India and Korea. Chinese people.... OMG... There are just SO many of them. They were like speaking Chinese every single minutes. I wonder if they want to speak Chinese why not just study in China. It is America, and people come here to improve English. Whatever, I think I might speak Khmer too if there were Cambodian people here. On the very first day I have met so many nice people. Firstly, I met Shi Ee, a Global Ugrader from Malaysia, and I think we are pretty close just on the first day. I met Sheena, Sarita and Washes from India. They were very friendly. Sarita assisted me in opening a bank account. Well.... at least she got 10$ if she brings a customer to the bank though. I made friends with many other freindly people too. After that we went to Walmart to purchase things for our room. Thank god! I brought almost everything from Cambodia so that I don't have to waste my money buying those things again.
The thing I hate the most on my first day is unpacking my luggages. There are so many stuff to be organized. My room was SO mess up. Alright at least I am done by 1 pm. My roommate hasn't moved in yet, so I have no idea how he looks like. I do hate the bed. Its size is like 1/3 of my bed size in Cambodia. It suxs .... Tomorrow is my orientation day and I will take photos with all my friends. (I forgot to bring camera when we hanged out)
Finally, I arrived the small town of Normal, Illinois. I was warmly welcomed by Roger and Leah, my host family. My room was pretty sweet. We talked, and they asked me a lot about Cambodia. I was able to answer all the questions except for geography thing. After lunch, Roger and Leah took me out to do some shopping. We went to Bestbuy, Walmart and Meijer. After that, we took a tour drive around Illinois State University campus to familiarize me of the location. We went to eat out at a Chinese Restaurant, and amazingly I was the only one who can use chopsticks. I have never known that it is such a hard task for western people to use chopsticks. Now we got home, and I came out to walk with Roger around the town. It is so green everywhere, and we walked like 1 Km before coming back. Pretty exhausted but fun. Ok that's it! I am moving to school in next 4 hours so I'm sure many things to do.
Atlanta in Georgia, got stuck for another 9 hours sleepingover
Sovannaphumi Airport
My first flight to America was one of the most disastrous moments I have ever had in my life.
It was 6 pm August 13th, 2010, and I was at home preparing to leave for the airport. Many of my friends were coming wanting to see me off at the airport. The damn pouring rain stopped their will and kindness. It was bloody flooding everywhere in the city. It was like we were living in the floating village. After that, I decided to come with my family leaving them at my home due to difficulty in transportation. It was sad, wasn’t it? At the airport, departure time was close, and therefore I needed to leave without a proper goodbye to my family. Well, at least they didn’t have time to be sad as I did on the way.
My first flight was from Phnom Penh International Airport to BKK (20:25 to 21:30). Over there, I walked, ate, and did some mighty sleep (afraid I might wake up late because I have no alarm clock with me). It was extremely boring transiting for like 8 hours. I was also nervous about my next flight since it is my first time flying alone. As a result, I swallowed my pride and began talking to an American man. He was very kind and helpful. I spent another 6h35min for my flight from BKK to TOKYO (5:40 to 14:15) [Tokyo is 2 hours later than BKK]. My next flight was in 50 mins. That man assisted me till I boarded. He taught me a lesson. “Don’t be afraid to ask for help. People will help you if they can,” he said. Well, I guess it doesn’t always true because I also meet some mean people here, especially black people. I am not racist or whatever, but this is what I have met.
Then it came my flight to America. It took 12h 54min to fly from Tokyo to New York (15:10 to 15:04). I was quite nervous since I have another flight in 1h20min. I heard that the custom check was very time consuming and hence I may miss my flight. The plane landed in New York 15min earlier, and I was very thankful. Nevertheless, I didn’t know what the hell they were doing. They didn’t let us leave the plane for like 1 hour, so I was pretty sure that I am going to miss my next flight. Meanwhile, my nose started bleeding. That’s crazy. After leaving the plane I went to take my luggage. I wondered where the custom check was.I thought I hadn’t been to custom check yet, but in fact I did and it was pretty easy. My next flight from New York to Atlanta was delayed due to weather. I was supposed to leave at 16:35 but it was changed to 19 or 20 something minutes. I was a bit dizzy because of jet lag I presume. People there were saying like “FUCK, SHIT, DAMN, ASSHOLE” to the flight attendance when they apology for the delay. This is the first thing I have ever seen. Cursing the attendant is weird and is also an experience I never ever see. I guess this is the most enjoyable flight I have. You know why? I was sitting next to a guy named Mark. He was born in America and originated from the Philippine. He was very kind and hot of course. He gave me the contact and told me I should call him out when I visit New York. That was wicked.
Here it comes another crazy part. My flight to Bloomington was gone, and so I have to catch another flight on August 15th, 2010 at 8:24 am. Damn! I have to wait another 8 hours in the airport. It was scary. Seeing those black people I dare not to talk to them. They are just too mean.And to kill my time, I am writing this hoping you guys enjoy it.
Sorry I don’t have any good or exciting photos to share because I was so dizzy.
