Learn the World in America

It has been almost 3 weeks that I am here in Arkansas and I still feel I'm new to this whole thing. In other words everyday I'm still meeting new people and introducing myself.

I noticed that for the past 3 weeks, every single day I told someone my name. Since they would not be able to say it from the first time I would have to repeat it and then tell them that I am from Lebanon and that I am doing Food Science. In some, actually most, cases I had to explain what Food Science is. In few cases, I also had to explain where Lebanon is.

I'm writing and listening to Mashrou3 leila www.myspace.com/mashrou3leila on Myspace. It's not that I am nostalgic or anything but I love their music.

First week in Fayetteville was a good start to get to know some people and the area. I arrived a bit early so there weren't many students. Mainly it was the clean roads, the green everywhere, the rules for driving that everyone respects, the huge Walmarts and the college parties which marked me most.

Second week, orientation started and that's where I met people from the States, Mexico, Austria, Germany, France, Serbia, Colombia, Nigeria, India, Kosovo, Spain, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, China, Korea, Vietnam, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Japan, Ukraine, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Kenya, Brazil, Peru, and I'm sure I forgot some. But yes, in less then one week, I was able to meet people from all these different countries.

One frequent comment I got whenever I met someone was about my hair. Asian girls loved it. Since most of them have straight hair they try to make it permanently curly. Some Lebanese with curly hair do the opposite, they do it permanently straight. That's normal, human kind always wants what she or he do not have.

What I have learned from the Brazilians is that I really look like Brazilian girls. A girl from Macedonia (see here's a nationality I forgot to mention before) thought I was Greek.

A cool fact about Koreans, in Korea when you're born you're already 1 year old!

Graz is the second largest city in Austria (after the capital Vienna) that's where the exchange students are studying.

There are over 100 Saudi students here in Arkansas, though I didn't meet any new Saudi student.

Asians can recognize each others, meaning, a Japenese knows that this one is most probably a Chinese.

In St. Lucia they speak a french dialect that I could not understand, not even one word and they cannot understand easily the usual french.

This is basically what I have learned until now about the world. I'm sure there will be a lot more to come