Experiences Living in the US

Hi friends,

Some people think that it is important to stay in one place during in the rest of our life but some people think different. They assume that it is necessary to travel and see this beautiful world. I agree with the second one that sometime, it is needed to move and stay in a new place, so we can learn its cultures, its tradition and its history. 

In the mid of 2015, I got an opportunity to stay in the US for one academic year. I was lucky to feel four different seasons in Boston, Massachusetts. In the first week living in the US, I felt lost. I did not know where to go, where to eat, how to go and what did they say, but overall, it's fun. I spent the first week to go to my office and it was just house - campus - house. The next week, I started to explore nearby places, such as libraries, museums, markets (I love it), book stores, and restaurants. 

To go to those places, I mostly used public transports and those are bus and subway train. I still remembered that I walked through the back street, passing colorful trees, a green football yard and a park where locals usually bring their dogs. Bus and subway train Boston are very convenient and the staffs are very friendly as well. I love it!. 

During that time, I also had opportunity to spend time with local, such as celebrating Saint Patrick days, Thanksgiving, Easter, Christmas, New Year, Black Friday, Indonesian Festival and many more!. Every single event where I participated during that year are really meaningful to me because I can see the world from it. 

One of many things that different from my beloved country is about hospital. If you want to do medical checkup in any US hospitals, you have to find a general practitioner (GP). Before you want to meet with your GP, you have to make an appointment before, maybe one week before or one month before. If you do not make any appointment before and just show up at the hospital, the nurse will bring you to ER and it is really expensive. When you need to see a specialist, you have to meet your GP first and then your GP will give you referral letter to a specialist. It is not complicated as long as you know the procedure, everything is ok. Then, the doctor will give you a prescription and you can take your medicine in drug store or store, like CVS and Walgreen. Remember, always bring your insurance card wherever you go.

The other different things is about driving line. In the US, people will drive on the right side while in Indonesia in one the left side. It is totally different and you have to be careful when you want to cross the street. As addition, parking in the US is extremely expensive in my opinion and that is why people prefer to use public transports or walk.

Many experiences that I face during my stay in the US, including US$1 will give you at least 5 plantain banana or one box of strawberry or one box of black berry. I also used to start my day with a cup of hot coffee and a fruit or a breat. That was the easiest simplest one because I had to leave early to avoid traffic. By living in the US and experiencing many new things, now I can say that US is safe for everybody, including for a moslem. US offers multiculturism because many international come to US for studying, researching, building network, doing business, having holiday and many more.

I am so thankful that FULBRIGHT helps me to make one of my dreams come true. Thank you FULBRIGHT!.