By Qazi Tushar

The first thing you notice as you walk out of the Kennedy International Airport, is
the cool winter air that welcomes you. Any time else then mid-July, Queens is
sure to be much cooler than Dhaka. You will get to see a massive US flag slowly
moving in a grand gesture of red, white and blue. I sometimes feel, even the flag
knows, how important this country is to us students, from across the world we
float in for better education, better career, better pay and in most times, a fresh
new shot at life. For those brief moments, you may feel “you are unstoppable
today”. Listen to Sia, believe in her, at the end, you are what you think you are.

United States is a curious case of ups and downs, it builds you and most often it
breaks you at first. Its like a sea which has the enormity to take you at will in any
direction even if you have your sails set affirm. Most students who settle in the
west coast or the east coast of this great land have their own stories, their own
interpretation of how they coped and how they went on to reach the stars.

Today I leave you all hoping to write your own version of the Uncle Sam story with
four, fantastic advices, that may just help you be the coolest new fish in that sea.

Advice No. 1: Get yourself a debit card within the first week of your stay. Once
your classes start for the intake, other international students will worship you for
a chance to use it and buy the moodle like university portal licenses required for
the semester. On the other side, it also does help to get those amazon purchases
done in a jiffy too.

Advice No. 2: Get yourself a second-hand car as soon as you can. Trust me, it will
cost you less than 3000 dollars most times; this eases your life as buses are very

much routine but the weather ain’t so. You don’t want to freeze during the long
winters waiting for 15 mins to catch the next in line. Your peers will treat you
better and you won’t miss the invitations of those long summer break trips,
popular kids only. This is how you network, this is how you create memories for
yourself.

Advice No. 3: Try to be a leader in your class. If you are an introvert by nature, try
to fake it till you make it. There is no time for the world to find out what you are
good at, show them and you will be accepted well. Your diversity is already a plus
point, everyone wants to make friends from different races just to feel special and
important themselves, in the US, this is more true than anywhere else. So, make
friends, speak out, be the one who takes up action and a real fun to be with.

Advice No. 4: Regardless, whether you are planning to do your Bachelors or
Masters in the States, knowing your professors and establishing a solid rapport
will take you a long way and give you those lucky breaks.
Usually, professors are much more friendly and welcoming in the US than in our
own country. The reason might be because our culture allow teachers to be more
of a master than a collaborator, more rigid respect than friendly outcomes. Use
this well. Try to help professors with their projects and be sure when you
graduate, they will introduce you with opportunities that will give you your first
break. The rest is up to you.
Being an alumnus of an US state university, I went through most of it, with an
openness in mind to be inspired, surprised or downright abjugated from any of
my previous beliefs, it worked out fine for me and I’m sure it will be amazing for
you too, just sometimes I feel, If I knew some of these hacks myself before, it
would have been just fantastic!. Get what I mean?