Ioana's Story

" The thought of studying abroad was new to me. At first, it sounded unreal, something I wouldn't have followed through, requiring me to leave everything dear to me and that I was accustomed to behind: my family, friends, and places I loved to hang out at. It was a scary thought. Yet the idea of starting something new, different, something I believed in and that would enable me to create my future, was telling me to go and at least try. So I went, full of excitement. I remember riding my first airplane, experiencing my first turbulences, meeting new people that would eventually become my friends, hating the food yet loving cookies. Everything was new, some of which I loved, some of which I didn't. The one thing I knew though is that I had one purpose: create my future. It did not take me long to realize what a difference there was between what I imagined and what reality really was. It was only after all the blink and amazement that my future really started to take shape. Cultural exposure, people and of course school were to become my life for the next five years.

Understanding the new culture was the first thing I bumped into. Everything was new: ideas, ways of living, words, food, dancing and the everyday life. Everything I saw, everything I heard, or everything I did was so different from one place to the next. I understood certain things, didn't get others. I tried to fit in somewhere in between but many times failed to do so. I guess that's what people call culture shock. I felt like I was changing into something I'm not, that all my values brought from home were meaningless. Sometimes I tried to impose them to others to keep them alive. With time, I realized that nobody and nothing can take away my values, or my culture. They will always remain alive in me; I just had to adjust a little.

People, relationships and friends were my hardest challenge. I am a very friendly person, so I considered everybody my friend: that in itself was a hard lesson. Now I know that we have many acquaintances and few real friends. I've learned not to invite myself to people's homes, I realized that people don't really care how you are doing when they ask you that, and I learned the difference between loving someone and being in love. I took many things people said or did personal as I just didn't understand them. But among all this confusion, I have found some good friends. Friends that helped me, understood me, encouraged me and believed in me. They were few, but so valuable. School was the only thing I understood, though sometimes it had a language of its own! It was hard in the beginning.

I wasn't used to having an opinion, or to speak out. I didn't know what slang was, or what having a really heavy accent meant. Many times I wanted to give up and just go home. Home looked so welcoming, but then, all this time would have been a loss. So I kept pushing myself, picking myself up step by step, reminding myself why I came here for (getting an education). After five years of ups and downs, culture shock, adjustments, lessons to learn, laughter and tears, I've graduated with honors. I just got my first job, and now waiting for my first pay check. I won't lie; it is a lot of hard work, and most of it done independently.So learn to compromise, dream big and believe that there is nothing you can't do. If today has no hope, tomorrow does. If you don't succeed the first time, don't feel like a failure. The truth is that you are never a failure until you give up. If I did it anyone can, and I can only thank God for it all. "