What US taught me

It’s been quite an experience in the US. When I came here, I was fresh out of undergraduate school. Two years back, I vividly remember the confusion in mind. When you get an offer letter for a job for the first time in life, it seems to be the best achievement. Turning that offer down and instead going ahead to study during the looming times of recession was quite a decision to make for the several others freshly graduated just like me. Forums on the internet were full of debates whether to take up education at this point in the US or to have some job in hand and play it safe. Today, I feel happy to have made a decision to come here. And the reason is far from just academic.

Many people have asked me, “Is MS worth all the expense?” I have no good answer for this question. It all depends on what you expect from it. Everyone has different goals and what’s diamond for one might look like a coal to other. For me, it was worth both the time and effort spent in these two years. I learnt about things I had never heard about. And it may be that someone knowledgeable might have known it all before taking up the course. I am not among those people who can claim they learnt very little in MS because quite honestly, I had far limited knowledge of any specific course in my domain. If anything, I feel sorry for those who couldn’t learn much, either because they already knew stuff or because they took too easy classes to boost their grades. In the later case, I believe they shouldn’t complain about not learning much. Having said that, after the horrible nightmarish first semester, I understood not to be overambitious either! I had taken the most difficult courses, which combined with the first ever part time job experience, was near choking, with things like ‘two tough exams on a single day’ or ‘submission of two projects in two days’ quite common. And I was struggling to cope up. Experiences like these are really good, but I hope I don't get one of those again ;)

I do not know how true of a claim it will be if I suggest that the educational system here is far better than that in India. And no, this is not driven by the usual prejudiced negative remarks about the education system in India; this is driven by my own experience. I don’t know about others, but my own way of thinking has changed quite a bit during these two years. And I refer to thinking in general, not from just academic problem solving point of view.

I had heard more negative than positive remarks about the culture here. After staying two years here, I’m glad the equation has flipped, at least in my mind. One cannot make statements about any culture without experiencing it and understanding it. I found it very weird when I just landed here to get a casual “hi” from a stranger walking across the street. There are some things which you have to experience to reason them out. Understanding culture is one of them. “So…” I curiously asked to my American co-worker at my on campus part time job. “I heard a lot of parents kick out their kids at small age, is that really true?” He thought for a bit and replied, “About five percent of the families do that.” I was really surprised. That guy has paid for both his daughters’ education. “It’s all worth it when you look at them standing with the graduation cap.” It was good enough to silence my doubts.

Thinking about the part time job always brings a chuckle. Back in India, I wouldn’t have imagined working as a cleaner at some dorm. Here, I was forced to give up the discrimination of work. All work is treated with almost equal respect here. I vividly remember the first day at work- ever. Here I was, with a broom in one hand and the dust pan in other, waiting for my supervisor to give instructions. One cannot escape the thought at this point of having turned down a rather comfortable job in India and having signed up for something like this. I had heard a lot about how the managers at on campus jobs are strict and how students are exploited. So I was a bit paranoid about it. But when I talked to Michelle, my supervisor and Lisa, my co-worker at work who trained me on the first day, I felt like I was talking to my friends. I could not help thinking of how disrespectfully most cleaners back home are treated. The people at Governors’ (the university residential hall where I still work) are the most amazing people you can find! I am dearly going to miss them.
Having said that, US is like any other place with respect to how people are. Some are good, some are not so good. I know many of my friends here who have had horrible experiences with their managers at their part time work. You cannot judge a nation based on the small sample of people you meet, but in my experience, I met more good people than of the other kind. And the Jerry Springer show kind of people, well I am happy not to have met any of them.

Even with the much better system, and friendly attitude of people here, something always seems missing. It feels like a flavor rich American delicacy, but with lack of spice in it. No old friends, no roadside chat with a ‘chaat’, no roaming on the roads, and no sitting on the bench by the road side with friends talking the most non-sense things ever.

And as I approach the last week of my masters, I can’t wait to go back home.