Arriving to Bowling Green State University on the first of August, Nadine Farghaly, a foreign exchange student from Germany, was ready to see what the United States had to offer.
Born and raised in Germany, Farghaly is attending BGSU for two years studying to get her Masters Degree in English Literature.
Along with the 12 credit hours she is taking this semester, she is also teaching English 111 three days a week.
When traveling, jet lag and culture shock are two common things a foreign exchange student stepping foot into the US for the first time may encounter.
Farghaly didn’t run into either of these.
“I didn’t really have jet lag; it took me two days at most to get used to the time,” Farghaly said. “It was not such a culture shock for me. I have seen Americans on television and in movies, so that helped.”
Fortunately, Farghaly did not come to BGSU not knowing anyone; she knew the Austrian students that were in the Foreign Exchange program, too.
Experiencing and trying new things can be exciting and bizarre at the same time. Farghaly is very surprised with all the food that is deep fried, and the array of ice cream offered.
“I am really impressed with all the ice cream flavors,” Farghaly said. “One of my goals is to go through all the ice cream in my stay here.”
Something else that puzzled her is the lack of public transportation.
In Germany, she is used to being able to hop on a bus or shuttle and get to wherever she wants. Farghaly flew into Detroit, in hope of being able to take a shuttle from the airport to Bowling Green. She was not happy when she had to take a taxi, costing $150.00.
Farghaly is glad the University is compact rather than spread out.
In Austria, where she has studied, everything is far apart. If she was in English, she would have to find public transportation to go to Psychology, seeing how it was all the way across town.
Farghaly is really enjoying her time so far in Bowling Green. In her free time, when not in class or teaching, she enjoys going to movies, reading and spending time with friends.
While those activities keep her busy, she does wish there was a scuba diving club on campus.
To get a feel for the different types of food in the area, every Thursday, Farghaly and her friend go to a new restaurant. So far, she has really enjoyed the variety of foods.
Summer will be the first time she will go back home and see her family.
Farghaly will not be staying home the entire summer though, she plans on doing some traveling and would like to get a job grading placement essays.
After graduating in 2009, she is not sure exactly what she wants to do, but knows time will tell.
