Photo and essay by Nabil Mohammad Ali Hameed AL Hakeem
Traveling to the United States and to College Station is not a very easy trip, especially if you are coming from a distant country like Iraq, so it is better to schedule your plans and not leave everything to happen randomly and spontaneously. To start smoothly and easily in ELI (English Language Institute) classes, there are several steps you should consider during the pre and post arrival in the USA.
First and before coming to the United States, you ought to make some preparations like a hotel reservation and taxi or shuttle booking. You can do that by prior coordination with the former students in the Texas A&M University. Getting contact information about the former students can be achieved by the online student’s clubs and associations which exists on the TAMU website (https://studentactivities.tamu.edu/app/). Also, you can contact the ELI’s advisors and can ask them for help. In my case, I had never known anyone in College Station, so I contacted the advisor Melody and asked her for some information about Iraqi students at the Texas A&M University; she was a very cooperative person. Moreover, one of the former students listed the important documents, materials and medicine that I was supposed to bring with me, and he sent me the list by email. The information that I got from the former students was very beneficial and valuable.
The next step starts on the day after your arrival in College Station. Invest your time to find and lease a suitable apartment. In addition to the prices, it is important to take into consideration some factors when you want to lease an apartment: size of apartment (number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, and facilities), nearness to stores and shopping centers, and buses which pass through. However, sometimes, your choice depends on the size of your family and school for your children.
In parallel with looking for an apartment, you can do two important things. Obtaining a cell phone line is very important for keeping in touch with the family and friends. Also, you need to open a new account in one of the banks to manage your money through a debit card. Because there are few taxis here, it is very important to have a car in College Station. In fact, it is useful to bring an international driver’s license from your country. That will allow you to drive any car until you take an exam to acquire a new American driver’s license.
Before starting ELI classes, you need to send an email to the embassy’s cultural office of your country to inform them about your arrival in the United States, and at the same time try to make an I94 document online. This document provides limited access to arrival and departure date records of nonimmigrant people entering and departing the United States. Also, you have to go to the GSC (General Service Center) on campus to obtain an ID and then go to register in SSP (Sponsored Students Program), ISP (International Students Program) and ELI office. I think it is better to come to the United States at least one month before ELI classes begin to do all these things, try to engage with the American society, and take enough time to prepare for the ELPE (English Language Proficiency Exam). All required documents are supposed to be sent to the embassy during the first month after your arrival.
In conclusion, the preceding paragraphs describe an important process that you have to keep in your mind when you decide to study in the United States. Actually, the newly arrived students will find great assistance by the former students and the ELI’s staff. In my opinion, prior preparation by coordination with the former students, providing the required living facilities, and completing the registration process are the mobilization stage before the ELI classes.
No comments:
Post a Comment