By Rachna Shilpi
Living the American dream has many things to deal with rather than just earning in dollars.
We live comfortably back home where dad pays for our expenses, mom cooks what we wish to eat, you have friends and siblings helping out with your work, last but not the least you can afford a maid, a driver and even a gardener if need be. Many of us look forward to achieve the American dream and set out to living away from friends and family.
Going to a foreign country is cool, especially for those who like travelling and exploring places. You get to see a lot at the expense of working part time and a cautious spending. Apps like splitwise come to your rescue and help in sharing and splitting most expenses with friends or roommates.
Cooking is one thing that you ought to know or at least learn after getting there. You had choices and a taste for delicious food and the money to spend on fancy restaurants. Believe me it’s a task to get started in the kitchen with cooking and cleaning, which at most times is for a whole apartment (about 6-7 people). Thank your roommates if they take turns for this. God forbid in case there is no Indian grocery store in your locality, the pickles and podis you carry from India will save you for a while.
Commute is difficult as most states and cities do not have public transport. This came as a surprise to me as being in the worlds most developed country we couldn’t commute if we did not have a car of our own. Some students share the price and buy a car. Like each apartment might have a car shared by the people who live there. It does help out initially to commute to college and for purchasing grocery but would turn out to be a problem if you got to take your girlfriend out on a date when another guys need the car to leave for a party.
Beer and Cheer – you get to taste a variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks here but the key is to stay safe as if you are caught carrying liquor in the car openly or caught driving drunk, God save you! We need to remember that this is not our country and we are here as immigrants, so abiding by state laws is a must. Most students end up drinking like fish on checking out such a wide range of booze. Each state here has different set of rules and regulations and we can understand them only if we have lived here for long. Each state has a different test for providing a driver’s license, so in case you shift from one state to another you need a new license based on the number of months you wish to stay there.
You can end up as a genius or a jerk with the array of opportunities this place holds for you its just a matter of choice.
