Pasadena and College Park

When I read the blogs of former exchange students of Maryland, I recall my life as a visitor in Pasadena again. But it actually takes me some time to love College Park.

It seems an ordinary international student and an exchange student would view a new place in very different perspectives. An exchange student is usually taken care by different parties with lots of love, and they don’t have to worry too much about the problem of transportation. They do not have to care too much about the results of school work. Given all these the life in a foreign country is enjoyable.

But this is not the case for an international student, especially graduate student. They are supposed to take care of all the matter on their own. They have to figure out the stuff that they don’t understand and don’t know. They have to be truly faced with the language barrier. They have to worry about how to get a licence and a car (which are tough tasks in Maryland). They have to behave, and they have to perform well in schools……

If I went to Pasadena for graduate school instead, would I still like that place of sunshine and beach?