Iowa: In the eyes of an immigrant! ( In dubuque ) (Des Moines: environment, insurance)

[S.Asian]

Actually my cousin goes to a college in indiana, near Evansville and I probably should've attended there. I was even accepted over there but decided not to go there. But the question remains, how do I take it from here.

[Yorkie_Mom]

Is there any way that you could transfer after the semester is done? It has to be very hard where you don't feel that you can fit in. People shouldn't be that way, but I know some of them are. I would check to see if you could carry your credits over to another school if you can afford the move. Good luck and keep us posted. Yorkie

[Southside Shrek]

Originally Posted by S.Asian

Actually my cousin goes to a college in indiana, near Evansville and I probably should've attended there. I was even accepted over there but decided not to go there. But the question remains, how do I take it from here.

S.Asia
I don't know what college near Evansville, IN you are referring to. if it's in a smallish town down there in southwestern Indiana, it may not be any better than Dubuque, Iowa for you.

you need a more cosmopolitan place to feel more comfortable. Purdue University in West Lafayette would be a good choice, and so would Indiana University in Bloomington. Asian students in and around West Lafayette/Lafayette are not considered unusual in the least because they are so numerous. If you speak Chinese, that would be a plus.

The last time I checked Purdue led the Big Ten with the most Asian students.

Not sure where you're going to college in Dubuque but it's probably Dubuque or Lawrence. I doubt that either one has very many Asian students.

S.Asia
may I ask this question: why did you select Dubuque to go to college?

[S.Asian]

Southern Shrek,
I can't speak chinese or japanese. I'm from Nepal, the country of Everest in between India and China. My culture is similar to India, in fact I can understand Hindi and I eat similar kinda stuff that an Indian eats. As far as choosing Dubuque is concerned, I'm paying 1/3rd of the total cost at a private university here thanks to the scholarships that I received and the college out here is better ranked than the college that I was receiving to earlier. As far as transferring is concerned ( Yorkie Mom ) , I shall be a junior next semester, so if I were to transfer now then it'd mean that my transfer plans would be delayed for sure. Well, the good thing is, there are abt 15-20 students from my country living here. The only boring thing is, when it comes to going out, bars, clubs, pool halls, movies and concerts, the same unusual and odd/uncomfortable glances come across time and again. However I think that i'm going to see what it's like at Purdue according to your words @ Southern Shrek. Thanks for the feedbacks and suggestions.

[Southside Shrek]

S.Asian

I love curry...shrimp/prawn curry, vegetable curry, tandoorhi chicken, pratha bread, etc. and I like mine extra hot just like an Indian from India. when I ask for extra hot in an Indian restaurant here, they are always afraid to make it too hot for an American to enjoy it. same thing at Thai restaurants when I ask for 'extra hot'. Maybe they don't eat extra hot curries in Nepal but I imagine they do. it is much colder there close to Everest and they need to eat extra hot food.

[Southside Shrek]

I meant Loras College in Dubuque and not Lawrence. sorry.

[S.Asian]

Actually I go to Loras College and there are 20 students from my country and we all share the same odd experiences.

[elfyum]

Originally Posted by Southside Shrek

S.Asian

I love curry...shrimp/prawn curry, vegetable curry, tandoorhi chicken, pratha bread, etc. and I like mine extra hot just like an Indian from India. when I ask for extra hot in an Indian restaurant here, they are always afraid to make it too hot for an American to enjoy it. same thing at Thai restaurants when I ask for 'extra hot'. Maybe they don't eat extra hot curries in Nepal but I imagine they do. it is much colder there close to Everest and they need to eat extra hot food.

You too???!!! That's SOOO funny!!! I LOVE Indian & Thai food (though the restaurants near me are not particularly vegan friendly )
& I like it HOT. I mean HOT!!!!!!!!!!!
Like insanely hot. And they NEVER make it hot enough!!!
I used to have to give a speach at this one place "Really really really hot - I want to breathe fire!!!!" and FINALLY they got it!!!
This was ages ago in SOBE. (south beach - for non floridians...)
Don't live there no more, don't eat meat anymore, etc.

S. Asian - sorry to hear you have to deal with that bs!!!
But I guess it's just an unfortunate thing that smaller towns are more closed minded...Although, actually, it's probably just that ALOT of people are closed minded no matter WHERE you are - it's just that the bigger the city, the more diversity...
Good luck with whatever you do!
Namaste!

[Darkshdwguy]

S. A. Sorry Iowa has been a bad experience for you. I have always considered Iowa my home state even though I was not born there and was raised all over the world my parents were born and raised there. My dad in Rhodes and mom in Marshalltown. But I was still an outsider so I know some what of how you feel even though I do not look any different from the average Iowain. I guess an outsider is an outsider no matter what they look like lol.
Btw. My great,great great grandfather Everest was one of the first recorded climbers to reach the summit of Mt. Everest , according to family legend I never actually looked it up for myself.
I hope Iowa get better for you.
Dark

[Southside Shrek]

Originally Posted by elfyum

You too???!!! That's SOOO funny!!! I LOVE Indian & Thai food (though the restaurants near me are not particularly vegan friendly )
& I like it HOT. I mean HOT!!!!!!!!!!!
Like insanely hot. And they NEVER make it hot enough!!!
I used to have to give a speach at this one place "Really really really hot - I want to breathe fire!!!!" and FINALLY they got it!!!
This was ages ago in SOBE. (south beach - for non floridians...)
Don't live there no more, don't eat meat anymore, etc.

elfyum
I stopped at a Thai restaurant in Ft Myers this past December and the lady waitress asked me how hot I would like my dish. when I told her that I wanted it a Number 10 hot, she looked at me like I didn't really know what I was talking about and that no American eats Thai food that hot. Obviously she wanted me to enjoy the Thai food and not burn up eating it. I insisted that I wanted my dish super hot and then told her "I want mine hot enough to send me to hell."