Publisher: She Writes Press
Publication date: September 14th 2021
Pages: 288
In this memoir Rajika Bhandari tells about her own experience as a foreign student in America. Rajika grew up in a middle-class family in India, where an American education meant status and succes. So as a young woman she finds herself soon in America to study, and finds out that everything is in real life is different then in the beautiful glossy brochures advertising to study abroad. In an entertaining but realistic way, she describes the hardships that international students in the US face. Many of the world's brightest students come to study in the USA and never leave, so are contributing much to the US in the way of finances, cultural growth and jobs. But that doesn't change much about the attitude about foreign student in the US that they face; which is on the other side not welcoming to them, certainly not after 9/11. Just getting a work visa or green card is really harder than it needs to be due to the perception that ''immigrants are stealing jobs from American born Americans,. '' She also paints a painful but realistic picture how hard it is to find employment in both the USA and India.And then there are some cultural things she has to get used to; her first experience with a chocolate chip cookie. Or being embarrassed about asking for ketchup with her pizza, which is normal in India but not in the USA, and the difference between Indian schools and American schools, and the interaction with the instructors, and feeling more free in the USA then in India, where women have to be constantly aware of being harrassed, but on the other side being constantly treated like an outsider. The second part of her book is about her proffession of helping international students. this truly is a realistic and eye opening part of the book, . This is a very interesting, well researched and informative book for everyone interested in this topic. I aboslutely enjoyed reading it!!
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