Why I started "i20 Nation"
My experience as an international student in the United States was both amazing and nerve-wracking. I want to make it easier for others.
That’s me and my friend Alina, with cardboard Obamas, at the Independence Day party in Bucharest the summer after my freshman year.
When I first moved to the United States for college back in 2014, I craved advice. Anything the upperclassmen could tell me was pure gold: where to get the best chicken sandwich, which professors to take or how to use the laundry machines.
In general, the people I encountered were warm and willing to help. Only a few, though, could relate to the momentous transition I was going through: I had just moved to college, yes, but I had also just moved to an entirely new country, an ocean away from home. We were all learning how to register for classes, sure, but some of us were also figuring out how to conduct ourselves in an American setting.
Those of us who were international students, that is.
Having friends who were international students like me made a huge difference. Aside from my American friends, who introduced me to Pop-Tarts, I had a community of friends I could talk about my visa with. And about the most important document in our possession: the I20, an immigration form that grants re-entry into the country for people on an F1 student visa.
Every year, people from all over the world move to the United States as international students. While we may not share a culture, or certain life experiences, we share a journey. We all get to school and wonder, “why is it so cold in here?”
It’s because the Americans are obsessed with air conditioning.
Bring a sweater to class.
And while everyone else is just figuring out college, we have other questions on our minds: How will I get visa sponsorship after graduation? Will homesickness be so painful that this adventure won’t be worth it? Why is a nickel bigger than a dime?
Moving to the U.S. is an exciting adventure, but it’s also a very difficult process.
That’s where I come in. I want to be a resource for international students today, so they can hopefully feel less isolated, less stressed and less overlooked than I did. My goal is to build a community you can all turn to when you’re homesick or overwhelmed.
i20Nation started with a Facebook group. Now it’s a newsletter.
You tell me where we go from here. Tell me how I can best help you, an international student in today’s United States of America, live the life you imagined for yourself when you decided to move.
You’re not alone. I’m here now.