There he was, struggling across the Wegmans parking lot with his four bags of groceries and two gallons of water, hoping against hope that he wouldn’t miss the CATA bus.
Aviral Prakash, a resident of State College for less than a week, was stressed out. He knew the 10 p.m. bus was the last one for the evening, and it was pulling away from the bus stop. Would the driver cut him a break? Or was he faced with a long walk in a strange town?
Not to worry, Aviral. This is Happy Valley. The driver wasn’t going to leave you stranded after she saw you staggering toward her bus.
“She stopped the bus and waited for me,” recalls Aviral, a graduate of India’s prestigious Indian Institute of Technology Madras. “And after I said, ‘Thank you,’ she said, ‘Anything for you, sweetie.’ “
Now, I don’t know a lot about Indian culture. But I have my doubts about whether Aviral would ever be addressed as “sweetie” by a bus driver in his homeland. Far from being offended, he was charmed by this down home Pennsylvania warmth. “I’m not used to this,” he says. “I’m not used to being treated so well by a stranger.”
Given that Aviral is a new Ph.D. student in physics at Penn State, he’ll probably be here for four to six years and he looks forward to much more local kindness. “I believe it is ingrained in the American culture that people are courteous and they greet you with a smile,” he says. “In India, we don’t talk to strangers; we don’t even like to look at them. If I try to greet a stranger, he or she will wonder why.”
Aviral Prakash is a doctoral student from India who quickly learned to appreciate the CATA bus system and to “hate” Ohio State.
HAPPY AGAIN IN HAPPY VALLEY?
Last August, I set out to see how incoming internationals felt about our town and gown, and I interviewed 20 or so new students. I had guessed they would provide a relatively positive view of our tidy community, but I was surprised by the degree of their enthusiasm. Perhaps the most memorable comment in my column (“Why New International Students Already Love Happy Valley”) was this one from a Croatian freshman: “I have fear and excitement because of the unknown. But you can’t get lost in State College and, if you do, everyone will help you.”
As this new school year approached, I wondered if my previous experience was somehow skewed toward the positive. Knowing that the University Park campus was in the midst of welcoming 450 international grad students and 800 international undergrads, I knew there were plenty of new subjects available. I would be happy to talk to all who would talk to me — whether they turned out to be the nattering nabobs of negativism or the perky Pollyannas of positivity.
And don’t you know that, once again, Happy Valley has seemingly worked its charm among new internationals. Aside from one student who wondered why his bus is always late (maybe the driver is assisting people like Aviral?), comments were extremely positive:
-
“State College is an American town as presented in the movies. The grass is incredibly green, the streets are clean and the people are friendly. It is better than I could have imagined.” – Isabelle Hens, freshman from Belgium
-
“Life at Penn State is independent and free. Students are expected to serve themselves. This can be a boon as well as a bane. To me, it is a breath of fresh air.” – Ishaan Anavkar, freshman from Dubai
-
“Even though classes and clubs didn’t start yet, this is definitely what I would like to call ‘Happy Valley.’ From great food to great outdoor experiences, I think that the next four years of my life will be unforgettable.” – Abdullah Redwan, freshman from Saudi Arabia
-
“This feels like an easy and open area, close to nature. My bachelor’s degree was in forestry engineering, so I’m very comfortable in this kind of environment.” – Juan Blazquez-Cuena, Ph.D. student from Spain
ECSTASY AT THE CREAMERY
Of all the internationals I met, a new master’s student in law named Feng Jin seemed the most thrilled about our community. After her first two weeks in Happy Valley, this woman from Shanghai was positively beaming with enthusiasm.
“In big cities,” she said, “you can just see the tall buildings, they are very close to each other. You can’t see such a big sky and such beautiful, tall trees. The first day I came here, I see the blue sky and I smell the fresh air and I am so surprised and amazed by all of this. I love it so much.”
This aspiring human rights lawyer knows she will need to work hard to earn a master’s degree from Penn State Law, and I was certainly impressed by the four massive textbooks she had just purchased in the HUB bookstore. But she’s already found the perfect study break. “I think the ice cream is the ‘happiest’ ice cream I have ever eaten in my life. When I feel not very happy in my studies, I go to the Creamery and I get Death by Chocolate. It’s very big. I love it so much. I’m going to get it every week; if I can, every day!
‘THREE UNITED ALIENS’
Although the Happy Valley environment puts a smile on many international faces, nothing can match the ongoing value of warm relationships. And that brings me to the story of three new Ph.D. students from disparate nations — Jacob Bradd from Australia, Gabriel Reimao from Brazil and Saptarashmi (“Rob”) Bandyopadhyay from India.
They flew into University Park Airport on the same small aircraft, but perhaps because of shyness or travel fatigue, they didn’t actually meet until the check-in day that is part of International Student Orientation.
“It was a complete coincidence,” says Jacob. “Literally the first two people I talked to (at Penn State) were on that plane.” Adds Gabriel, “If someone ever makes a movie about our lives, no one is going to believe that scene.”
Immediately, the three became a group and hung out especially during their first days on campus that are potentially lonely. They dubbed themselves “Three United Aliens” because they flew here on United Airlines and because they’re amused by the U.S. government’s use of the word “alien” to describe people from other nations.
Jacob would probably say that he has benefited most from the trio. Now just 19 as he begins Ph.D. work, he is ready to expand his social boundaries. “One of the things about going overseas,” he says, “is that I see it as a way to grow as a person. I was pretty shy at uni (the University of Woolongong) in Australia, so this is a way to get out there. I’ve had it pretty good since I met Gabriel and Rob on the first day. I haven’t been completely alone.”
The “Three United Aliens” shared a flight into State College and later became close friends. From left: Gabriel Reimao from Brazil, Rob Bandyopadhyay from India and Jacob Bragg from Australia.
MULTI-PURPOSE ORIENTATION
Of course, not every international student can count on such a serendipitous introduction to new friends. And that’s one of the reasons why Penn State offers International Student Orientation. Including time for administrative check-in, the ISO program lasts two days for graduate students and three days for undergrads.
“We want to welcome international students and make them feel valued as members of the Penn State community,” says Lauren Halberstadt, the student engagement and intercultural learning manager within the Office of Global Programs. “We want to help them learn the rules and regulations — everything from Title IX to academic integrity. We want them to have the tools to succeed. And we want to help them make friends.”
Given all those goals to be reached in a brief window of time, Halberstadt’s team can succeed only through a major commitment of time and energy. “It’s crazy, it’s so busy,” she says. “But it is wonderful, so fun. As soon as we see the new students, we get immediately energized. And we prepare meticulously in advance so that during ISO, we can focus on the student experience.”
NFL TEAM NAMES
The result is a fast-paced delivery of information about Penn State that is punctuated with humor and small group interaction. Each small group contains roughly 20 students and two student leaders; each is named for a National Football League team.
Of course, I had to ask Lauren why these small groups are named for NFL teams. Is this a way to help internationals identify more deeply with American culture?
“We need to split the students into teams so they can have a tight-knit community,” says Halberstadt, who holds three bachelor degrees, a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Penn State. “The real reason for using NFL teams is that we want the groups to be as diverse as possible. If we chose another sport like soccer the students would switch teams to reflect their loyalties.”
And there you have the inside scoop — the use of NFL names within International Student Orientation is just a way to protect small group demographics.
So Aviral, does that mean you learned nothing about American football during ISO? “Not much,” says the Indian fan of CATA. “Just the fact that we hate Ohio State, and we’re not supposed to wear red when we go to a football game.”
International Student Orientation is a time for fun and friendship, but standing in line for Penn State identification cards is unavoidable.
