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Brown in America

Sree Sreenivasan’s advice for US-bound desi students

By: Santosh :+: Under: Brown in America, Culture, Desi Ishtyle, Education
On: ⋅ July 25, 2007 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment
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Sree Sreenivasan, Professor and Dean of Students at Columbia Journalism School, and of SAJA fame, shares some pearls of wisdom for students planning to study abroad - in this case Indian students planning to study in the US, on Rediff.com.

Sree’s advice includes valuable links for information on lifestyles and resources, tips for students to stay in touch with their family and culture, residential choices available, student-teacher relationships in the US and most importantly, food! Among the list of valuable links Sree mentions pop-culture blogs like Sepia Mutiny, Ultrabrown and … ahem …. UberDesi. Appreciate the uber plug, Sree.

Sree has the unique perspective of having been all - a student, a professor and a dean. From experience, some personal, some anecdotal, a lot of his words ring true:

when international students come to the US, they are reluctant to seek out folks in positions of authority.

My American students are always dropping by, asking questions and seeking help ………… But my students from India rarely come by on their own — so I have to seek them out.

Please be sure to use the campus resources. Through tution fees, you’re actually paying for them. Plus, that’s why administrators get paid — to help you.

Having been a FOBulous student myself, I can vouch that I was guilty of some of that stuff, especially the part about being “reluctant to seek out folks in positions of authority”. But at some stage I realized that America is not just the land of opportunities, it is also the land of missed opportunities.

Just to give a simple example: when you’re having dinner at an Indian household and someone is serving you food, when you say “NO” that translates to a reduced portion of the serving instead of an entire one. Sometimes if you have been identified as the eater with largest gastro-intestinal capacity, you get served the remainders just to ensure there are no left overs. Again I speak from experience of being the guest with the largest gastro-intestinal capacity.

On the other hand, when you’re having dinner in an American household and someone is serving you (assuming someone does), “NO” means “NO” more half servings or quarter servings. Any more dumping of food on the plate will be frowned upon. Left-overs are for lunch tomorrow.

Americans having lunch in an Indian household should not be offended when their “NO” is met with yet another serving of baingan bartha and Indians having dinner in an American household should not be shocked when their polite refusal results in them missing out on the wonderful piece of apple pie or key lime pie.

The food example is just my way of displaying the subtleties between the two cultures. Each one is right (or wrong) in it’s own way. Point is, in the US you get what you ask for or, more precisely, you have to ask for something to get it. Refusal, however polite or non-intentional, will be taken at face value.

Uber tip for students to the US: Be in good standing with your professors, TAs and other staff, and don’t hesitate to approach them for help. Network with your peers. Don’t get caught plagiarizing. Connect with the locals and learn and enjoy their customs and way of life without forgetting yours. You will turn out just fine.

And this is not restricted to the academic field, it also holds true, in most instances, in the professional circuit and, if applicable, dating.
Anyone else have any interesting stories, insights or experiences to share?

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