The irony of all these days!

Be careful as you read this though. Most specifically, if you are outside

the USA and would like to come over. I am not doing this deliberately

to discourage those who wanna come to the USA! No, it can not be

anywhere near my agendas! I am already here and there is no need to

tell people not to come over. If there is any way I can help people to

come over, it will be my pleasure. But take this very serious and first

before you read, take away the mentality of a liar in me and be sure

I am trying to be fair and honest.


I am not so old, nor have I stayed in the USA for a long time and so,

I have not known so many things but believe you me I can tell how

most of the things that take place here. For that reason, I can tell it is

not gonna be what I expected. May be, may be not.


When I was in Kenya, no body could dare tell me that the USA is a bad

place and I sit down to listen. No, not me! I am not saying it is a bad place.

No. But it surely is, a 'hard' place! Those guys who were already in the USA

and used to come home durign the holidays used to say, "Dont hurry doing

your applications to go to the USA. It is not a very good place." "What are

you doing there if it is not a good place? Why dont you wanna come back

home so as to proof that it is not the best place to stay?" I could ask.


I have come to realise this by myself. And am sure am gonna be spat at

when I go home and start telling people the same story of how hard life can

be in the USA.


I had a very different perspective of the USA. A very different thing is now

happening. The different thing is, to make the matters worse, a direct

opposite, reverse, or any other word that you might be thinking of, to what

I thought of the USA!


Ok, this is what I had visualized during my entire preparation time:

It is crazy but true!

I used to know that the USA is full of money!


This is the worst thing that somebody who is coming to the USA should

have in mind. Mine ws even more crazy. In my world, I though that the

moment I step in chicago, Illinois, my port of entry, may be I will be walking

in carpets made of money. That money will be falling from above and my

work is to collect them. I used to wonder how those guys who came over

to the USA and within two very short years, they build big houses do it.


Those who come into the USA on green card are like USA citizens and can

do anything just like the Americans, but us the F1, are there to go to school!

Which is why we came here anyway!


No work, no money. So one thing happened, and I said it earlier. Instead of

walking on money carpets, I was hit with a strange cold that I had not been

subjected to since I was born. Chicago is one of the places may be I will never

visit again in the USA. Or if I will ever go there, I put it bottom of the list. Why?

It was so cold. Am sure it was -ve twenty something below 0 degrees of F.


What a heck! I was about to tell the port guys to allow me go home. So I get

cold instead of money! I cant have any money because I am on an F1 visa

and no international student is allowed to work! So I am a begger in this land

of the living. Be sure you have enough funds from your home sponsor to see you

through in your studies before you come over. Lest you be droped from school!


Then, be sure you have somebody to pick you up from the Airport. Please make prior

arrangements and be sure you trust the guy. I have a friend of mine who was a

near death case at the Airport. This guy had made arrangements to be picked up

but his 'pick-me-up' guy let him down. Then, he stayed at the Airport for two days!

Imagine. Thank God that there are some people who have human hearts. One of

the port attendants decided to take him to his house and haboured him there till

he got a way to make it to school! Some people can be such bad yet others can

be such good!


So think about this. If you do not have anybody to receive you over here, be

very careful when you come. BE VERY VERY CAREFULL. You can edd up getting

frastrated, discouraged and even drop classes. Then you enter into serious

problems with the Immigration and they will be out looking for you! And this is

one of the worst things you will ever do in your life in the US of A. Believe you me.

Dont be in trouble with the laws. In Texas, Tx, we say, "Dont mess with Texas."

Then one of my favourite Lecturers, who comes from Michigan told us in class that

if you mess with Michigan, MI, they will give you an MI! You know what MI means?

Myocardial Infarction, which is another name for the heart attack! So if you go the

state of Michigan to mess it up, be sure of coming back with heart attack! So dont

you mess the US. The repercussions are not pleasing.


But the good thing is that you get people who advice you. I have received more

than many advices. But you gatta know who is telling you what. I mean, people can

tell you things that may seem good but in real sense they are damn negatives and

you may run into trouble. Please common sense, though Napoleone Bornapate, once

a French emperor, said "This common sense is very rare!", know and discern good from

bad and lastly but certainly most important, if you ever be in a good standing with the

laws, you are making it good in the USA.


Other very small small things that you gatta know are the likes of as Dont drink and Drive,

Keep the state traffic rules, keep the minors off your life. If you are a student, go

to school even if you are making E's. Everything is good with you!


That is the US of A! Strict in laws.

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