#UniversityofM

[ykbumich-blog]

Being International

This is not the American dream I signed up for.

Here’s the thing about being an international student – you are never secure. Especially with how volatile the current US political climate is. On a whim, immigration legislations are changed, and we are left praying that our thin thread to this country is not cut.

I was born in India, but spent most of my formative years in Ghana and South Africa. My blood is saffron, but my accent is warped by the long “aai”’s of the Afrikaans vernacular. I wore ghagras and body chains to Diwali. I grew up hearing stories about Goddess Lakshmi and Anansi, the west African God. But one thing never changed - my bedtime stories were always about becoming CEO of a CPG after graduating from Harvard Business School.

I worked fucking hard to get here, as I’m sure most U of M students did. But the plight of international students is a bit different. Expected to learn an entirely new syllabus for one test, I spent months self-teaching myself SAT words and math methods completely different to anything I had ever done before. I invested time in filling out visa applications, interviewing, praying for acceptance, and waiting in long embassy lines in anticipation of the “stamp of approval” on my passport. I gave up home cooked meals (more importantly, Nando’s) and familiar cuisines; I moved to a country across several oceans - no friends, no family - in pursuit of the “American dream.”

And if I do lose my student visa, I lose that dream. Worse, I don’t get to reunite with my friends or my parents. I don’t even get deported back home. I get deported to my country of citizenship – India. A country that I spent less than two months in, post-birth. Saare jahan se accha, Hindustan humara (Better than the entire world, is my India), but it is not my home.

I’m finally going home for Spring Break, Rainbow Nation home, and I cannot be more excited. Not just because I’m being welcomed by a Nando’s dinner (can you tell I love Nando’s?). I haven’t been home in six months, and I miss my bed. But I am terrified. I’ve been subjected to “random selection” literally every time I’ve landed in the US. Still, I am terrified that landing in DTW ten days later, I will be asked to step aside, and I won’t be released after a simple pat down and standard questioning.

The question I ask myself is, is it worth it? Moving to the US has literally been my only option since I was a kid. My family’s concerns have shifted from “akeli ladki America jao?” (A girl going to America alone?) to the hateful policies of the current presidential administration. My mom is constantly worried about me walking to class or home from the library. My dad has filled my inbox with transfer applications to LSE.

Has America seriously turned its back to people like me? Is it time to consider saying goodbye? They say never meet your idols, because you may be disappointed. I guess this is some variant of that.

I left home in search of a well reputed tertiary education system and subsequent job prospects. Basically, some stability for my future. But, stability is the complete opposite of what I have experienced in my short time here. We are no longer safe or wanted. Student visa applications are being rejected, current holders are being revoked, students are cautioned against going home over the next 90 days.

A nation built and developed by immigrants now blocks its borders from us. There are 17,354 international students registered in American colleges. Can our parents come to our graduations? Will we be offered sponsorships for B-1 visas? Is your idea of “The Land of Freedom” imprisoning your foreign brothers and sisters?

- Nithya Elsa Ramesh, 2017

[apardavila]

The Empire State Building is lit in Wisconsin and Miami colors for the 2018 Pinstripe Bowl.

[apardavila]

The Empire State Building is lit in Wisconsin and Miami colors for the 2018 Pinstripe Bowl.

[apardavila]

The Empire State Building is lit in Wisconsin and Miami colors for the 2018 Pinstripe Bowl.

[apardavila]

The Empire State Building is lit in Wisconsin and Miami colors for the 2018 Pinstripe Bowl.

[apardavila]

The Empire State Building is lit in Wisconsin and Miami colors for the 2018 Pinstripe Bowl.

[apardavila]

The Empire State Building is lit in Wisconsin and Miami colors for the 2018 Pinstripe Bowl.

[apardavila]

The Empire State Building is lit in Wisconsin and Miami colors for the 2018 Pinstripe Bowl.

[apardavila]

The Empire State Building is lit in Wisconsin and Miami colors for the 2018 Pinstripe Bowl.

[apardavila]

The Empire State Building is lit in Wisconsin and Miami colors for the 2018 Pinstripe Bowl.

[apardavila]

The Empire State Building is lit in Wisconsin and Miami colors for the 2018 Pinstripe Bowl.

[apardavila]

The Empire State Building is lit in Wisconsin and Miami colors for the 2018 Pinstripe Bowl.

[apardavila]

The Empire State Building is lit in Wisconsin and Miami colors for the 2018 Pinstripe Bowl.

[apardavila]

The Empire State Building is lit in Wisconsin and Miami colors for the 2018 Pinstripe Bowl.

[apardavila]

The Empire State Building is lit in Wisconsin and Miami colors for the 2018 Pinstripe Bowl.

[apardavila]

The Empire State Building is lit in Wisconsin and Miami colors for the 2018 Pinstripe Bowl.