Orienting the internationals

The first thing I realized was that I was unable to engage in small talk about the weather, since I was ignorant about the Fahrenheit temperature scale. For an aspiring math major, this is embarrassing, but I must admit that I can’t do the conversion between Fahrenheit and Celsius in my head to save my life. Not to mention the terror of being confronted by miles of the Appalachian Trail during Outdoor Action, but that’s another story.

As an international student, I arrived before OA and Community Action began, so I could attend the international student pre-orientation program. Led by Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Students Rachel Baldwin and a group of student volunteers, the four-day program aims to welcome students from abroad and give them time to adjust to the new environment that is Princeton.

The program focused on creating an environment where international students could socialize with each other in formal and informal settings, and in this regard, I felt that it worked very well. The staff and volunteers all deserve credit for the effort that they put in to make the transition smooth for international students, many of whom had never set foot on campus before. However, while the social aspect of the program was commendable, I believe it didn’t do an equally good job of acclimatizing internationals to an American setting.

I should mention that the point of this column is not to criticize the pre-orientation program, but to point out that it did not do as good a job of addressing some of the more mundane but vitally important issues for foreign students. My problems started when it came to setting up phone accounts, bank accounts and the like. From what I have observed, many other international students were in the same boat.

One may argue that the responsibility for such duties solely lies with the student. However, for individuals who have never lived in the United States, such matters are difficult to navigate. One glaring obstacle to acquiring phone plans — the $500 deposit for people without credit — was brought to our attention through an official e-mail. However, the finer details, such as the identification and documentation required and the costs of typical plans, were not. This sort of information is very easy to provide but is also always easy to forget to include. So naturally I was a little vexed at the fact that so many people, including myself, had to make multiple trips to Nassau Park instead.

I never would have imagined that iPhones were out of reach unless you had a credit card. Even straight cash wasn’t good enough for AT&T, because they had to “place an order” for you to sign up for one. It would have been a tragedy for Apple purists, but I was willing to compromise, settling for a recent Samsung offering. I guess this issue was more a result of Apple’s bastardry than anything else, but it would have saved me much time had I known about this beforehand.

Trying to get a bank account was another nightmare for many students who have not experienced how the system works here. A representative from PNC Bank did come and talk to us, but there was no assistance given to those who preferred other institutions. I ventured into the Bank of America on Nassau Street with a friend, and we found ourselves in a messy process that took well over two hours, including the time spent in the queue. Of course, this all seems trivial in retrospect, but it would have been nice if we were a little more informed.

I feel myself becoming accustomed to life here in Princeton faster than I expected, and some of the problems that I encountered in my first few days now seem second nature. However, I must say that life for future international students could be much easier if specific information is distributed at the beginning of international student pre-orientation. Of course social aspects are crucial; it’s where you form lasting memories. I still feel, however, that the actual point of the orientation was missed for such reasons.