Student Union
Students Speak: My U.S. Culture Shock
(Note: A version of this article originally appeared on the Afghan Women's Writing Project website)
I have to say I did not know the meaning of “culture shock” before I came to the U.S, but now I do because I am truly living in a different culture. As an international student coming from a religious and conservative country like Afghanistan to a liberal and democrat country like the U.S definitely shocked my nerves and appetite for a while.
Bikinis at the Beach
At the beginning of my journey to the U.S., mostly general superficial matters grabbed my attention, such as clothing, the ways people spoke, and people’s hairstyles and fashions. For the first time, I was shocked seeing women wearing bikinis in public near the beach. I was not embarrassed watching women in their bikinis because we have women’s public bath houses in my country. But I was embarrassed looking at and talking to the men who were with them, who could and had a live view of 99 percent of women’s naked body. I also think that I might have shocked them as well because I was fully dressed up with my scarf on, walking along the beach.
Mastering Utensils
I still cannot eat rice with a fork properly. For me, eating rice with a fork is frustrating because I hate to see the grains escape from my fork when I am hungry. It is interesting how forks and knives are important in most of the meals in the U.S.; however, I only used a knife for peeling and cutting fruits in Afghanistan.
Manners and Blowing Your Nose
It is polite when sometimes Americans say, “Excuse me!” after yawning or sneezing, but what about when they blow their nose? That was the most funny (and probably most disgusting) culture shock I’ve ever had in the U.S. In my culture it is impolite and disrespectful to blow your nose in front of others. This is not the case in the U.S. Sometimes, it made me laugh when people would blow their nose in public, and remind me of the jokes I heard from my friends when I was child.
Sun Tans & Tattoos
Skin care was another interesting culture shock. Afghans escape from the sun so to not get tanned, but some Americans love to be tanned by the bright sun, even knowing about skin cancer. Tattoos are common in the U.S., but seeing whole body tattoos was shocking to me. What if the design gets boring to them next year? Or what if a man’s wife does not like it?
An Appetite for Reading
Americans like books and enjoy reading books, magazines, newspapers, and other published articles. We can find people reading a book during the day, at night, in the bus or waiting room in the hospital. It was shocking for me to know we can even find books and magazines in many American bathrooms.
Pets as Valued as Humans
Pets, especially dogs, are dear in this country – sometimes dearer and closer than family members. I did not know how hard it is to take care of them, bath them, feed or even play with them! Yes, in the U.S they have vaccinations for their pets; however, we just started the vaccination process for the children in our country and almost half of the people had not ever had a vaccine in their life. This is shocking for me to know in some countries animals are valuable like humans.
Sometimes being in different cultures helps us to know the values and deficiencies of our own culture. People teach us their own living style and we teach them the way we like to live. No one has to follow the others, but the point is to appreciate human beings existence and its uniqueness.
Rahela Mohammad Akbar is a junior at Saint Michael's College, majoring in biology. She has been in the US for five years, and is originally from Herat, Afghanistan.
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Trump administration opens antisemitism inquiries at 5 colleges, including Columbia and Berkeley
The Trump administration is opening new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at five U.S. universities including Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley, the Education Department announced Monday.
It's part of President Donald Trump's promise to take a tougher stance against campus antisemitism and deal out harsher penalties than the Biden administration, which settled a flurry of cases with universities in its final weeks. It comes the same day the Justice Department announced a new task force to root out antisemitism on college campuses.
In an order signed last week, Trump called for aggressive action to fight anti-Jewish bias on campuses, including the deportation of foreign students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests.
Along with Columbia and Berkeley, the department is now investigating the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. The cases were opened using the department's power to launch its own civil rights reviews, unlike the majority of investigations, which stem from complaints.
Messages seeking comment were left with all five universities.
A statement from the Education Department criticized colleges for tolerating antisemitism after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that followed. It also criticized the Biden administration for negotiating "toothless" resolutions that failed to hold schools accountable.
"Today, the Department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses," said Craig Trainor, the agency's acting assistant secretary for civil rights.
The department didn't provide details about the inquiries or how it decided which schools are being targeted. Presidents of Columbia and Northwestern were among those called to testify on Capitol Hill last year as Republicans sought accountability for allegations of antisemitism. The hearings contributed to the resignation of multiple university presidents, including Columbia's Minouche Shafik.
An October report from House Republicans accused Columbia of failing to punish pro-Palestinian students who took over a campus building, and it called Northwestern's negotiations with student protesters a "stunning capitulation."
House Republicans applauded the new investigations. Representative Tim Walberg, chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, said he was "glad that we finally have an administration who is taking action to protect Jewish students."
Trump's order also calls for a full review of antisemitism complaints filed with the Education Department since Oct. 7, 2023, including pending and resolved cases from the Biden administration. It encourages the Justice Department to take action to enforce civil rights laws.
Last week's order drew backlash from civil rights groups who said it violated First Amendment rights that protect political speech.
The new task force announced Monday includes the Justice and Education departments along with Health and Human Services.
"The Department takes seriously our responsibility to eradicate this hatred wherever it is found," said Leo Terrell, assistant attorney general for civil rights. "The Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is the first step in giving life to President Trump's renewed commitment to ending anti-Semitism in our schools."
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