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Archway Publishing - Dhir Dayal

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106 pages

English

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Students who study abroad can acquire tangible skills that qualifies for prime career prospects. Then it’s limitless to what they wish to do in life.

It’s almost dreamy to study in a prosperous North American university, where they welcome foreign students and enable them to become sponges for knowledge. North America offers great promise for study abroad students from developing societies. The students not only gain knowledge and learn about new traditions, but they form enduring friendships.

Yes, I Belong Here traces the life of author Dhir Dayal, an international student who traveled abroad for higher studies and earned three graduate degrees. He conveys his serendipitous experiences while pursuing his studies in North America. Dayal exposes his life to future foreign students who might benefit in charting their journey in an environment radically different from their motherland.

In this memoir, Dayal discusses what American university life was like for him, a student who had grown up in a small village in India. He shares the ups and downs, the joys and challenges, and the expected and unexpected as he charted his own course for educational achievements.

Sujets

Personal Memoirs

Biography

Autobiography

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Publié par	Archway Publishing
Date de parution	20 décembre 2022
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781665733854
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0200€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

YES, I BELONG Here

A Novel

DHIR DAYAL

Copyright © 2023 Dhir Dayal.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Archway Publishing
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.archwaypublishing.com
844-669-3957

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973 1978 1984 2011 by Biblica, Inc. TM. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

ISBN: 978-1-6657-3386-1 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6657-3385-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022921577

Archway Publishing rev. date: 12/20/2022
CONTENTS
Prologue
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
Epilogue

“What if you could go b ack in time and make
a different set of mist akes? Will you still b e where you are?”
—My father, LSK
. . . . .
To
Angelic Americans
Everywhere!
. . . . .
I want to thank Aimee Reff, Valerie Cable, Tyler Hardin, and the entire team at Archway Publishing. Special thanks go to anonymous “Holly” who painstakingly combed through and unsnarled the narratives of selected chapters. Editorial department’s Kira Axsiom provided indispensable assistance in clarifying last-minute issues arising out of certain evolving word usage and in the correct handling of block quotes. And thanks especially to Bob DeGroff for meritoriously completing the design phase. Next, Scott Crenshaw’s efforts at finding a suitable way to market this product was commendable.
PROLOGUE
Most authors write either for the subject’s sake as if it were a pastime, or for creating a literature because it earns them fame. Writing has proven to be cathartic for me. During what is sure to be the end of my long life, I have resorted to seeking diversion from either feeling wronged, or being given special fixes. It is a tactic not just of a victimizer in reverse, but as a mirror for those of ill will. Indeed, it conveys my imaginations, amusements, and inspirations, for future foreign students who might benefit from managing their life in an alien realm that they would find radically different from their own motherland. If one gains a valuable diversion, as this author has in composing this work, then that is a genuinely unique and salient discovery. All such imperative stories, imagined or probable, pertaining to the life of a student from abroad in North America, must be uncovered. In essence, this book is designed to be a cultural history of a dynamically evolving society.
Before Covid-19, when this manuscript was near completion, foreign students totaled about one million in the U.S. alone, comprising five percent of total enrollment in major universities. The majority of those were from China and India. Foreign students add about fifty billion dollars to the American economy that creates half a million jobs. Nonetheless, the traffic goes both ways: one in ten American youth goes abroad for studies.
More than ninety-six percent of students surveyed recently articulated that studying abroad increased their self-confidence. For me it opened my educational opportunities and career prospects. Intangible impacts of studying abroad enabled me to gain an enhanced understanding of my own cultural values, personal biases, religious beliefs, and world view. Studying in a foreign country is an adventure though. It is not for the weak of heart.
Studying abroad, coupled with financial aid, is an incredible way to gain priceless real-world experience. We may find that only an international program can offer a tangible expertise we desire in our education.
For example, studying in North America can equip young people from former knowledge starved colonized countries to acquire advanced food production and marketing techniques based on scientific methods. Italy has awesome cuisine culture, romantic language, amazing art, and a dynamic history. It is the most sought-after destination for aspiring study abroad students. Study abroad programs in Italy offer a unique blend of Italian cultural studies and courses in variety of majors. Germany has immense opportunities for studying business, hard sciences, and it is a prodigious place for academic internships, with head offices of some of the world’s biggest companies that are dedicated to innovation. Efficiency is high inside and outside of the classroom. One learns how to save time and reduce the bureaucratic inconveniences. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology is a distinguished research institution of global renown. University of Kuala Lumpur is recognized professionally by various international bodies. It is the first infrastructure university in Malaysia that offers pathways to top universities in the United Kingdom and Australia. Many of its lecturers are industry-experts.
No matter where foreign students end up enrolling, they will be exposed to new cultures and experiences far beyond their expectations. It would take their communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills to a much higher level. Hence, mind-expanding opportunities can be some of the greatest benefits of studying abroad.
Studying abroad affords us with the opportunity to intentionally mirror our skills and decide how we want to use them in a professional context anywhere in the world. Foreign education and experience often rank high among many employers—a critical asset for prospective employees. It shows that we are globally minded, appreciate diversity, and are resourceful and adventurous. It also shows that we would have the opportunity to interact and communicate with those with a different cultural background. Together, all of it means that our future job prospects will not only be promising, but also extensive in variety.
As a former foreign student, I plan to convey via these essays, my serendipitous encounters and describe my stint to future foreign students who might benefit in monitoring their own life in a country that offers a multiplicity of opportunities. America offers a great promise. These students are often stunned into moments of fortune as well as veiled cracks that were not expected but were remarkably valuable in charting their educational accomplishments. Truly it was to capture those ups and downs that formed the narrative for this book. Someone would surely write a comparable treatise on American foreign students who have studied abroad. At a minimum, the goal in this work is to guide and amuse future foreign students. At times, possibly it would create an aura of surrealism for them.
On our life’s journey in a foreign country, we stumble upon situations that we least expect. We experience vivacity that was not predictable, or even expected. When we visit new places, we anticipate certain things that were sure to occur based on other people’s narratives. But it seems that every visitor to a foreign land finds something far from the known. These can cause precarious detours. Amazing experiences can provide thrills if they are pleasant or non-threatening. Or these alien experiences can also expose them to a treacherous, expensive, and punishing detour.
Such dumb luck is certainly serendipitous. We do not possess super intelligence, at least at a younger age, to foresee when we might encounter new events that are either thrilling, startling, or horrid. Often, it just happens accidentally; but if we trust in the Divine Providence, our destiny will not be as calamitous as it could otherwise be.
During my journey to and long stay in North America, I encountered events, episodes, and people by chance the outcome of which I was not pursuing. The result of any resolve or quest can be serendipitous. Serendipity describes the happenstance, an accidentally acquired knowledge that might fortuitously bring good fortune.
America offered a great promise as told by former visitors and as was notably flashed in Hollywood movies. During a normal course of steering a student life in North American universities, a foreign student does what any young person would do —study the prescribed subject matter, learn about new customs, make friends, and stay away from the bigots who detest you. However, one is bound to encounter new situations and while doing so they are often stunned into moments of fortune. Notably, these are the experiences that were not expected but were remarkably valuable in charting the course of any one’s educational accomplishments. Truly, it was to capture those likely ups and downs that constituted the theme for this book.
In composing this book, I have learned that positive discoveries were not only valuable in developing survival skills but helped me refine my beliefs that reinforced my capacity as a student to grow sets