Inspired by Dina WD (brand new to me) who wrote in a post about her struggles as a student in a university in Texas when she came from France on a single-entry student visa. Briefly summed, the deal she had was:
- She could only work 20 hours/week at most for $5.15/hr. (which I assume is minimum wage at the time)
- She was not able to work off-campus because of her immigration status
- The university took 80% of her paycheck each month for room, which left her with only $80/mo.
- She skipped breakfast most of the time, and mostly ate spaghetti and pasta sauce
- In between semesters, she had to work on-campus because of the type of visa she had, while other international students could go home and visit their families
Moral of her story was: visit her post and find out. It would make you feel warm and fuzzy inside.
I hope I am not barging into this couple’s lives if they happen to come across this. I took a class with a couple of Chinese international students and became one of their FB friends afterward. I saw that she uploaded a lot of pictures of her and her boyfriend having a lot of fun in the U.S. with some of the closer friends they made here in the U.S., in between semesters.
I assume they had money in order to enjoy such fun and dine at some locations that I checked out online, and was too expensive for me. I recall one of them told me the two of them traveled through some of the U.S.’s tourist sites, such as the Grand Canyon and Yosemite National Park. I have been in the U.S. for x amount of years and I have still never been to these places, mostly because I cannot afford it.
Despite not being able to afford a lot of things, I always went home to see my family. Without them, I do not know whether I could survive college.
The moral of my post is: some of us go through college (and life) harder than others, so do what you can.
Elle's Adventure in China 
Nice thoughts on keeping an open mind. You never know what someone else is dealing with and sometimes it may be best to give others the benefit of the doubt and show them kindness. Thanks for checking out my post as well Leanne!
LikeLike
I do my best to keep myself in check to not prejudge people, because, like you said, “You never know what someone else is dealing with….” I would like everyone to help if they can. It’s not only good karma but it makes the present situation more bearable. I enjoyed reading your post 🙂
LikeLike
I am commenting on your post about the college struggle. This hits close to home for me as I watched most of my colleagues go through college life and survive the way most students do and graduate on time. I struggled for many different reasons. This will be my inspiration for my next blog post and I will share that experience. Thank you!
LikeLike
I am so happy this assignment has inspired you as it had inspired me. Send the link when you post.
LikeLike