Dear Catawba students from all over the world, this is an article dedicated to all the international students who have to spend hours on a plane to get to Salisbury, North Carolina. It gets confusing sometimes because after living in Salisbury for two years, I call Salisbury home but Iceland home as well.

After a few months living in the states, you might get the question from fellow American friends “how do you like America?” “is it different than you thought it would be?” “Do you think you will stay in the U.S after graduation?”. Many questions for which the answer might change every week.

You might also get some questions about your home country, some of them might be stupid and some statements you hear about your country might be really funny. One question I got once was “do you have cell phones in Iceland?”. I think some people think we live in snow houses and just eat fish. A big misunderstanding about Iceland is that it is green and that Greenland is the icy one. Iceland still has some big glaciers and we call ourselves the land of Fire and Ice. But not all questions are stupid, you might also get people that ask you about your country. Something that you do not know and do not care about. Advice for that situation is just make up an answer, they will still trust you, because YOU are the expert on YOUR country.

It can be hard to put all the states under the same hat when you have just lived in one state and that state being in the south. There might be many southern traditions that you might think are weird, like eating grits on a biscuit; playing corn hole; the BIG food portions; the fuzz about American Football; the southern accent; barbecue and chili; and their love sweet-tea. With all that being said, never forget that people from the south have very good southern hospitality!

In the states, there are many holidays that you will enjoy and the best way to enjoy them is with your American friends. They will teach you the ropes on these holidays. My favorite is Thanksgiving. The last two years I have spent with the same friend and the same family, now I am practically part of that family and I am looking forward to American Thanksgiving this year, just eating and relaxing.

Enjoy your time in the states, use your time to embrace another culture and travel around – because there are not many countries in the world where you could drive a few hours and get a totally different culture, different people and different climate but still be in the same wonderful country that you can call home for a few years.