We were actually very well cared for by the University of Maryland (UMD) team in charge of the Fubrighters.
They provided the transport from apartment to Target for us to shop for basic moving-in essentials, they provided all three meals. They provided everything, and we were also given 'settling-in' funds to buy the essentials.
Compared to the other two times I stayed outside Singapore, this must be the 'easiest' of the settling-in, given the provision. My first time away from home was on a shoe-string budget. The house-hunting, the banking, the setup cost-watching and everything was done before the era of Google, smartphone, internet banking and all the convenience that comes with IT. Even the train ticket was a paperback weekly pass and ticket machines on trams did not give change.
One may assume that with all the provision and technological affordances this time round, things would be very easy. Well, it is both 'yes' and 'no'. The need to quickly settle into a vastly different system in itself is no small matter. Little operational things that we take for granted in our home country has taken on varying degrees of unfamiliarity. Even the way we lock our apartment door is not the same. Tasks that we have functioned on auto-pilot mode now need some cerebral effort and coordination. Our bodies and brains have been negotiating many changes: time difference, currency difference, shopping 'ritual' difference, lack of comfort food and the list goes on. We would certainly have burned off extra sugar and protein for the settling-in. It was evident that everyone was tired.
Having said that, we are all grateful for the immense help given. The UMD team has been impeccable and without them, we would have suffered immensely.
The silver lining in all these strenuous settling-in activities was that we grew close together as a group very fast. This reminds me of a Chinese idiom I learnt in primary school: '在家靠亲戚，出外靠朋友' (It translates as 'One relies on family while in hometown, yet relies on friends while away from home').
So, so true!
We started off as somewhat half-strangers, having only met online 4 weeks prior to arriving in the US, to becoming friends within a week. In many ways, we have become more than friends. We helped one another, looked out for one another, comfort one another with humour and small chats. We have also celebrated the first Fulbright community birthday, ventured out to exchange purchase in a group on public bus (see pictures below). I suppose discomforts in life is a good thing: they make us appreciate what we have taken for granted, they remind me how small I am, they show me the truth in these words: 'no man is an island'.
I thank God for everyone: the IIE team, UMD team and the newly formed Fulbright community.
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| We celebrated Ivin's birthday at Jason's Deli in College Park town |
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| Aida's first ride on public bus! |
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| From right: Patricia, Analia and myself |
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