As a child, I used to watch the evergreen Malayalam slapstick movies starring Mohanlal and Srinivasan. The popular dyad has contributed umpteen number of box office hits since the early 90s.In one of the movies, there is a famous scene where Srinivasan asks Mohanlal, “How many kilometers from Washington D.C. to Miami Beach? “, to find out if Mohanlal had really been to US . Today, years later, I stay in California and the same funny line props up on my Whatsapp and Facebook messenger, sent by my friends and relatives back in India.
Arriving in USA as a foreign student was not an easy task. I had heard about the US education system and the opportunities it offered to the international community. Health sector is always booming like elsewhere and as a graduate in medicine, I was sure America would be the right place for me. But what kept me back was the recent stringent process for admission of healthcare professionals. Apart from the routine English language tests like TOEFL/IELTS and graduate-screening GRE(graduate record examination), medical professionals had to clear the license examinations like USMLE (for doctors) and NCLEX-RN (for nurses).High cost of education was another obstacle. Unlike India and most other countries, US education requires us to demonstrate our interest and motivation to pursue a particular field of study through a 250-350 word essay called ‘statement of purpose’ and three letters of recommendations from senior professors who have known you from your first year or second. I admired the challenging procedure but still was skeptical about whether I could make it.
I decided to go forward, and started to attend classes offered at the US education centre affiliated under US embassy in New Delhi. The Americans expect us to do things on our own, while they are only meant to guide us. I conducted researches on numerous courses offered by some of the best universities and found public health sector highly appealing. I had to quit my nursing job to prepare for the GRE exam since it had a section on math, which I was poor at. I completed my coaching, gave the tests, submitted my marks and started the procedure by applying for five universities, all in roughly eight months. To my delight, I received acceptance from two universities. But the process wasn’t complete.
The most stressful part for any student going to America is the visa interview at the US embassy. If the immigration officer puts a hold or denies your entry to US on suspicion of committing illegal activities in the country, everything you had worked gets nullified .In an age of Islamphobia, as a Muslim and as someone who had travelled quite often to Middle East countries like Saudi Arabia, I had mixed emotions. I have heard of Americans as open and transparent people, so I also decided to be as transparent and honest as possible during the interview. Finally, to my surprise, the officer stamped the permission for entry to US the very same day of my interview.
My flight from Kochi to the Los Angeles international airport had a transit in Saudi Arabia. During my brief stay in Jeddah airport, I interacted with the Saudi students who were accompanying me about their experiences so far as a foreign student in USA. “Don’t worry brother, that country is for everyone” said one of them. He was right!!! On an international political scale, USA is considered a violent country for its bombings on countries like Iraq and Afghanistan and its secret ties with Zionism. But at an individual level, contrary to popular beliefs, I have found Americans to be open, transparent, friendly and peace-loving. May God Bless America!!
Congrats Suhail.. Best wishes
Congrats and may Allah bless you