#usexchange

Congrats to our 2018 Fulbright Awardees! Educational exchange is at the heart of the special US-Jamaica relationship. #usembassykingston #fulbright #education #usexchange #studyinusa #scholarship @usembassyja https://www.instagram.com/p/Bl6raRqHmsQ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=9vzfpcioqp60

I just made it through my first week in the United States, and I am finding that it is quite different in the United States than it is in Pakistan. The most obvious observations came from things like simple etiquette. For example, the American mentors take timeliness quite seriously. In Pakistan, it is never a problem to show up to an event after it’s official start time. However, it is not like that here. In the U.S., if the event starts at 1 PM, we must show up even 10-15 minutes before that. It is quite an adjustment, but not impossible. Another observation I made about the differences between American and Pakistani society is movie-theater norms. In the U.S., people feel their movie experience is being interrupted when there are people using their cellphone in the theater. In Pakistan, I never ran into this problem when attending a movie. However, I realized that the movie was even more enjoyable without looking at my phone for the entire 2-hour movie.