My name is Zhazira. I’m an international student from Kazakhstan. I'm a first year at Haverford. My intended major is chemistry.

I arrived to the US on August 24th, 2023. I have to fill out documents all the time, and they ask this date every time. Kazakhstan is in Eurasia, like in the Central Asia. It's a long trip to get here. And there are no direct flights. I took a plane and I had only thirty-minute transit, so I would say if it was direct flight, it would take the same amount of time, which was 24 hours on the plane.

I was born and raised in a small town, which doesn't have airports. I had to drive to one of the major cities in Kazakhstan, Almaty, and from there, I sat on the plane. I arrived first in Qatar, then Philly. From Philly, I took an Uber to Haverford. It was Philadelphia International Airport. I had to use bathroom there. And the first smell was weed. I couldn't— I didn't know that was weed. But I could discern it is, something different. It is something I don't like. And when I walked in Philly, I still could smell that but different, like, shade? I can't explain this. And yeah, only at Haverford, someone explained me that it was weed. Because in Kazakhstan, we don't really have woods or wooden areas. It’s mostly [inaudible] grass. Not really grass actually. Like different types of plants. Grassy. And the smell is usually like something grass-related like worrmwoods. I like wormwood.

Because it was Philadelphia International Airport, everyone coming in and coming out were of different races, ethnicities. It was very diverse. Kazakhstan is diverse, but not as diverse as the US. That was definitely surprising. When hearing different accents, also, that was interesting. It's just appearances, maybe. And I understand English, I can speak and write. That's how I got here, right. But it's just different when you study this in high school, and then suddenly you're in this environment where everyone speaks this language. And I had to like—it took me a while to get adjusted to this. People are also different like, for example, if I were say, in Russia, I would be like, “Oh, this is Russian-speaking country, and people will look Russian.” Over here, it's different people. And the only things that seem to unite us is language.

My high school was a charter school. It was in the city, and my house is in a town/village. I had to live in my school. It was boarding. Separated ones. I was away from my family since grade seven, which is five years. And they were willing to send me anywhere to continue my bachelor's. The US was like—[pause]. Yes, they were surprised. Definitely. They couldn't believe it, but it happened. It's okay. And I'm used to being alone in this. This is my first country aside from Kazakhstan. But I'm not really homesick because usually I rely on myself.

Mostly, it's very similar. I guess globalization plays out. Like you see TV series, TV shows and it's, exactly the same. But what is still chasing me in my worst dreams? Fried pickles. [Laughs] Why would you fry cucumber? And they sold it. I think it was in DC first. Oh, I was like, “oh, maybe they misspelled it. Or maybe it's something different but it's called like ‘pickles.’ Maybe I misunderstand the word. Maybe it's a synonym.” But it was literally fried pickles.

I don’t think that anyone here reminds me of home. No one is here from Central Asia. Oh, actually, there's one girl. I think she was born in the US. But her family immigrated from Uzbekistan, which is close to Kazakhstan, but we never really speak, we’re not close. During the summer before I came here, Admissions Office connected me with international student who couldn't decide if they want to go to Haverford or not. I already accepted the offer. They were like, “Oh, do you want to?” and I was like, “Okay, fine.” And eventually they chose to stay committed to Haverford. And then we coordinated like, when we arrived to Philly, we worked together, we went to Haverford together. Now we're not as close as we used to be. But I guess that was the first connection with Haverford I had.

And just the fact that I'm not in my own country makes it even more— I feel like I became even more mature. I don't really—I text my parents. But last time we were speaking through phone, it was—I don't really remember. It was last month, or two? Like, I still love them, but I don't have time. And they understand that. It feels like it's too soon, but then… it seems right to me. Maybe not for someone else.

[Inaudible] First we had to open bank accounts. That was stressful, to be able to buy something, to live. And also like scholarship, and if you have on-campus jobs it is a direct deposit to your bank account. And I got this job. It was actually my first job. No. Research assistantship was my first job, and I had to do that ASAP. I think it's also harder for international low-income students even more. You have no idea what to do and you depend on college.