Transition back to Fisher made more complicated
By Megan Newell
Last Updated:4:03 PM EST 1/27/10 Section: Viewpoint
Returning from abroad was one of the hardest things I've ever had to face in my life. I still don't know when I'll be able to return to Peru to see my friends and host family again. At the same time, it was awesome to come home to my family and friends that I had left behind for four and a half months earlier.
Certain aspects of the transition have been fairly easy, while others have proved much more challenging.
One great thing that has made my transition easier was getting right back in the swing of things when I got home. I saw my friends, worked at my old job and spent lots of time with my family.
I got a chance to give all my friends and families little mementos that I was able to bring back with me. I had many opportunities to tell stories about my time there to lots of friends and relatives. It was great to be able to show pictures of my host family and home, my school and my community to everyone.
Coming back to Fisher in the middle of the year meant meeting 500-some new freshmen for the first time, many of whom thought I was a freshman myself. Also, for the first few days I caught myself looking for my friends who had graduated last year.
Reverse culture shock set in just as classes started and for a couple of days, all I wanted to do was hide out in my room. Despite that feeling, I have been trying to spend as much time as possible with my friends here to keep my mind off of it and remind myself why I love it here so much.
Another tough thing is that after living for almost five months in a foreign country buying souvenirs, taking trips on the weekend, eating out, and trying as many new things as I could, I came back practically broke. Much to my dismay, my books were quite expensive this year and I couldn't find many of them online. To top it off I had to pay the full $40 for a parking pass that I'll only be using for one semester.
I don't think it would hurt Fisher too terribly to make the rates per semester so that those of us returning for only half the year aren't forced to pay the full amount for half the time. It really doesn't make sense to me.
According to the Office of Parking Services at Brockport they offer four different types of parking permits. The most expensive is a yearlong resident/commuter permit. Less than half the price of that is a yearlong permit for a lot further away that requires longer walk. There is also a half-year permit and a yearlong permit for after 4:30 p.m. only. Both of these options are cheaper than the yearlong permit.
I realize parking is a hot issue on campus, but it seems to me that this is something that could be easily fixed and will save money for students who are already spending a lot of money at the beginning of each semester. It certainly would have helped in my situation.
mnn04010@sjfc.edu
Certain aspects of the transition have been fairly easy, while others have proved much more challenging.
One great thing that has made my transition easier was getting right back in the swing of things when I got home. I saw my friends, worked at my old job and spent lots of time with my family.
I got a chance to give all my friends and families little mementos that I was able to bring back with me. I had many opportunities to tell stories about my time there to lots of friends and relatives. It was great to be able to show pictures of my host family and home, my school and my community to everyone.
Coming back to Fisher in the middle of the year meant meeting 500-some new freshmen for the first time, many of whom thought I was a freshman myself. Also, for the first few days I caught myself looking for my friends who had graduated last year.
Reverse culture shock set in just as classes started and for a couple of days, all I wanted to do was hide out in my room. Despite that feeling, I have been trying to spend as much time as possible with my friends here to keep my mind off of it and remind myself why I love it here so much.
Another tough thing is that after living for almost five months in a foreign country buying souvenirs, taking trips on the weekend, eating out, and trying as many new things as I could, I came back practically broke. Much to my dismay, my books were quite expensive this year and I couldn't find many of them online. To top it off I had to pay the full $40 for a parking pass that I'll only be using for one semester.
I don't think it would hurt Fisher too terribly to make the rates per semester so that those of us returning for only half the year aren't forced to pay the full amount for half the time. It really doesn't make sense to me.
According to the Office of Parking Services at Brockport they offer four different types of parking permits. The most expensive is a yearlong resident/commuter permit. Less than half the price of that is a yearlong permit for a lot further away that requires longer walk. There is also a half-year permit and a yearlong permit for after 4:30 p.m. only. Both of these options are cheaper than the yearlong permit.
I realize parking is a hot issue on campus, but it seems to me that this is something that could be easily fixed and will save money for students who are already spending a lot of money at the beginning of each semester. It certainly would have helped in my situation.
mnn04010@sjfc.edu
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