I thought that the United-States would be far more industrialized, with
cities everywhere. But in fact, there are far more spaces of forests and spaces
between the cities than I would have imagined. I saw many animals: deer, turkeys,
squirrels (a lot of them), groundhogs… This country is far more natural that I
would have thought.
Squirrels (Photo by Mathilde Jouanne)
So far, I have only met nice and friendly people in the United-States.
Each time I needed help, someone answered. For example, some people lend me
there phone, my Resident Assistant drove me to a place and my roommate walked
me to another. I have so many examples of people helping me without asking
something in return. Moreover, everything is huge here. First, the distance between cities is
crazy. The amount of food is enormous. There are a lot of skyscrapers. But I think there are two things that impressed me the most in the
United-States. First, never believe that it is cheap. Because when it is, it is
just because the taxes are not included or you have to give tips. Never believe
that the United-States are cheap, never! The second thing is the price of
cheese. I know that cheese would be expensive. But here it is not only
expensive, it is also disgusting. I miss my French cheese with my French
baguette.
As for UConn, here is what I think:
Cover of Martin Dressler, the Tale of an American dreamer by Steven
Millhausser (http://books.google.com)
UConn is a “city in the city”. That is what Martin Dressler (Martin Dressler, the Tale of an American
dreamer, Steven Millhausser) wanted to do for his hotels: to create a “city
within the city”. That is how I feel about UConn. I feel like I do not need to
go anywhere else because everything is already at UConn: my friends, the gym
for my sport, the teachers to study and my house to live and even bars to drink
sometimes. The only thing that could be missing would be a clothes store, but the
Bookstore sells clothes. So no, there is nothing missing here.
Horsebarn Hill (photo by Mathilde
Jouanne)
UConn is at the same time a quiet city, where everything is green, peaceful
and calm and also a moving city with all the clubs, the games and the bars.
UConn is also a place of meeting. I already have some best friends and
honestly, I could not feel more comfortable than with my two roommates.
I am not used to living in a campus. In France, I lived with my parents
thirty minutes by car from my university. Here, I can do everything by foot and
I love that. The only thing that I do not really like compared to France is the
amount of homework and assignments to do per week. In France, you only have
final exams for the most. So I need to get use to the fact that I need to work
every day, not only two weeks before the exams.
Husky Proud (Photo by Mathilde
Jouanne)
Moreover, In UConn, everyone is proud to be part of the Husky community.
I must say that I am already proud too. In my university, to wear a t-shirt
with the name of our university is not cool at all. Here, I already have bought
a t-shirt of UConn and I wear it to go to classes or to events. I am proud to
be part of the Husky family for one year.The last impression that I have about UConn is that it is already making
me more grown up. I have responsibilities and I have to make my own choices
like an adult.
Written by: Mathilde Jouanne
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