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Iowa:

An international studentÁs first glimpse of rural America

by Jos¯ Segebre Salazar Á09

As I rode in a bus to Grinnell from the Des Moines airport, I said to myself, ËWhy is everything so annoyingly green? Where are the skyscrapers? The subway? The five-story malls? Where are they?Ó When I dreamt of college, I saw development at its best. Instead, I was observing a never-changing plaster of green.

I come from a striving Central American nation called Honduras. I have lived there all my life, but I am truly part Mexican and part Arab. Back home I have been exposed to a mishmash of cultures, so I miss everything from the way we greet - with one kiss, and sometimes two - to the food.

I was distracted from some of these thoughts as I introduced myself to all the international students on the bus. Some came from France, others from Nigeria, several from China and others from countries I thought only existed on atlases and globes.

It was at this precise moment when I realized why Grinnell was the college of my choice because of its diversity.

As the days went by, as I got lost several times on campus, as I forgot the names and faces of lots of people I met, I realized that GrinnellÁs best asset is its people. The student population is so diverse that you can become acquainted with so many cultures. Everybody is so open to different ideas and new things that it enables you to express yourself freely without fearing any sort of judgment.

GrinnellÁs best asset, its people, also goes beyond its student population. Grinnell is so special because of its faculty, its custodians, its SAs, its deans, its RLCs, its nurses and all those people that go unnoticed but help smooth your transition into college.

As I curse and swear my way up to the fourth floor of Norris, I realize that no matter how much the food sucks, that no matter how painful I find the four flights of stairs, I am where I want to be. I am in the place that best suits me in this turmoil of growing up.

I have never experienced frostbite, hypothermia, or any of the other usual features of surviving an Iowan winter, but here I am, willing to take it all with a mind free of prejudices and a heart full of excitement.

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