Why I Went for an Exchange Semester and You Should, Too!

By Zaid Nasir Khan, AUS student

At the University of Vermont campus

Roll back the years to 2014 and I am in my senior year of high school wondering what the next chapter in my life holds for me. As a typical student about to graduate from high school in a few months’ time, I started shortlisting universities across the United States and England. I always wanted to study abroad, not because I did not like Sharjah which has been my home for almost 20 years, but because I always wanted to experience living independently and exploring new places. 

However, like most parents in this part of the world, my parents were just not ready yet to send me thousands of miles away. They wanted me to pursue my higher education in the UAE itself and so I enrolled in the American University of Sharjah, which has been nothing short of an incredible journey that allowed me to meet life-long friends, learn from esteemed professors, develop professionally and personally, and oh, go for an exchange semester too! 

I still remember how the prospect of going for an exchange semester excited me during my orientation week. Fast-forward to my sophomore year and I had formally started the process of applying for my exchange semester. Before we move further, I would like to bust a myth first: the myth that applying for an exchange semester is tedious, time-consuming, complex, and simply too difficult. That is simply not true. In fact, it is as easy as filling a few forms and with the help of the IXO team you will have absolutely no problems at all. Yes, there are some aspects that are more time-consuming and exhausting too, but has there ever been a worthy reward for easy work? 

I identified universities in the United States that interested me and applied to them. I wanted to take a break from the urban lifestyle of Dubai and go to somewhere calm, embedded in nature, and surrounded by mountains. Vermont fit these criteria perfectly. I was going to study in the 'Green Mountain State,' and more specifically, at the University of Vermont.

So why did I go for an exchange and you should too? I have a few reasons listed below: 

1. Explore

It was January 1, 2018 when I reached Boston. It was the perfect way to start a new year, diving into a new challenge. I spent a few days in Boston first, living with my cousin and exploring the beautiful city which is also home to the most prestigious academic hub in the world, hosting universities like Harvard and MIT. When going to Cambridge, you cannot ignore the Harvard Bridge, an iconic landmark that has appeared in countless movies. I could not help but picture those scenes around the location. Boston’s true beauty, though, lies within its people, who are so diverse, coming from every corner of the world and bringing their traditional food. You will find everything from Japanese sushi to sub-continental desi food to an English breakfast to some steak and fries, and if you are a bit homesick there is plenty of shawarma as well. Of course, the Boston Harbor and Quincy Market are just two of the many incredible places to visit in Boston as well. Full of character and flowing with history, the two places were unmatched as they hosted the best lobsters in New England and street performers like nowhere else.

With Boston checked off my bucket list, we headed to the Big Apple, New York! Buzzing with excitement, we reached ever-busy Manhattan at midday and I was shocked to see the pace of the city. It was lightning, faces from every corner of the world, languages I had never heard before, all in one place: Manhattan. As a marketing major, I was also really excited to see Wall Street, a financial district with such great influence over the financial markets of the world. The entire city of New York was simply breathtaking. 

With few days left, I had to head up north towards Vermont. My orientation week was soon to begin so my cousin and I drove up in a Nissan Sentra 1999. Although it was snowing, we did not expect to encounter a snowstorm on the way. For 5 long hours, we drove north, stopping every few miles so that I could wipe the snow off the windscreen since the veteran car’s wipers had frozen. Eventually, just before midnight, we reached Vermont and I got to witness its beauty for the first time the next morning. A breathtaking view of mountains stretched across the skyline, covered with snow with the sun shining bright onto the frozen Lake Champlain. The Church Street in Burlington was still decorated from Christmas which added a festive touch to the city.

My university looked like something out of a Harry Potter movie as it was more than 200 years old! Some buildings looked like historical museums given their architecture and how the interiors were still preserved and protected from modern design. That being said, it was still contemporary in the manner in which it addressed the needs and wants of its students. I thoroughly enjoyed my time exploring Vermont and on long weekends I would explore others states around New England, too. Only an exchange semester could make this possible. 

2. Get out of your comfort zone

I was way too comfortable living in Sharjah. I had been here for almost 20 years and life basically had an ordinary static routine, nothing dynamic. I wanted to change that and get uncomfortable. What happened next was way beyond what I expected. I was blown away by the cultural shock; even though I had heard from many that it will take time to adapt, I had always underestimated it. The food, for instance, was not halal in the university’s dining halls and the closest halal restaurant would charge me $25 for a single piece of kebab that would be far from enough, not ideal for a student’s budget! This, however, gave me an opportunity to go vegetarian. I wanted to experience a different sort of diet but I never had the discipline to pursue one properly. So for four months I was on a vegetarian diet. Though it was extremely difficult for the entire four months, I am immensely proud of myself for successfully doing it. 

Next is the weather. Snow looks great in pictures and is also very enjoyable for a week. But if you have to live in the freezing temperatures of Vermont for months, you better get some vitamin D tablets along with you because there will not be any sun for days or sometimes even weeks. Having to wear 3 layers of clothing and walking to class in immense snow is incredibly challenging. You feel like you are doing a documentary on National Geographic somewhere in the Arctic. Temperatures went as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius! So that is another challenge you need to face but it does get fun with the snowball fights and watching people slip on slippery paths of the campus. On the bright side, I can now also say that I have experienced everything from the scorching heat of Dubai to the brutal cold of Vermont! 

I did eventually adapt to the food and weather but something that really shocked me was how small the population was in the city, particularly when I first arrived. Burlington (the city I was in) only has a population of just over 42,000 people, and out of those, around 20,000 were university students. Exchange students were asked to check-in almost a week earlier than the rest of the university so I was virtually in an empty ghost town. Thankfully though, two of my friends from AUS, Saif and Sid, were also accepted into the University of Vermont and so we had each other’s company. Despite that, suddenly moving from such a densely populated city like Dubai to Burlington in Vermont was mentally challenging. But that was the reason I wanted to study there, to be somewhere calm and peaceful surrounded by nature. So eventually, I did adapt and enjoyed exploring the city. 

3. Make friends from around the world

Vermont is also one of the most liberal states in the USA, if not the most liberal, and having grown up in a conservative society in Sharjah, the contrast was eye-opening and exposed me to people that I would have never met otherwise. I met people with incredible stories about their lives that I will never forget. This experience allowed me to meet friends from Australia, South Korea, Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Guyana, Vietnam, and beyond. And of course, my American friends introduced me to American football and baseball. Along the way, I made some incredible friends that I am still in touch with and hopefully will be in the future, too. 

These are just three reasons to go for an exchange semester but there are infinite others too and you can only discover them by your own experience. Our exchange program allows us to go to universities around the world for at least a semester, so why not take advantage of it? If I have one regret, it would be that I only went for one semester instead of going for a second one in Europe as well. I remember walking into the exchange office in my sophomore year and a brochure on the table said, “Exchange is not a year in your life, it is life in a year,” and I can assure you that is absolutely true.