International Student Comeback: How Jet Lag Was Intertwined with Happiness

Sweating buckets because of the hot weather in South Carolina, I stood outside of the airport with three huge suitcases and three bags on my body. It had been a long summer before I made it to be back here. I had done an internship in a non-governmental organization about Social Entrepreneurship in Vietnam, which gave me practical experience in the Communication field like marketing strategies; on-the-spot translating and interpreting skills; and an amount of knowledge about the progress of local social enterprises. Also, I partook in a volunteering trip in Bohol island, Philippines to do an Endangered Species Conservation project organized by SJ Vietnam and Youth Sustainable Development Assembly Philippines. I even took some dance and cooking classes with my dear sister. The summer was truly a blast!

Me during summer with friends!

Then I was standing there, heated up and loaded, waiting for my best American buddy to pick me up. An overwhelming sense of joy consumed me when I saw him – obviously! We chatted and got each other updated on the way home. Since we both joined the International Connection Program (ICP), we talked a lot about incoming international students with high hopes of bringing in more diversity to Furman!

In fact, I arrived at the campus around 1:30 PM while my first class – Digital Communication – was at 2:30 PM; the time was successively 12:30 AM and 1:30 AM in the Vietnam time zone. So with all heavy luggage in tow, I managed to get into Ramsay 300 (Ramsay was my favorite hall ever!) and lied right down on the empty bed for a quick nap (with super cold AC on and no blanket unfolded yet!). Jet lag almost lured me away from going to class on that day, but the encouragement of my buddy and the nice “WELCOME BACK!” letter of my new roommate did help me get out of bed and walk to class with my mind lit up by joy.

And that unwanted jet lag “kept calm and kept staying” for the whole first week! It dragged my sleeping time behind 3 to 4 hours compared to my usual sleeping pattern. However, the specialness of meeting old pals, making new friends, scheduling classes and being independent again has never made me feel more energetic and lively. I know that I love coming back and I love college life at Furman enough to overcome all of the returning obstacles!

Me & my suite mates at Haywood Mall!

Looking forward to a busy but vibrant sophomore year!!

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