Submitted by Tumwater High School Pakistani Exchange Student Majreeha Wadood
You can never tell about anything unless you experience it on your own. Sometimes your own eyes betray you and sometimes you just judge based on what you imagine.
Before coming to United State, I had some imaginations that turned out to be totally opposite of what I have actually experienced. For instance, I thought that no American would care for who I am, and that I wouldn’t meet anyone selfless. I thought I might face problems at school. That there would be bullies and that I would have to oppose them. But to my surprise things were the opposite of what I thought.
Although I had to face lots of questions about my country that might be seen as offensive or stupid to others – for instance I have been asked if there are cars in my country, theaters, shopping malls, salons, parks, or if girls play sports. I have been asked if there a war going there right now and if Pakistanis hate Americans and so on.
But, I have always found it a pleasure answering these questions, because that is the purpose of me being here. And it always gives me pleasure to see people’s interest in me when I give presentations about my home country. The way they react that when they discover what it’s actually like compared to what they thought before.
Media has turned us all blind and let us see what it wants. We just blindly believe in what we see on screens.
Now there is just one month left and I feel like I have done my best to show where I come from, but there is a lot to do.
