I arrived in the U.S. from my homeland in England a few months ago. My plan: to try everything.

I’ve yet to have any Maryland crab cakes, which I’ve been told are the best in the country. I’m already making some friends and I’ve joined a couple of campus clubs.

I want to embrace the American culture; eat every type of hot dog; try to hit a few balls in a baseball pen; and check out an American football game.

Completing my studies at AACC is my first priority. After AACC, I plan to study at the University of Maryland.

Before I moved here, I traveled around the world for about 18 months, starting in South America, across the Pacific via New Zealand and Australia, and then up through various countries in Southeast Asia through Nepal and India. I spent four months working at home before making the decision to study here.

I don’t plan on settling in Maryland just yet. I am planning to explore this state and others when the weather picks up.

Still, the move to the U.S. does make me miss my family and friends. But it is very early in the moving process to judge how else I will be affected.

The classroom system at AACC is somewhat different from classes I would take in the U.K., where based on your major, you would be placed in different classes with the same group of people. Although I get to interact with a variety of people this way, there is a missing core of students whom I see regularly.
You must be open when settling into a new culture. The comforts that you might have back home may not exist here, but you will adjust quickly.

The college campus is the best environment to fail. (Not your studies though.) Above all, try and make friends.

Davis is a third-year architecture major.