It’s strange how a month can feel both fast and slow at the same time. When I first walked through Usdan just over a month ago, past the excited cardinal, I couldn’t have imagined how quickly time would fly. Looking back now, it’s almost unbelievable that weeks have passed since I first arrived on campus lost and overwhelmed, wandering from Andrus Field to Bennet and circling WestCo more times than I care to admit. But it’s not just the speed of time passing that surprises me anymore. What’s truly striking is how much I have changed in just one month. I now regularly skip breakfast, and dive headfirst into each day. 

My initial excitement as I discovered something new on campus every hour quickly gave way to the reality of being thousands of miles away from home; it hit me the very moment my parents left campus. Having lived in the same city for the past 15 years, I suddenly realized how isolated I felt. Crossing the seven seas isn’t for the faint-hearted, especially when jet lag leaves you feeling like you’re on another planet.

International Student Orientation (ISO) was full of firsts, not just for me, but for many of my fellow international students. From converting Celsius into Fahrenheit to navigating the perplexing world of U.S. tax forms, we constantly adjusted to a new way of life. And while 12-hour orientation sessions over three days may sound exhausting, they were the foundation of memories I’ll carry with me for a lifetime. Every single session was thoughtfully designed, a testament to the hard work of the Office of International Student Affairs, the ISO intern, and the Orientation Leaders. Their dedication created a welcoming environment for all of us, something that’s not always easy to find when you’re far from home. I was fortunate to have Priyanshu Pokhrel ’26 as my International Student Orientation Leader (ISOL). Not only did we share similar interests, but she was incredibly patient with my tardiness at every event, which reaffirmed my belief that I had chosen the right school community at Wesleyan.

I had assumed that when the American students moved in, I would feel like an outsider after getting so used to the 150 international students on campus. Quite the opposite happened. Most of the friends I’ve made here are American. While they may joke about me watching only Bollywood films when I see movies, they’ve gone out of their way to make me feel like I belong. The community around me is so lively that we’ve already held an Indian snack review, complete with some of the best reactions, and with nearly burning our hands in the process. From having picnics atop Foss Hill, walking to Main Street, and game nights in our dorm rooms, there has not been a day I’ve sat idle since I’ve been here. I feel like I’ve found a new home. 

There are times when I’m sitting in my room with seven different types of music blasting through the hall, and the biggest moment of joy is seeing the shiny floor right after I’ve finished cleaning. I’ve gotten so used to doing laundry and taking out the trash that my mom would be proud. Smiling and waving at someone I know from my dorm is a little daily joy, and it often makes me realize just how many people I’ve had the chance to meet in a class of almost 800 students.

When classes first began, I naively thought I’d be fine academically, but I quickly found myself drowning in a sea of homework. Four weeks in, and I still haven’t figured out how to balance it all, especially after enthusiastically signing up for what feels like hundreds of clubs at the involvement fair. There are moments when I find myself sprinting from the Athletic Center to Fisk Hall with only three minutes to spare. While I’ve grown comfortable with most aspects of campus life, converting kilometers into miles still baffles me. Caught up in all the incredible resources Wesleyan has to offer, I had nearly forgotten about the amazing people I’d met during ISO.

It’s funny how things happen just when you think about them. As I write this, the past two days have been filled with reconnecting with everyone from ISO. From cramming study materials together to discussing how different our experiences have been, this past month has made me reflect on how much you can learn from the diverse people you meet. There are so many people whose smiles brighten my day. I already feel lucky to have people who’d run to me at 1 a.m. if I needed them. In just a month, I’ve gone from feeling like a stranger to finding the communities I want to be a part of here at Wesleyan.

As I sit now, reflecting on this whirlwind of a month, I realize everything—from fighting my way through the chaos of classes to dodging people in the dining hall to pure triumph at the sight of a shiny floor after cleaning—was a wild, wild ride of self-discovery. Wesleyan is like some kind of giant buffet of cultures and experiences, and I’m just here with a plate, trying to sample everything without spilling my drink (quite literally sometimes). Sure, I might still have to wrestle with a few things, and I very often forget the names of those people I see around me every day (I could swear we must be in a sitcom). But amid the madness, I have found a community that feels like home—or at least like a very loud, slightly disorganized family reunion. 

Raiza Goel is a member of the class of 2028 and can be reached at rgoel@wesleyan.edu.