Geaux-ing South (part 2)
Setting foot on LSU
I landed at Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport in the wee hours and was greeted by a current International student at LSU. He brought me and a few other exchange students who were on the same flight to our temporary lodge and then to Walmart to get ourselves some daily necessities. In the short 3–4 hours in Baton Rouge, the conversations I had with the locals I met all had a common theme.
“Don’t wander around at night, preferably not out of campus. It’s not safe.”
Confused, I did a quick Google search. Baton Rouge has one of the highest murder rates in the entire United States. Check out this list for 2019. Baton Rouge is 6th and consistently amongst the top few. What a start to my solo adventure! (for the rest of my time there, I adhered to this advice extremely closely)
A few days later, LSU held a briefing for all the exchange students. And that’s when I found out I wasn’t just the only Singaporean there. I was the only Asian. No Chinese, no Indians, Koreans, Japanese. None. Great. And that was the first time I experienced racism first hand. It was clear they weren’t interested in making friends even when I made the first move. Oh well, I guess it’s the going to me, myself and I for the next 4 months. To be honest, the thought of it scared me. I was afraid and I was alone in one of the most dangerous cities in US.
In hindsight, that was a blessing in disguise as it opened the doors to meet the most awesome locals I could ever dream of knowing. I was in the bathroom and minding my own business when this guy handed me a flyer and invited me to a water balloon fight event. I took the leap of faith and never looked back. These guys were the reason I had the most authentic experience anyone could ever get. (not a touristy one where people go around taking photos)
The experiences I had with this bunch were something I could have never planned for. I was invited to spend Thanksgiving at my friend’s place and got to experience what Thanksgiving is really like for a typical American family. The homecooked food was amazing and I had a lot of fun mingling with my friend’s extended family. I got to go to high school football games and witnessed the stage the kids there get to play on at a tender age. But really, the most memorable moments were those in Herget Hall’s Room 600 and the midnight Cane’s runs.
It’s not all fun and games of course. I had classes to complete. Being alone meant I had no one to rely on. I had always been relying on my friend for most, if not all, of my classes. And what’s worse is people look at me like I am supposed to be smarter since I am Asian. Well, I am sorry to disappoint. I started to go for every class so that I could keep up with the curriculum, something that is unheard of when I am in Singapore.
It’s funny how a simple decision of going to all my classes changed my life. I learned to be independent and disciplined. And I learned to face my insecurities head on. I really had to when I had to give presentations. It was really daunting to have to speak English in front of the entire class when I was the only Asian. But I am glad, I did.
Besides all the friends I made and lessons I learned, this exchange rekindled my passion.
(to be continued…)
