Dear Pen Pals,
My name is Erin Hameroff, and I’m a freshman at the University of Arizona in Tucson. I grew up in Tucson, now living in a dorm about fifteen minutes away from my childhood house. I have an older brother who goes to school in North Carolina, and he is studying in Spain for the semester. Although I am not in a sorority, I am involved with the University of Arizona’s Hillel foundation, which is the Jewish foundation that supports Jewish college students. Hillel gives Jewish students a sense of community, a place to meet similar college students, and somewhere to just hang out between classes. I eat lunch their everyday before Hebrew with different friends.
The first word that comes to my mind when I think of my dorm is “noisy”. 24/7 there are people talking, hanging out and listening to music. It is very hard to study and get work done in my room, because the walls and doors are so thin, I can hear people down my all at all hours of the day. My dorm is made up of nine floors, with fifty rooms on each floor, and two people in each room. Each floor is a lot like a hotel room, it is always very clean, unlike most people’s rooms. In the picture above, is a bunch of my friends in the dorm I live in.
When you open the door to my room, there are two small closets on the right, and a bathroom that I share with another two girls on the left. Once you walk past the closets, there is one big desk on the left, with two spots for chairs. On my desk I put up a ton of pictures of my friends, along with all my school supplies and books. I also have my name in wooden block letters on my desk. Right across from the desk is my bed, and on the wall right next to my bed I have all my jewelry on a corkboard, and a collage of pictures that my friend made me before school started. On the border near the ceiling, my roommate and I decided to hang pink and purple string on each wall and then clip photos all around the room to give the room a border. All of my decorations along with my roommate’s decorations has made the dorm pretty cozy and “homey”. We have a television on top of the desks, so we can both see it. We have a very small refrigerator and microwave underneath my roommates bed, along with a bin full of all kinds of snacks.
My favorite part about living in the dorm and going to school is all the new people I get to meet. Not including the 900 kids living in my dorm, I have tons of students in my classes, at Hillel, and around campus as well. It has given me so many options of what kind of people I choose to hang out with, and there is so much more variety in kids. So far, college has been a blast.

What is your school like? How many students? What do you do for fun there? What is your favorite part about school? Where do you live and what is it like?

Hope this gives you a glimpse of college life in America!
Erin

A Little of my Life

Hello!
My name is Angelica Chavira and I am a freshman at the University of Arizona. I am from Sonora, Mexico, but I have three years studying in the United States. In reality, came to the United States was very hard for me. When I first came, I found diverse borders that I never imagined. The biggest one was the language. I didn’t know how to speak English. It was very hard to communicate with my teachers, classmates or simply people. The United States have cool people who helped in my learning. One was my Government teacher in high school Juan Rojas. Since the first moment I met him he gave me advices about how to do better in school. Between some others is Ms. Wakamatsu, my English teacher also at high school. She helped me to apply for college and scholarships, and thanks to God I am accepted at the U of A and I have my Wildcat Excellence Scholarship.
As I am new at the U of A, I am just learning where the buildings are and where are the nearest places to eat between classes. The first day I came to the U of A, I felt as a stranger because the school is too big. I have classes three days per week and the others two I work as a tutor in a middle school. Once per week I go to practice mariachi because I sing and play vihuela (a little guitar) with a mariachi called San Juan. I love mariachi!
During weekends sometimes I have tocadas (times that we go to play), and others I go with my boyfriend and friends to parties. In reality school is hard and most of my free time I do homework, projects, and essays.
Hope you have fun!

Jimmy's daily life

Jimmy Bevell
October 24, 2007

The life of a college student in the United States is very demanding. My life here in the University of Arizona is very full of walking and practicing my sport. The university here is very large and it requires a determined person to walk from one class to another. If this doesn’t make you want to quit school the teachers will. They give us loads of homework, but we students like to call it busy work. The teachers are not very student friendly, or not caring for the students they only want to finish what is on the curriculum for the class.
Therefore, studying is the key to success. If you don’t have your nose in a book then you aren’t going to make it very far. I like to have a balanced breakfast in the morning to get things off right. I believe that it is impossible to work without something in my stomach. Then I get to school around seven thirty in the morning. I have two classes everyday, and they usually require homework every night. Then I go lift weights for my football team here in the University. This way I can be successful on the field and also have a healthy strong body.
I then have a small lunch because I have been snacking all day. This is so my mind can handle all the walking from class to class and the workouts for my sport. Then I have to go to practice to become better at my sport. It is important to be sharp here so you can always keep the starting job.
After practice I have the opportunity to finally go home around seven at night and eat dinner. After dinner I start my homework and try to finish it by ten o’clock. My mind and my body begin to fall asleep around ten so I have to get into bed. I get to bed early because I have to get up early and do all of this all over again. I enjoy my life as a college student because you are finally away from home and you can start your life. After about two months you begin to miss your parents and your family. It is a hard transition from high school to college but it makes you more aware of how important your family is to you.
The people here in Tucson Arizona love the sports. I love being an athlete because people want autographs and you get recognition when you do well. This is all nice but when you are doing poorly in your sport it ads more stress to your life and it begins to affect your grades and your relationships with your friends and family.
It is really a blast here in the University of Arizona because there are so many parties to go to and the girls are just too fine!

College Life at The University of Arizona

Greetings from hot and dry Arizona!

My name is Gillian. I am a freshman here at the University of Arizona. It is my 3rd month here, and the college life is treating me well.

I am an on-campus resident here. The rooms in my hall are a bit small, but not uncomfortable. I am so fortunate to have such wonderful suitemates. My roommate and I get along well. We go grocery shopping together, stay up late and talk about our personal lives, and we even hang out on the weekends together sometimes. I got very lucky because so often I hear horror stories about roommates that don’t get along at all!

I am a nursing major here at the UA, so I have to take many science courses. Currently I am taking chemistry and biology along with a few other classes, including this English class! Biology has been my toughest course this semester, but I believe in myself and I know I will succeed.

A typical weekday for me would be to wake up around 7 am for my 8 am class. This semester I have two back-to-back morning classes. After I am finished in the morning, I go back to my dorm room and take a two hour nap. I get up around noon, eat lunch, and do homework before my afternoon class at 3 pm. In the evenings I usually attend optional class discussions which are helpful if I do not fully understand the material. Other nights of the week I go to club meetings or events for the UA pre-nursing club. Once my day is over, I stay up and study. I usually don’t get to bed until around 1:30 am. It’s late, but I always have a lot of studying to do! My schedule then repeats itself the following day.

On weekends, usually I sleep in, of course! Then I get some of my homework done so that I can get a head start. Afterward, my suitemates and I usually run errands to places such as the grocery store or the drug store. Then, we spend the rest of the afternoon doing fun stuff. We enjoy shopping at the mall, seeing movies at the theater, or taking walks around campus. In the evenings, my suitemates and I get dinner at local restaurants or just on the UA campus. Later, we will all get dressed up and primped to go out and party! The late night is when the day gets fun! I think my favorite part of college is the social aspect. I am a very friendly person and I enjoy talking to and learning about new people. Going to social events such as parties is a great way to make friends!

In my opinion, the most difficult part of college is the exams. Typically, a course has little homework, so there are not many points to be earned, but the exams are each worth 100 to 200 points. This is why it is so important to know and understand the class material thoroughly. The work is stressful, but it is imperative to keep a positive outlook. I think some essential characteristics to have in college are motivation, determination, and independence. They will surely lead you down the path to success.

Macedonian in Tucson:)

Hi, my name is Ivana Cardieri and I’m a junior at the University of Arizona. I transferred from my school in Macedonia and I’ve been living here in Tucson for 8months and I like it A LOT:)

As far as school goes, it is different than education in Europe. It is very dynamic and the professors are very collaborative and opened for communication. We all know that for a non-native English speaker is very important to have that understanding from the professors. Being involved in the educational system here in Tucson, Arizona is a challenge that I’ve happily embraced.

So, people are friendly and helpful, even thought nightlife in Tucson is a little bit boring:) You know, in the USA the legal age to go to bars is 21. But hey, don’t think that kids don’t party here. There are a lot of house parties, and I personally don’t see what the fuss is all about…. I’m 21 and can go anywhere I want- there are couple of cool European style clubs in town!

Now I will tell you something about my country;
Macedonia is a beautiful, small country located on the Balkans and it is the country of Alexander the Great (in translation Alexander Macedon)
Our national jewel is Lake Ohrid, that was formed between four to ten million years ago, is Europe's oldest lake, and is amongst the oldest in the world. It lies in the valley between Ohrid and Struga, in the border region between Macedonia and Albania. It is filled with exotic fish and the best-known Ohritska pastramka.
My people are well known for their hospitality and all the traditional food that you can’t find anywhere else in the world.

Moving away form home is really hard, because my entire family is still there. But being here is not so bad. In the last couple of months, here at the University I’ve met so many people from different ethnicities. It is exiting to be surrounded with so many cultures and languages.

I like this college life a lot, because it gives me feeling of independence and prepares me for everything that awaits me in the future:)
Hey I would love to know what is your life in general like and what is your school life like?

Hope you are safe!
Your friend,

Ivana C.

Hi from Tucson!

Hello, my name is Jessie Frank, I am 18 years old, and this is my first year in college at the University of Arizona. The picture of the A is the University of Arizona ‘A’, which is usually found on shirts and sweaters here. The cat is a wildcat, and is the school mascot.
Going to college was a big change from my high school. One major difference was all the time outside of class I had. In high school I went to class from 8am until 3pm, and had very little free time during the week. However, in college, I go to class for 3-6 hours per day, with the rest of my time spent outside of classes. During my free time, I usually relax and watch TV shows or read books. I also surf the internet a lot. However, most of my free time is used studying. I will study about 2-3 hours per day for my hardest classes like Biology.
Of course, college isn’t just about studying! I also joined a club that I was interested in, it only meets once a week so it fits into my schedule very well. I am meeting new people through this club, as well as in my classes by forming study groups. I was lucky enough to have a few friends come to the UA with me, so I hang out with them a few times a week. We will usually go out for lunch or dinner, or just hang out, watch movies, and chat. My weekends are either spent hanging out and working on homework, or visiting my parents in my home city of Phoenix. Since I only live two hours away from home, I will usually carpool up with friends and spend a weekend there. While I’m in Phoenix, I will meet up with some of my friends that are still in high school and catch up on events. I also tell them about college and what they should expect.
At first, I thought college would be a little overwhelming, but I find it really manageable and a lot better than high school! I really like the idea that you can pick your own classes, class times, and professors! Because of this, I make sure that I have time in between my classes so I can relax, and that I don’t have classes too late on Fridays!
I also thought that living in a dorm would be really horrible. The experience I have had so far in living in a dorm has been great. The people in my hall are really courteous to other residents and don’t really yell and scream all night. The worst part about dorm life, that I expected, would be the community bathrooms. However, they really aren’t that bad! The showers are small, but there’s always hot water! All in all, college, for me, has been an awesome experience!

Hello, Greetings from Tucson.

My name is Mona Damdinjav. I am 17 years old and a student at the University of Arizona. I am from a far away country of Mongolia. Mongolia is located between China and Russia. I came to the United States about 4 years ago and went to high school. I graduated from high school last summer and decided to continue my education at the University of Arizona.

Mongolia is not as rich or developed as the United Stated, so for some time it was very difficult for me to adapt to living in Tucson. The surroundings and environment were completely different from what I was used to see in my native country. There were many houses and not many apartment buildings. The weather was so hot and humid compared to the dry and cold weather of Mongolia. The food was completely different than in Mongolia, I tried my first McDonald’s and pizza. Even the shops and supermarkets were different. But slowly I was able to accustom to the lifestyle here.

My typical day starts off as I wake up at 6 o’clock in the morning. My apartment is far away from the university so I take the bus to school. I take the bus at 7 o’clock and arrive at my school at 7:30. Then I go to my math class, which starts at 8 o’clock. My English class then begins at 9 but I often almost run to that class because the buildings are too far from each other. I don’t have any other class until 1 o’clock so I go to the library to do my homework. At 1 o’clock, I have my language class, which has over 400 students in this really big lecture room. After my language class, I go home and do some more homework and then everything start all over again. On Saturdays and Sundays, if I’m finished with my homework I go to the movies with my sister. My sister is a college student at the community college. I really like to go to the movies because it is lot of fun and the screens are really big and sometimes you even feel like you are in the movie. My sister always begging me to go shopping with her on the weekends, but I hate shopping.

The tuition of University of Arizona is very expensive for me because dollar is very expensive in Mongolia. My parents work really hard to let me get a better education and I am thankful for them. I am trying to get a job to help out my parents but I don’t think I have any time because of lot of homework. But when this semester ends in January I think I will be able to get a job.

Even though I live in this great country I always miss my country.

I wish you guys the best of luck in everything and hope to hear from you all.

I posted some pictures of my hometown, but I couldn’t find any good pictures of Tucson.