From: mikail@cesdis1.gsfc.nasa.gov (Mikail Shams)
Subject: Re: KulturSchock
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 92 15:49:55 GMT
Organization: Center of Excellence in Space Data and Information Sciences
Originator: mikail@pepsi.eng.umd.edu

        Speaking of KulturSchocks this is what I came across my first
semester at the University of Maryland at College Park.

        After finishing up my A-levels in Malaysia I started schooling here
in 1988 as a freshman.  I knew I had to live some where close to campus as I
didn't have a car then.  So I decided to do what any other in coming freshman
would do. YES. LIVE on CAMPUS!!  I checked in couple of days before semester
started, got my keys and walked into Dorchester Hall.  It was a four storied
coed dorm with three floors of freshman girls.  So far so good.  I went up
to the second floor and found room 2116.  I saw my name on the door and my
roommate's (Hey these people cared about us!!)  I Opened the door and there he
was.  The person I will spend the next 15 weeks with.  Dave was a 25 year
old man (I was 18 then!!), with hair down to his waist, full beard and a
tiedye shirt on.  He was smoking a marlborro(sp??) and was really into his
Rolling Stones magazine.  "Hi there", I said "I'm Mikail", extending my
hand out for a shake.  "Hey I'm Dave, cool place ha?".  It sure was cool
from his perspective.  I realized that the two walls on his side of the
room was covered with what appeared to be long tiedye bed sheets.  He nailed
them to the wall.  And over these beautiful sheets hung pictures of Bob
D. and Grateful Dead.  I have heard of DEADHEADS but, I never expected to
have one as my roommate.  His expensive stereo system sat on top of his
desk.  He was the proud owner of almost every single DEAD concert live
on tape.  He had about 60 of them.  The top two shelves of the chest of
drawers contained them.  The entire semester I had never seen him sit on his
desk (after all there was no room because his stereo took up so much space.  I
remember the nights he would be up till 2 in the morning watching the 'Hill
Street Blues' at midnight, 'Kojak' at 1 and 'The Saint' at 2 o' clock.  He
would fall asleep with his TV on and once in a while I would get up and turn
it off.  He used to smoke constantly.  Only good thing was he used to leave
for New York for his girlfriend's place every Friday and would get back late
Sunday night.  So I had the entire room to myself during the weekends.  I never
saw him socialize with any one in the dorm, actually people were kind of
scared of him because of his looks.  It turns out (when he told me later) that
he was in a drug rehab. program the last 2 years recovering from marijuana
addiction.  A very nice way to start my college life in America.

        Later on into the last couple of weeks in the semester we started to
get along okay.  I was extremely grateful to him for not smoking pot in my
room.   Needless to say that semester was the last time I lived on campus.
Dave also moved out of the dorms.  I ran into Dave a year ago.  He was
finally graduating.  He was complaining that he had to cut his hair and trim
the beard because he needed to look far a job and go through interviews.
Good luck Dave!!

        The same semester I had a different kind of experience.  I was taking
Psychology 100.  The class had about 400 students.  It was packed. The
professor was okay.  I was out playing basketball one evening with my dorm
buddies in the gym.  After an hour of hard ball playing we all decided to go to
the locker room and freshen up a little bit.  I walked into the huge locker
room and as soon as I passed the shower I bumped into my Psyc professor.  He
was stark naked with water dripping from his body.  We looked at each other.
I was so embarrassed I tried to look away.  But before I could do that it
was too late.  "Hows it goin'"he says, "How are you doing Dr. Kight?".  "Okay.
You in my class?", "Yeah, your 100 class, but I guess I am one of your 400
students and I sit at the back", "Yeah its pretty big and we are trying to cut
it down, any problems come over to my office".  Now why was this guy being
so friendly?  Things that make you go Hmmm.  "Sure" I said and went my merry
way.  That was the last time I ever went to that locker room.  And I never
went to see him in his office or asked him a question during his lectures.
Talk about culture shocks.


        As time went by and I spent 8 semesters at U of M I had quite a lot
of experience and exposure to a new culture.  For those stories tune in next
time at the same time, at the same week at ...

P E A C E


Mikail Shams

Newsgroups: soc.culture.bangladesh,soc.culture.indian,soc.culture.pakistan