The Doors I Closed When I Came to the US

By Anna Malinovskaya. Perhaps all international students discover at some point that going to college in the States costs more than they pay in money terms. I have experienced personal costs that will impact my life long after my education here is done. Some I was prepared to encounter, and others caught me off-guard. I don’t regret my decision to study in the States, but coming here has meant closing some doors and cutting off some possibilities.
As long as I can remember, mainstream political opinion in Russia has been anti-American, encouraged by the older generation who grew up in the Soviet Union and taught that America was an enemy to be opposed. Not everyone in the country is anti-American of course – in fact, most people I know are not actively anti-American – but there is an underlying suspicion of American values and intentions. As a result, my decision to study in America is viewed warily, and even negatively, by some. Read more...