Tag Archives: USA

Here’s a story about how the internet proved to be a fantastic opportunity for an international student

10 Oct

Internet

I am actually very pleased to have had an opportunity to study in the Oregon State University. It wasn’t something planned. I wanted to do something in the space I was interested in, and [the] opportunity to go to graduate school at Oregon State [came up]. So, I went there. This was mid-1980s. The internet […]

Word Nerd: An English-speaker’s guide to funny Americanisms

25 Sep

By now, many Americanisms have crept into English around the world, thanks to pop culture and Microsoft Word. Perhaps you say ‘restroom’ for ‘toilet’. Or you may be one of those people who say ‘from left field’ even though they’ve never played baseball. And you probably know that a ‘cheeseburger’ is a mere shadow of […]

Two weeks that changed my life completely

20 Sep

Fifteen-year-old Parthsarthi Suri is a student at the Emirates International School – Jumeirah, in Dubai, UAE. He participated in the Knowledge@Wharton High School Global Young Leaders Academy at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, in the summer of 2017. Here’s what he had to say about the experience. I have often heard this famous quote […]

Advice from a girl who worked hard and got to choose between an Ivy League offer and a full scholarship

5 May

I remember bringing home my grade sheets when I was 12, and seeing the disappointment on my parents’ faces. They never explicitly said that they wanted me to achieve higher results, yet I could tell. They wouldn’t congratulate me, or smile and say ‘well done!’ I knew I wasn’t the best in my grade, and […]

With no date, girl who got into 7 Ivy League schools takes Harvard acceptance letter to prom

2 May

American teenager Priscilla Samey got into seven Ivy League schools, but couldn’t find a date for the senior prom. Instead of being disheartened, the 17-year-old took her acceptance letter from Harvard University to the dance. Last Saturday, she tweeted this picture with the message, “Couldn’t find a man to accept me for prom so I […]

Word Nerd: Cool Words You Should Know if You’re a Vegetarian in the USA

4 Jul

Today, 4th of July, is USA’s Independence Day. It’s a day which will be celebrated with fireworks, parades and fare sampled outdoors – beer butt chicken, Louisiana crawfish boil, Cajun fries, and the regular hot dogs.  If you’re like me, most of these dishes probably sound as mysterious as they sound tempting. Except hot dogs, […]

5 surprising facts about Cinco de Mayo

5 May

1.  It marks a small but stunning victory. Many people celebrate Mexican culture on May 5 each year, but not many know the story behind it. On Cinco de Mayo (pronounced ‘singko de maa-yo’; Spanish for the 5th of May) in 1862, Mexico defeated France at the Battle of Puebla. The fighting lasted just three hours, […]