Photo Courtesy of Leah DeHaemer

“As-salāmu ‘alaykum, aismi Hunter [السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ ، أسمي هنتر]. Those are some basic Arab phrases that I brought with me from Abu Dhabi. I used to live in Abu Dhabi for the last six years before moving to Hofstra as a freshman this year. Fortunately, I have made a lot of great friends, and it has really helped with the culture shock and the change in atmosphere. However, [there are] some things that, no matter how many friends or how many people I meet, I won’t be used to. For example, how cold it gets already. And the cheese. The cheese in America is horrible! Some of the hardest pieces of culture shock that I’ve experienced here is the lack of touch. All my friends back home in the [United Arab Emirates] (UAE), we would hug, or we do the three-kisses-style greeting, and in America everyone’s giving head nods and dabbing each other up, not a lot of physical touch, which has been weird. I’ve also noticed a big difference in the culture of who you say hello to, and when you interact with people. In the UAE, you only say hello if you’re intending to talk to them for the next four hours or so. In the U.S., it’s like you walk by someone, anyone you don’t even have to know them, it’s like, ‘Hello! Hello. Hello, hello’. Lastly about culture shock and things I miss from home, I’m still not used to how you can walk around everywhere. I’m so used to back home in Abu Dhabi, where you take a cab, you take a car or you just go inside from one house to another, which is very different and part of why I’m always so cold now because I’m walking outside. Some big positives that Hofstra has that I definitely don’t miss from being at home is the fact that I have American Netflix now, I have American Spotify. I miss some songs from home – if anyone wants to listen to one, 3 Daqat, great song. Another positive that Hofstra has provided is obviously the education and professors. It’s one of the only colleges that I’ve ever visited where I felt like I was at home and I was cared for. My professors already know my name for attendance, I don’t have to tell them, ‘Oh, I’m Hunter Pelecky,’ they know me. And I also just really enjoy my friends I’ve made at Hofstra, and I’m truly appreciative to all of them and I want to take this time to thank them all for being so kind and supportive. Thank you.”