The best reason to go to America? To study!

I always wanted to go to USA. This thought probably crept into my mind for the first time when my aunt who lives in Canada got chocolates and clothes for me from there. For a child whose age hasnt reached double digits, these were the symbols of paradise. As I grew older I became aware of a number of amenities which are better in America than in India like cleanliness, no pollution,no power cuts etc. As I became even more mature I started thinking about social evils like corruption,crime,politics,overpopulation which were plagueing India. Like any other selfish and pragmatic person I decided the best thing to shield myself from all this is to go abroad. All my relatives who are in America came here to study so I decided to do the same thing. I decided that I will go to USA to study after graduation.I already knew that life here as a student will be tough and not just pure enjoyment and partying.
So now I am doing MS in computer science from New York University. After coming here I have realized what it means to be a student and what is real education. In my undergaduate college studying meant a very boring thing to be postponed till a few weeks before the final exam. The reason it was so boring was that it was all rote learning. Also none of the faculty inspired in you a love for the subject. They just told u to take notes and read books.
Here the professors keep the lecture notes available online so that the time in class is spent in understanding the concepts and not feverishly jotting down every syllable uttered by the instructor. Also the instructors here are very polite to the students and make a genuine effort to make u understand thier subject. Sitting for a lecture is a pleasure here but it was an ordeal in my old college. This is the reason that there is no rule regarding attendance here. If you miss a lecture it is your loss. Here evaluation is based on regular homeworks , this keeps u motivated to study throughout the semester. Also these homeworks involve thinking on your own to solve a problem, not just finding a text in a book and transcribing it. After coming here I am seriously considering doing a PhD, a thought which seemed prepostrous back then. A chief reason for my becoming suddenly so studious is because I have little else to do. My social life is very flimsy,
my laptop is my best friend here. It has become indispensable as use it for everything -reading online lecture notes,programming, surfing,online news,mailing and listening to music or watching films. In India my entertainment was TV, cinema and reading novels, I had way too much free time on my hands. Here I dont have a TV and believe me I dont miss it. Also I dont feel like watching movies too often. Also I dont have close friends like I had in India, so I dont go out much. Also living on a student budget doesnt let u afford theatre,restaurants etc.
But I am loving my life here, studies are a stimulating,challengeing and an exercise for the brain. They keep u intellectually alive. Education is the best thing I like about America.