Today we had the following on our agenda: Visit to the University of Charlotte (UNCC), where our visa is based, but where we are not employed. It took us almost 45 minutes by car to get there. When we arrived, the sun was scorching. One thing that bothers me here is the fact that it's extremely hot outside and then so cool in every building. Anyway, the college was simply huge. There are 28,000 students and 2,000 international students, so a total of 30,000. It's just mind-blowing how big everything is here. Anyway, the appointment at the university didn't quite work out and we had to wait a bit for our contact person to greet us and give us information. In the meantime, we walked around the campus and took a closer look at it. Honestly, we only walked to the next building because it was so ridiculously hot outside and we didn't feel like it :D. Let me show you some pictures:
In the other building was the dining hall. At first, there was a huge hall and there were small restaurants everywhere, like Starbucks, Wendy's, etc. and there were also many small shops. We also bought a poster for our house to decorate the bare walls a bit. After that, I met up with a classmate whom I met in the 1st semester at PH Ludwigsburg and who happens to be in Charlotte, North Carolina this semester, but she is studying here. Then she showed us the student housing complex and I have to say, it was very interesting to see. It's kind of like in the movies. I can never believe that it's real and that I get to experience all of this. After the short tour, our contact person finally had time for us. Among other things, she had to sign our visa, because if we want to go to Canada or Mexico during our semester abroad and then come back, we need her signature, otherwise we won't be allowed back into the US. She also explained to us what the campus has to offer and that we still have to go to the university to pick up our university ID. Here in America, you need an ID for everything. We could even request a Charlotte city ID. After the meeting, my roommate's parents kindly drove us home. On the way to their car, I got a close-up view of the football field and I have to say, it was impressive.But the university also has a huuuuuge tennis court. Unfortunately, we are not allowed to use the sports facilities and sports programs because we are not officially students, but rather "Specialists" since we teach at a school and earn money. In the evening, we quickly cooked dinner and then my roommate and I went to a bar in town. What I found particularly strange was that you can just walk into the bar, but as soon as you're inside, the employees want to see your ID and they have a special machine to scan the ID. Luckily, I'm over 21 years old, so there were no issues. It was a nice end to the day. Tomorrow I already have the next appointment. At 10 o'clock, a parent from the school will come with us to the bank and we will open a bank account there. Oh, and in the afternoon, my parents will also be here. It's going to be fun in a single-family house with 2 families :) I feel a bit sorry for my roommate.
