Hi guys! Let me introduce myself, my name is Nita Thirza and I'm currently studying at Green River College, a beautiful college located in Auburn, Washington. I'm going to be a new blogger for Study in the USA starting this month, and I hope you will like my future posts. 

More information about me, I'm 18-years-old (probably already turned 19 by the time you read this) Indonesian girl. I like to laugh a lot, and probably have laughed too much. I came to the U.S. when I was 17-years-old to pursue High School Completion and AA degree. My friend introduced me to the High School Completion program in Washington State when I was in the second year of high school. I was really excited to know more about this program because I couldn't wait to explore the outside world. After I finished the second year, I flew all the way to America by myself. That was the first time I traveled alone, and it was surely one of the greatest experiences that I will never forget. I arrived in the U.S. without knowing anybody, and I had never been to America before. That was the beginning of a whole new chapter of my life.

One year living in America has taught me tons of lesson in life. Here is the simplest one: I learned that we cannot cook salmon in the microwave for 15 minutes. Yes, I did that once, and the salmon turned into dust. There might be some questions in your mind. Who? What? Why? When? Where? How? I turned my salmon into dust in my first week in America. I didn't know the difference between oven and microwave. I never cooked at home before, except for instant noodle. I read the instructions and it said, "put the salmon in the oven for 15 minutes,” so I did. Just a matter of fact, Indonesians don't use the microwave that much. We usually use stove or oven. And because of this lack of experience in cooking, I had the idea that microwave is just a mini version of the oven. I put my salmon, and after minutes, my roommate started to smell something burnt. I checked the microwave and found "smoked salmon." That was how I started my first week in the U.S.

There are lots of memorable experiences I want to share with you guys! Stay tuned and contact me through nthirza@greenriver.edu if you are interested in studying in the U.S. Have a great winter break!

Nita Thirza is an international student from Indonesia studying business management at Green River College in Auburn, Washington.