My time spent so far in Norman/(America)

Since I came to America I have made many new friends and experiences.  I arrived in August 2011 to Norman, Oklahoma thinking I was dropped in a village. I was expecting a bigger city with a more urban  atmosphere. My older brother's friend was the only one I knew here and he was the one that helped me until I moved into the dorms. My first semester living in Couch tower consisted of attending classes from 9am to 3pm at the English program OU offers international students, eating at the "Caf" and making my self familiar with my surroundings and peers. Many of my friends were Saudi like me, because I felt more comfortable speaking Arabic than English and they were of a familiar culture that I was accustomed to.
It was still fairly early in the semester when I met a girl who worked at the "Caf" and lived in my tower that I wanted to get to know better, but she did not speak Arabic. This forced me to speak in English more frequently because I had started spending a lot of time with her. As the semester dragged on, I became very close to her and consequently, my English improved drastically. I graduated the English program in just one semester and gained admission as a freshman for the spring 2012 semester.

Spring 2012 was a very different experience for me, it was my first official semester attending OU. The classes and curriculum were so different from what I was used to it was kind of startling. I had to relearn key terms in both my math and chemistry classes in English; "Zimbak" was now the element "Mercury". It helped that me and my girlfriend were in the same chemistry class along with some Arabic speaking peers, but the other classes were pretty frustrating, In the end with hard work and many hours studying, I managed to earn a 4.0 for my first semester at OU!
I was pushed outside my comfort zone, which consisted of my Arabic speaking friends and my girlfriend, during summer 2012. This was my first long break living in America and many of my friends went home to Saudi Arabia. My brother was coming to join me at OU, but he didn't arrive until about a month into the summer, which left me with a lot of time on my hands. Anxiously waiting for his arrival, I did many new things during this time such as sky diving and getting new hobbies. I also started to hang out with more Americans and met many new people that I normally wouldn't see myself associating with regularly. My way of thinking changed drastically during these months since I was exposed to many different opinions and personalities.
This semester has proven to be the most challenging term in the time I've spent at OU, but also the most constructive. It has shaped me into someone I haven't been before because of all the different experiences I  have gone through, from rushing a fraternity, to being dropped from the fraternity, to my grades, to roommates, and finally to who I consider my friends. Though there have been many changes from when I first arrived to Norman, I'm glad that my girlfriend has been here with me through all of them, which is comforting considering the huge amount of change I have undergone through in just one year.

I have not traveled much yet outside of Norman (besides traveling through Texas for spring break '12 and visiting my girlfriend in Dallas summer '12), which is why I consider it my America, but I hope to see more of this country and add to my American experience.