Beccy on Tour - My Semester Abroad in Raleigh, NC, USA

Unknown Speaker 0:10
Hello guys and welcome to my podcast "BeccyOnTour" about my semester abroad in Raleigh, North Carolina in the United States. My name is Beccy and I am your reliable source into the exciting world of American college life. So if that sounds like something you'd be interested in, stay tuned

Unknown Speaker 0:47
So guys, I was told that my podcasts are too short, and that I should give you guys more detailed information. So you asked for it and now you're getting it. So enjoy guys. Also, this is my first time recording in an actual studio with really professional equipment. So I'm really excited how it's gonna affect the sound quality. And yeah, I would definitely like to hear your take on that. So let me know in the comments, what do you think of the sound quality? And let's start off this episode with a storytime.

Unknown Speaker 1:22
Those of you who follow me on instagram either on my main account beccy_schdn or on my travel account beccyontour_ might have seen it already. But Saturday, there was a huge event here at NC State called Packapalooza, it is kind of like a kickoff event to university because there are lots of clubs and student organizations who use this opportunity to introduce themselves. And they're also like music clubs, sports clubs, the poole of management, which is my poole, so kind of like the people I study with, but also the poole of Agriculture and Life studies where I got my T shirt from, that you might have seen on my Instagram stories, and like global travel, volunteer work, and so on and so forth. And of course, there was lots and lots of food again, and like special drinks. I had a pineapple juice in a pineapple, and you probably won't believe that guys, but I felt so cool, because there were like at least five people asking me about it. So I could kind of tell them that direction where the stand for the pineapple juice in the pineapple was and yeah, that just made me feel really good about myself.

Unknown Speaker 2:36
And something I really didn't expect there was an Indian woman, or at least I think that she was from India, I'm not sure, who did henna tattoos. And of course I got one, a Phoenix tattoo, which stands for my moon being in Scorpio. Yes, I am that astrology bitch. I am obsessed with astrology. So deal with it guys.

Unknown Speaker 2:59
Another thing that was really unexpected is how many different churches and religious groups they have here at NC State, especially when you compare it to Austrian universities, because obviously we do have religious communities but by far, not as many. And it is not very common for Austrian university students to join religious groups or like any Austrian person, I would say, because in Austria, we tend to be really skeptical. So I think that's why it's not really a thing, or at least when it comes to Christian communities. Actually, if you were to hand out religious flyers at my home university, you might even get in real trouble. Or at least people will be really annoyed with you. A friend of mine was approached by someone who wanted to study the Bible with her once and she got really angry. So that's definitely very strange for me to come across all those different religious groups here on campus, but definitely not in a bad way. I remember I was talking to quite a few at Packapalooza and they were really outgoing and friendly and I never felt in any way pressured to join the group. So all in all Packapalooza was a really great experience, even though it was insanely hot. Like I am surprised I didn't get sunburned, but I guess my skin has gotten used to it by now because it's been pretty hot and also humid, which honestly makes it a lot worse since I've arrived. I had to look it up on the Fahrenheit scale to be honest guys, because in Europe, we use Celsius but apparently it was almost 100 degrees Fahrenheit, which would be around like 37, 38 -ish degrees on the Celsius scale. So as you can imagine, I was melting quite literally, and also drank about three liters of water. So yeah, that was add.

Unknown Speaker 4:50
They also had great evening program. There was a concert by singer David Cook who won the seventh season of American Idol in 2008 and laser light show and fireworks, which was really beautiful and very impressive how they created all these different colored patterns. And even though I'm not that much of a fan of rock music, there were some songs of David Cook's I really enjoyed. And I've already put them on my Spotify playlist. And so I would say like, all in all, it was a really great start into new semester here at NC State. And I'm definitely gonna miss all these grand events when I get back to Austria, especially because they create a community spirit like nothing else. And people really celebrate and love their university, which I think is pretty cool.

Unknown Speaker 5:39
But enough about Packapalooza, I promised you guys I would keep you posted about the introduction events of WKNC, which is NC State's own radio station. So here we are. First things first, I was really impressed how professional they are. They're offering positions as DJs, where you can play your own music at a certain time of the day and positions as interviewers podcasters, content creators, and so on and so forth. And some of these positions, wait for it, or even paid positions. So I came across a paid position in podcasting, and I applied, and I had my interview last Wednesday. And I think it went well. I mean, I haven't heard back from them. But they said it could take till September 1. So I'm not really worried. And I was telling them about my podcast "BeccyOnTour" and my aspirations to work in the audiovisual media industry. So yeah, let's see what's gonna happen. And I mean, of course, it would be great to get some money for working on my podcast. But I would also be perfectly happy with just volunteer work in that field.

Unknown Speaker 6:43
Moving on to a strange and even a little bit scary story. But I still wanted to share it with you guys, just to show you that even though there are a lot of positive things about studying here in the United States, it also has its drawbacks. A few days ago, when I was leaving my dorms, I ran into a woman, and I was in a hurry to get to class and searching through my bag for my headphones, which is why I didn't see her until she was standing right in front of me. And that like really scared me. And then she started talking to me about not being from North Carolina, and that she's just arrived in Raleigh, that she's six weeks pregnant, and that her daughter is 24 and that she had to raise her by herself. And then she just went on rambling about her life. And at first I was like, Okay, maybe she wants money. But when I told her I didn't have any, which wasn't even a lie, because I still haven't picked up any cash. She said that she didn't want money, but that she wanted me to pray for her because apparently she's been praying for other people or whole life. And to be honest, I guess that wasn't the smartest reaction given the circumstances. And the fact that that wound was obviously confused. But I just couldn't stop myself from smiling a little bit. Just because I really couldn't deal with the situation. It was so weird. But the woman obviously didn't appreciate that, because she warned me that she would beat me up if I smiled at her one more time. And then she just left. And I have to say I was pretty shocked and confused. And even though nothing really happened, it still kind of gave me goosebumps. And I guess the message I'm trying to get across you guys is please take care of yourselves because they're weird and scary people everywhere. And you never know what someone else is capable of. There was a shooter at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill on Monday and the faculty member was shot and many others were injured. And of course, I knew before coming here that the gun laws in North Carolina were completely different from ours in Austria, and that shootings at schools and universities happen a lot. But being so close to it is something completely different. And I can just hope that they find the person who was responsible soon. And I feel deeply sorry for those who lost someone in the shooting. And I can just hope that the government might consider changing the gun laws one day.

Unknown Speaker 9:05
But to end this episode on a positive and even slightly funny notes. As I told you guys before the gym has two huge swimming pools. So last week, I decided to check it out and did notice that everyone was wearing goggles, but I never do that at home. So I decided not to use them. Very, very bad choice because when I left the pool, my eyes looked like I hadn't slept in days or like I had just come back from a Halloween party, sore and read even the eyeballs. It was really awful. And I could hardly keep them open I could hardly see and to make matters worse, I had forgotten the number of my locker so the guy from the Help Desk and me spend 10 minutes looking for my stuff by searching at least 20 lockers. It was so embarrassing, and I'll probably never use the locker room again. But at least there was a lesson to always wear goggles when swimming in chlorinated water and to avoid locker rooms. No, just kidding.

Unknown Speaker 10:05
Also, my friends and me are planning a trip to Outer Banks on the upcoming weekend. So next week, he can look forward to a detailed report of our vacation. And maybe I'll ask one of my professors to tell you guys a little bit about Career planning, Internships and what US companies are looking for in new employees. What do you think about that, guys? Let me know in the comment section of this episode on Spotify, or DM me on Instagram, I'll also start a poll about it in my story. And as always, if you have any questions and remarks, feel free to reach out to me via Spotify or Instagram and you can find my contact details in the description of this episode. That being said, I hope you enjoy the last week of August. Stay safe and I looking forward to talking to you next week.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai