Sitting on a 24-hour American Airlines flight from India to LAX, Chahat Talgotra’s first taste of America was a chilled can of Coke and a shrink wrapped chocolate chip cookie.

What immediately struck her about the American system was its sheer fluidity and openness. Taking full advantage of its cross-disciplinary approach, she was able to move easily across different departments, selecting courses from psychology, statistics, sociology, and developmental economics all the way to fashion; a degree that would prepare her for a career in international work.

Talgotra has a grade point average of 3.8 is set to graduate in June 2018 and is planning to transfer to the University of California, San Diego en route to her goal of becoming a pharmacist.

“A friend introduced me to Palomar and I liked it very much. I like the environment. Palomar College has given me a lot of opportunities and I have made a lot of friends.” said Talgotra.

Talgotra has since involved herself in San Diego life since coming to Palomar, and she is active with the International Student Club. “Chahat is a very lively student, with a lot of positive energy and she’s also very easy to talk to.” said Judy Gervasio, an adviser from the International Student’s Office .

“This sort of flexibility is almost unheard of in many countries, or it is certainly rare in India where even today rigid curricula are a deterrent to many American students who would like to study there,” Talgotra said

Adjusting to life in a new country hasn’t been easy for Talgota and the culture shock she faced was jarring.

“The first barrier is the language,” Talgotra said. “When I first came here I didn’t speak much English, but my aunt told me just talk to the people here, ‘They are friendly and they will talk to you.'”

Talgotra craves her food from India and misses her friends and family alot. She somewhat feels like home here, but it’s not the same. But, with support she’s found amongst her family and peers she is glad she made the journey.

“Chahat is very friendly, I’ve noticed that she is always open to new things such as the foods here, new fashion trends etc.” said Ravi Achhra, a friend of Talgotra’s.

“The first barrier is the language,” Talgotra said. “When I first came here I didn’t speak much English, but my aunt told me just talk to the people here, ‘They are friendly and they will talk to you.'”