1. Always being at least a little bit jet-lagged for the first week of classes.
2. Drinking legally* at home for years, but moving to the U.S. and suddenly being underage.
3. Finding a friend with whom to go home for Thanksgiving...
Or being literally alone on campus, while you scroll through everyone's family-and-food Instagrams.
4. Converting everything from American dollars to your home currency, and feeling abysmally poor or dangerously rich, depending on where you're from.
5. Spelling and pronouncing random words differently than Americans do...
And dealing with idiots who insist that your way isn't just different, it's wrong.
6. Figuring out which ID to carry with you when you go out.
7. Initially being overwhelmed and shocked by the humongous food-portion sizes...
And then, in a few months, being completely able to finish an entire portion AND order dessert.
8. Having random gaps in your pop culture knowledge, and resorting to the smile-and-nod tactic to pretend you know what's being talked about.
9. Going days without talking to your parents because when they're up and free to call, you're not.
10. The shock of realizing that your version of America was based on TV stereotypes.
SOME SOLO CUPS ARE BLUE, NOT RED. "CENTRAL PERK" DOESN'T EVEN EXIST.