Ready for America: The Practical Guide to Finding Your Way in Usa

By Junior Mekinda Mekinda

Did you know that you cannot buy alcohol
in a store in USA, if you dont have an ID
showing that you are at least 21 years old?

Unique is the word that best
describes Ready for America.
Unique, because whether you
are a student, an Immigrant or
a non- Immigrant, Ready for
America will satisfy your expectations about
how to become successful in USA.
Unique, because Its a one stop shop where all
relevant, updated information are covered in
details, even the important rules.
Unique, because of its fully colored image
illustrations that carry you in the heart of this
amazing country. And helps you find your way
easily! You are already there!
Unique, because it gives you the tricks to
help you merge in the complex US cultural
environment.
Ready for America is not just a standard guide,
but a summary of advices from a wide range
of people, experts, based on their daily
experiences.
Above and beyond, its a solution based on my
failures, the secret of my success during the one
and half year spent in USA especially in New
York city. Its the key to your Success!

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jun 2, 2014
• ISBN: 9781491850336

Junior Mekinda Mekinda

Mekinda Mekinda Andre Ledoux Junior Was a 2012 - 2013 International Exchange student at Muscatine Community College in Iowa. In 2006, he founded and managed Dream-Mage Multi-Media Cameroon Communication Company. In 2009, he founded Drepano-Solidaires, which is a non-profit organization that fights against sickle-cell Anemia; which is the oldest and widest - spread genetic disease in the world. In 2011, always being concerned by social and economic issues in his country, he founded another non-profit organization that is called ABC (A BETTER Cameroon) to educate and empower youth in community development activities. He considers himself as a problem solver and he is passionate about communication. Since communication is a part of every human’s daily activities, this justifies his diversified field

Book preview

© 2014 Junior Mekinda Mekinda. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 05/13/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4918-5032-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-5033-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014901240

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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Contents:

Preface

Acknowledgements

Foreword

Dedication

Introduction

Chapter 1- Your Journey

Chapter 2 - The Transportation System

Chapter 3 - Housing System.

Chapter 4- Communication (Phone, Internet, Television).

Chapter 5- Finance System

Chapter 6- The Education System In The Usa

Chapter 7: Health And Insurance

Chapter 8: The American Culture

Chapter 9: Working In Usa

Chapter 10: Shopping In New York.

Chapter 11: Rules And Regulations In New York.

Chapter 12: Food Market And Entertainment.

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PREFACE

As a young entrepreneur and community leader in Cameroon, I was very involved in activities that related to local socio-economic development and sustainable programs. Most of my time was excitedly spent on well invested time developing my own businesses. I have focused on designing new tools and strategies for Marketing and Communications which involved working at branding my country, both domestically and internationally. The most effective way that I did this was through producing a brand of touristic garments, video tutorials in agriculture, public health, basic law, and civic instruction.

This is the reason why, I was selected by the Cultural Affairs Office of the US Embassy to attend a seminar in Entrepreneurship. I distinguished myself there and I obtained a one year Community College Initiative Program Scholarship from the U.S. Department of State. My grant was administered by the Community College for International Development (CCID) and I was sent to study Agribusiness and Technology at Muscatine Community College in Muscatine, Iowa.

When I arrived in the United States of America in August 2012, I experienced a dramatic culture shock in spite of the orientation sessions that I received before leaving Cameroon. I can only imagine how difficult it must be, for people who do not benefit from the same type of exposure and travel orientation. For example, I did not have the right cell phone to call my mother, I didn’t know how to take the bus, and I was completely lost – I couldn’t find my way around the campus or town. I didn’t how to withdraw money from a bank using an ATM card. I didn’t know that I needed an ID card to enter a nightclub and I had to spend the night outside while my friends were having fun. Those are just a few of the examples of what I encountered when I first came to America. Indeed, quite an example.

Some of my friends had also shared with me their unforgettable and harrowing experiences of not knowing that they had to pull over and stop when they saw a police patrol car with flashing lights behind them. That said, they ended up being chased and surrounded by several police cars. All of these trivial, yet, sometimes comical and serious experiences inspired me to write a guide to help first time visitors to the USA, find their way and navigate the system more easily and with more success.

Ready for America is a solution to the serious problem of culture shock, the fear of the unknown which is one of the biggest causes of failure for foreigners who reside in the USA. My experience inspired me to write this in-depth guide, with an associated tutorial and phone application that would help people find their way in America by providing crucial and accurate information that they need to know.

I approached one of my Business professors at Muscatine Community College with the idea of publishing such a guide. He invited me to participate in a business forum called Innovation Exposition where I could network with other innovators, exchange ideas, and find sources of financing. There, I found out that there were a few award-winning business competitions that I could enter. I pitched my idea for the Ready for America guide and I won the $250 second place prize at the Startup Weekend contest. Later, I won the $5,000 first place regional award at the Dream Big, Grow Here Competition, which helped me realize my book could become a reality. I travelled to New York City and started gathering information for the guide during six months. It was an exciting job, talking to people, Government organizations and business owners. Since it’s a personal project, I was therefore obliged to accomplish the entire task alone. From writing the manuscript, taking pictures, drawing the maps, to finding publisher, and editor that made the job really difficult. But for an entrepreneur nothing is impossible. The most challenging part of this work was definitely to write this book in English, although I’m a native French speaking person arrived in USA one year before. And today I am proud to present you, what I consider as my American Dream

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This publication Ready for America is a work of love, passion and concern for others that was made possible with the support and collaboration of the following people and organizations:

Institutions:

-    The United States Embassy in Cameroon

-    The United States Department of State

-    The Community College for International Development

-    Muscatine Community College staff and students

-    Startup Weekend

-    The Iowa Source Link

-    The Dream Big, Grow Here Contest

-    The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

-    The New York Police Department 28th Precinct

-    The New York Department of Taxation and Finance

-    The Transportation and Security Administration (TSA) at LaGuardia Airport

-    The New York State Department of Health

-    Verizon

-    Bank of America

Individuals:

-    My parents Andre and Delphine Mekinda

-    My coach Jim Elias (Thank you for taking me to Iowa city for that Innovation Exposition)

-    Amanda Styron-West (You told me that I could make it, I will never forget that day)

-    My partners - Jeff Owens, Bobby Schlichting

-    My nephew Andrew Cyrille Mekinda and the rest of my family

-    Anne Kouam (because of your hard work and dedication, i won the competition)

-    My mentors: Gene and Vicky Boss

-    Ingrid Rowe

-    Chuck Calvert

-    Jen Livermore

-    Celestin Ngoa

-    Taous Bennai

-    Paule-Sylvie Yonke

-    Sylvie Bello

Groups:

-    The Cameroonian community all over the world, that voted to support the project

-    The Muscatine community

-    My friends of the Community College for Initiative Program

-    My Business and Entrepreneurship classmates

My team Members:

-    Jeanine Assiga

-    Francis and Mathilde Elanga Mekinda

-    Donald Fossi Tchatchoua

-    George Eyakoh, from Cameroon

-    Jessica Foumena

-    Sheema Jabeen, from Pakistan

-    Kimberly Kay Sloan for the cover

-    Arsene Tatieu

-    Joel Sisse

Editing:

-    Eric Mekinda

-    Stephanie Mekinda

-    Yves Amougou

-    Alice Laetitia Fomen

-    Juan Pablo Casimiro

I hereby express my sincere gratitude to all of you.

Foreword

To have lived in the United States for several