As fun as it is to move to a completely foreign place and go to college, there are some things you have to deal with because of it. Here are 10 things only international students understand.
The first thing they want to know is, “why?” I, for one, never had an answer other than, “I wanted to,” and people seem disappointed at how boring my response is.
English isn’t my first language and telling me my English is good is a compliment 99% of the time, but when everyone you meet frowns upon the lack of your foreign accent, you start feeling a little self conscious.
“What are you going to do after you graduate?” I don’t know man, I don’t even. Maybe I’ll get a job and stay here. Maybe I’ll go to a different country. Maybe I’ll go back home. In due time, my friend.
This would be cool, but it’s not necessarily true. Our parents usually think about college way ahead of time. Most of us come from countries where college is free so our parent’s investment is well thought out. We most definitely are not here to make it rain.
Our parents may have had this planned out for a while but trust us, we’re just going with the flow. Yeah we may have come here with a few things in mind, but that all fizzled out after we changed our major twice.
International students understand that those English proficiency tests don’t actually tell us how well we’ll do speaking with locals. We most likely won’t know your slang, especially if it’s “A Jersey thing” or some other incredibly specific term.
Most people we meet are aware of at least the existence of our country, and some have extensive knowledge of it. The ones that don’t know about it usually ask politely, but we have all met those people that are just plain rude. I’ve been asked some crazy questions, like if we have schools in my country, or windows in our houses.
Imagine being in a chemistry lecture and having the professor give you a shout out every time the metric system is discussed.
Now this one can go for all the college students that live away from home, but international students understand this on a different level. You can’t go home for holidays. You won’t see your family more than once a year and you can’t call whenever you feel like it because of the time difference.
For all the times we’re confused and feeling out of place, we have happy streaks where we feel really good about ourselves. We’ve learned a foreign language, moved thousands of miles away, and are dealing with everything like rockstars. Superheroes? Pretty much.
The holiday season is one of the best times of the year to be single. Between the food, the music (and…
Dorm rooms are small, and the space for clothes is even smaller; however, no matter how tightly packed your clothes…
Health gurus, chances are you’ve already heard of one of the newest health trends on the rise; matcha. For those…
College can be overwhelming specifically when it's the first semester of freshmen year, and you're in a new place with…
I know I’m not the only one who has had a lot of bad online dating experiences. There are those…
Life is full of mystery. You told yourself that you won’t do certain things in high school, but you might…
