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.
While Starbs constantly breaks my bank, there is nothing better during the holiday season. Now, for me, the holiday season…
Let's start with the fact that every article you read on manscaping tells you that you need multiple tools, different…
A smooth and clean shaven face is a quick way to make a good first impression on that girl you…
St. John's University is filled with opportunities to take advantage of. Particularly, greek life is huge factor within the SJU…
A face mask is a great way to treat yourself, but sometimes they can be a little pricey. Enter: cotton…
Lately, I've been struggling to get used to this new semester from moving into my first apartment to getting into…
