Dear Future International Students,
I’m sure you’ve read about the struggles international students go through during their four years at college. At your university, you can expect the things you’ve read on BuzzFeed and other sites, but there will also be things those websites didn’t tell you. For starters, the change in culture is not as easy as it seems. If you’re Latin American, you’ll quickly see how people in other places cannot dance. Don’t count on dancing salsa, merengue or any of the fun stuff. If you even try playing that type of music, you will be looked at as an alien. The same goes if you’re British and making tea. Making tea with milk seems completely normal to you; however, you’ll have to convince others that they are completely safe and won’t die from tasting your concoction.
Another thing you’ll quickly notice is how heads turn the minute you open your mouth. If it’s not because of an accent, it’s probably because you’re saying a weird phrase due to translation. There will always be a word you say differently. Don’t even get me started when you run into someone with a similar culture. If they speak the same language you can count on rambling to them in it. If heads didn’t turn before, they definitely will then. That's also when people will start making comments like, “Oh my god! What were you guys talking about? That’s so cool!” Once your friends get used to the fact that you can speak another language, you can count on hearing comments like, “Yup, I agree,” or “I love being able to understand what you’re saying,” because you always forget they have no idea what you’re saying. That’s when you know your native tongue no longer impresses them. The worst part is when you laugh because of something one of your native language-speaking friends said in front of your English-speaking friends.You turn around and ask, “Did you hear what she said?" and laugh. They look at you with an obvious facial expression of Of course not. I don’t speak that language.
Although it may be strange to have two different types of friends, it is also comforting. Being able to call a friend up and just speak to them in your native language is refreshing.You can feel more like yourself, and you can bond about things that you miss. These things are usually the food, your friends, the music, the dancing and other parts of your native culture. Having friends from a similar culture makes you feel at home.The benefit of going to Fairfield is that it’s a small school. You can count on meeting people with these similarities. It usually all begins with one person. That person then introduces you to the other people. In my case, it was at a soccer match. Hearing someone speak Spanish caught my attention immediately. I can say from experience that the first person you meet with your similar culture is one of the people you remain close friends with.
Names are another thing. Don’t count on people saying your name correctly if it’s different from the usual names you hear. You can repeat it thousands of times, but they will never get it right. When this happens, you have to make it easier for them, and come up with a nickname that's easier to pronounce. At the Stag, the workers preparing your meal will write your name in many different ways on the bag. Will they ever get it right? Probably not. The same goes if you order a drink at Starbucks.
Something commonly found among international students is a love for emphasizing the place you are from as “your country”. You will begin to see captions and comments from other international students like “welcome to my country” or “come to my country." It seems silly, but it actually does become a habit. It is very probable that you’ll do the same thing while you’re in school. This usually leads to you inviting everyone to your home. People always comment on pictures saying, “I want to visit you,” or “Can’t wait to be invited!” The comments are usually along those lines, whether they’re in person or online. They’ll ask how it felt to be home, and the different things you did while being there. Since each country has their own special characteristics, you can count on friends usually wanting to visit at some point in their life. For this reason you’ll start to go on about how awesome your country is, and that they are always welcome to go visit you. You may even begin to tell your international friends that you’d love to be able to go visit them before you graduate.
These are a few things that will stand out to you as an international student. Of course you’ll experience other things that catch your eye as you go through the next four years. It all differs according to your university and the country you’re from, but that makes it even more special. It’ll make you want to roll your eyes, but laugh at the same time. Just remember that differences make for good conversation.
Sincerely,
Jessica Suarez
(A Fellow International Student)
