Imagine your dreams of traveling to a foreign country for a semester abroad have just come true. You’ve finally reached your destination, you’re excited to discover so many new things, make life-long friends and have grand adventures! But after a few shorts weeks of excitement, the reality sets in that perhaps you don’t understand the culture as well as you thought you would and all your closest friends have the same itching questions you do. Envision befriending a local and having the ability to ask them every question you’ve ever had about this curious new place.

I have been blessed with numerous international friendships. I want to discuss this today because I know that many students let these beautiful opportunities slip away far too often. Today, I hope to persuade you to consider befriending an international student and thereby better yourself socially, culturally, and professionally.

Many foreign students in America desire friendship with their American peers, but simply don’t have them. You locals want this, too – whether you know it yet or not. According to a study by the University of Victoria in New Zealand, “The results of the research converge to indicate that the amount of cross-national interaction is typically low, that international students expect and desire greater contact, and that interaction with domestic peers is generally associated with psychological, social and academic benefits for the international student.” Well, you may be thinking…. so it benefits them, but how does it benefit me?

For starters, there is the most obvious benefit – the mere friendship itself. Humans are relational beings who long for a sense of community. “Forming friendships and alliances is one of the most important social actions people take in their lives. Friendships provide social support, opportunities for innovation and collaboration, social delights, and a sense of community and cooperation (Dakhli and De Clercq, 2004 and Weisz and Wood, 2005).”

Perhaps one of the most exciting benefits of your newfound friendship, is learning about their culture. I have had the pleasure of sharing in many riveting discussions based upon cultural differences in food, festivals, government, education systems, holidays, etc. Who knows? You may even -and perhaps, often- discover that education systems elsewhere in the world are far more challenging and rewarding than American public education.

Yet another benefit to befriending an international student is to gain global awareness. A dear friend of mine once told me that people are like books; each aspect of their person being a different chapter. It’s safe to say that you can learn far more from someone whose book is different than yours. Discuss topics such as sports, religion, immigration, or education and see life from an entirely new perspective than what you’ve known your entire life.

According to a 2006 Stanford University study, “The groups with racial diversity significantly outperformed the groups with no racial diversity. Being with similar others leads us to think we all hold the same information and share the same perspective. This perspective, which stopped the all-white, {American} groups from effectively processing the information, is what hinders creativity and innovation.” For example, imagine you’re taking World Geography and studying the European Union. While it possible to learn from your professor and the textbook, you won’t have a full grasp until you have sat and learned from individuals who have grown up there. In this situation, you have the incredible ability to gain knowledge outside of the classroom! Not only does what you’re studying make more sense, it becomes far more personable and therefore more interesting.

I hope that after reading this, you have a more thorough understanding of the importance of international friendships and the desire to pursue them. You never know what may come – perhaps as you begin to understand someone so starkly different, you may end up better understanding yourself.