Quotes from International students

I went around asking International students, what it feels like to be an International student at Trinity University and below are their responses.

Miroslav Getov from Bulgaria,
“I feel like I am in a very accepting place, both because of the number of international students and of the tolerant attitude of everybody else towards me.
I always know that there is somebody I can relate to.
I feel enriched by the chance Trinity gave me to come into contact with people from so many different cultures.
I feel there is no segregation between internationals and Americans, although I do feel closer to the internationals - it is as we share a secret only we know.”

                                            


Nellin Njovu from Tanzania,
“Learning abroad, responsibilities too soon”

                                              

Asavari Jalan from India,
“Being an International student at Trinity is very enriching yet challenging at the same time, but I must admit that Trinity was prepared for us and welcomed each and everyone us well.”

                                                          

Thavindra Ekanayake from Sri Lanka,
“My experience as an International student in Trinity University so far has been very positive. For me the best part about being here is that I get the opportunity to make friends from students all over the world. I have become friends with students from Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Ecuador, and India...etc. This makes the Trinity experience more exciting and enjoyable.”

                                                  

Alex Serikali from Tanzania,
“Being an international student means getting the chance to learn a whole new culture you are not used to. As time goes by, you get used to it though. Being an International student also gives me a chance to live an experience of living thousands of hundreds of miles away from my family and home, it is not any easy encounter, not at all!! One American student admits he wouldn’t be able to live that far away from home, he can barely stay on campus on the weekends.”

Mai Dang from Vietnam
“It has been a wonderful experience studying at Trinity University. Here I find everybody including students, professors and even the President so friendly that I have had no trouble adapting to college life.”

      Finally, although it’s been a very welcoming experience, everything comes with its costs and benefits and certainly from most of the International students, the benefits outweigh the costs. On behalf, of all international students, we are all very grateful that we are here.

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Points of Differences

Coming from a completely different setting with completely different customs, cultures and traditions presents international students with a situation of cultural shock and extreme adaptation. The beginning of the semester was a journey like no other. Most of the International students were homesick by mid October and it was a rough time as most of them wanted to go home. However, flying home wasn’t the option in mid-October and so international students had to adapt quickly to the Texan way of life and the way things were done here.

            One of the areas where we as international students had to adjust to was the language and the jokes. Apart from the language difference, at the beginning of the semester it was hard for most international students to get some of the American jokes, and sometimes when we were translating a joke from our native language it didn’t come across as funny. Therefore, most of us learnt that a language is a big part of a nation’s culture. The language that people speak defines its culture.

In addition, the food was extremely different, most of us come from countries where we don’t fry everything we eat, therefore that was a major difference. Most of us have boiled foods and food that is cooked with lots of other vegetables and so it took some time for us to get adjusted to Mabee and Coates food.

 Furthermore, the clothing here was relaxed, as students went to class in their  pajamas, but where most of us are from, you are never meant to be seen in your pajamas, they are only meant for sleeping. And whenever, you walk out of your house, you are supposed to be dressed well,  regardless of whether you are going to a nearby shop, class or restaurant.

Another thing that was really shocking to me, personally, was the meaning of the words, “let’s go out”, back home, if somebody says lets go out, they the ones who initiated the plan, are the ones paying, but here in Texas, you each bring your own money. It was really astonishing because back home people take you out and when they do, they pay all your bills. When your friends back home say ‘let’s go out,’

 You rest assured that they will be paying all of your bills.     

Therefore, for most of us it was a great learning experience as you get to see just how different our cultures really are and the importance that a language has in defining a culture. 

International cooking Nights

One of the other advantages about being an International student are delicious and mind-boggling cooking nights, where international students get to cook their traditional home food for others to experience and enjoy. These cooking nights enable international students to experience different cuisines and get a taste of different flavors from around the world. It is one of those experiences that one never forgets because it leaves you rich with a new kind of knowledge.

At a recent cooking night, there was Bulgarian salad, Zimbabwean stew, Indian vegetables and Russian potato salad. With this list of the types of food that most international students have at home, it is evident that it is healthy for the body, thus when most of them arrived here and were confronted with oily and greasy food stuff, it was a shock and a disappointment. However, most of them found ways of getting by, and they soon got used to it.

This occasion not only provides a chance for international students to cook their traditional food but also gives time for international students to bond with each other. It provides international students with the privilege of cooking the food that they miss from home and thus eliminate homesickness. It gives international students a chance to be closer to home through food. On top of that, cooking nights also gives international students an alternative to campus dining food, which most of them don’t really like. Most international students claim that Trinity dining food lacks taste and is not healthy for the body. Therefore, with cooking nights, international students get to escape campus dining facilities and eat as if they were home.

Cooking days broaden knowledge about other cultures food and it also provides international students with the opportunity of tasting new and different cuisines. It’s an event organized by the International committee, thus showing that they are doing their job and are always seeking ways of making an international student’s life here at trinity easy and feel more like home.

As mentioned before, being an international student comes with a cost and an advantage and some of the main advantages are incredible dinner receptions hosted by Trinity staff.  A taste of this was given out during International student orientation where Dr. Brazil, the then president of Trinity University invited all International students to his house for dinner. The dress code was business casual or ethnic traditional.  The dress code provided all international with an opportunity to show off their ethnic clothing and in result the international student’s horizons were broadened and they were able to see traditional clothing from all over the world. It showed us the hidden beauty of nations, it was an unforgettable sight!

Dr. Brazil’s reception gave international students the opportunity to not only see other ethnic clothing but to also taste international cuisine. There was food from different countries and it turned out to be an enlightening experience because it provided international students with the privilege of experiencing different things. It was one of those experiences that enabled us as to International to interact with one another and learn a thing or two about other cultures. There were so many countries and almost every continent was represented and it was a learning experience. On that note, some of the countries represented were India, Botswana, Vietnam, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Thailand and Nigeria. 

Therefore, although, being an International student can be a cost, it comes along with immense amounts of benefits that surpass all understandings. It is a learning experience as international students get to learn more about other nations, cultures and traditions.

Being an international student at Trinity University has not been at all that easy. Coming from a completely different setting with completely different ways and customs has been a challenge in itself. I am an International student from a country in East Africa called Tanzania; it’s a country with the highest peak in Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro. I have lived all my life in Tanzania and this is the first time that I have ventured out of Africa. The major costs that come about venturing out and seeing new things are “cultural shock” and jet lag.  Cultural shock is the shock that a person living in a different and unknown social environment feels. Cultural shock can consist of feelings of anxiety, surprise, confusion and disorientation that come about when people have to operate within that unknown and foreign environment. Similarly jet lag is the fatigue, feeling of tiredness and sleeplessness that comes about when someone has travelled long distances in a plane. This can major effects upon the person and most of the time it disrupts the person’s daily actions.

         For many international students at Trinity, cultural shock was felt at the beginning when they were trying to fit in with the Trinity’s environment. Most of us were shocked at the diet of the Americans, the food was a major shock and it made most of us long for “home” food. The food was fattening and most of it was fried, whereas most of the food that we eat back home is healthier. This made some of us dislike it at the beginning, but gradually; we adjusted to it and everything else including the social life, the clothing (wearing pajamas to class) and the way in which things are run in Texas.

            However, one of the things that made this adjustment easier was the fact that all international students were required to take an international class. In the class, we learned everything that we were supposed to know and were assured that cultural shock is a natural and normal process that most people go through when confronted with a different setting. On top of that the International committee always offers receptions and dinners for us, all of which make the transition all the more easier and worthwhile. Although, the diversity on campus has been growing, it’s been a rigorous, yet joyful journey for all the international students.