Indian River State College Intertextual Analysis

Hang Yuan (James) Professor Spencer English 0812 April 21st 2016 Essay assignment #1 Final Draft The Gap between International Students and Domestic Students How to make friends with American students? Probably every international student had this question when they first came to the United States. In Rebekah Nathan’s book “My Freshman year,” Nathan exchanges her college professor position back to a college student.

I look up from my phone after the clock turns from 11:59 pm to 12:00 am and gaze upon Honey Pot Lake as it mirrors the pink and gold clouds illuminated by the setting sun’s rays as they bend over earth's curvature. I take in the beauty of the sunset and await the soon to come sunrise. As i, for the last time, experience the beauty of the pristine nature that bethel alaska has to offer, turn my head towards my adjacent friend and proclaim in a gloomy yet glad tone, “I never want to leave this place.” My experiences in bethel alaska from my two school immersion trips truly formed who I am today.

Making friends on U.S. campuses could be challenging for those who are an international students. It’s not easy to make friends with American students because they tend to be independent and keep distance from others. In Rebekah Nathan’s book “My Freshman Year”, Nathan claims that social life and developing friendships on U.S. campuses is difficult for international students because American students would make them feel uncomfortable and invisible at times. Nathan’s argues that American students don’t put any effort in talking to students from different race, ethnic, and background. International students are usually on their own or be with their friends since Americans wouldn’t make friends with them. In nathan’s book, she discusses about the

When I first come here, it is tough for me to make friends because all of the students here come from different backgrounds. I managed to overcome that problem by engaging with the clubs’ activities and participating in volunteering programs. I improved my self-confidence by make a lot of friends from day to day. This gives me a good impression that being in a wonderful college like Bunker Hill Community College really helps students to build themselves by brushing up their potentials. By connecting with people every day and knowing others, we can brush up our communication skills as well as widen our knowledge. Based from these experiences, I promised to myself to help the new students adapting themselves in the new world attracting them to get involved with clubs, activities and volunteering

Growing up as a Canadian, I had minimal experience with the united states culture. My experience in freshmen dormitories extended my understanding of the norm in the united states as I had 10 months of exposure to this different culture. I meet new people such as my roommates and teammates which introduced me to the American culture.

With the pass of years, I grew up knowing persons with a different cultural background. I got used to the physical and cultural differences, and the fact that there was always one thing in common.

Being born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, I was exposed to many different cultures. A few of which were Hispanics and German. They both had different languages and customs. My mom would take us to a festival in San Antonio yearly that was called the “Texas Folklife Festival”. There, our family would experience many different cultures with singing, dancing, food, art, and language. Our family enjoyed learning about the different places others came from and how they celebrated their heritage. Learning to appreciate where others came from and their back ground, gave me a better appreciation for differences.

Austin Community College (ACC) has many campuses located around Austin, Texas. Highland campus is one of the newest campus located at Highland Mall and was officially opened on 2014 fall semester. This campus is also one of ACC’s largest campuses, with capacity to serve 6000 students in its first phase. The Highland Campus is located near the north junction of Interstate 35 and Highway 290. The location provides convenient and unparalleled rail and bus access as well as ample parking for students, employees, and visitors. As a student of ACC Highland Campus, I have toured the whole campus more than a dozen times. There are only two floors but each floor has its uniqueness. The two floors are connected by stairs and elevators. One of the highlights

To learn from another that is not like you, that is from another country, gives you the opportunity to acquire knowledge that opens your eyes and lets you better understand the world around you. That can definitely be said after conducting my interview for the Cross-Cultural Interaction Report. I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing Blanchefort Djimsa, a Food Science major, who is from the country of Chad which is located in Central Africa. Blanchefort is from the city of Moundou, the third largest city, which is in the South of Chad. Here on scholarship, he is attending Oklahoma State University to further his education. Blanchefort told me about his country and gave me a different perspective about Chad.

Students will have a better understanding of the meaning culture and the difference of cultures. Students will recognize characteristics of countries other than the United States to which a person can travel. Students will also identify groups of people who live in other countries as well as customary foods from other countries. This will lead students to identify family traditions and holidays from other countries.

Since I was able to be so involved on campus, in the process, I have made lifetime friendships. My best friends to this day I met on the night of Dancing on Dixie and I would not change a thing and not to mention I fell in love with one of them.

In Nathan’s article, she keeps her principal focus on how foreign students interact with American students and the distinctive type of relationships that they build. It is quite strange to some of the foreign student’s that Nathan has interviewed about how non-committed American students are to the foreign students because American 's students do not socialize as much, and tends to spend more time alone. Furthermore, they will make small talk rather than being close friends or let it evolve into more. At that point, Nathan turns her center towards the difference between a relationship and a friendship between American and foreign students. She also discusses with different foreign students with different background and how they interact with their American roommates, and the relationship that they bond. In addition, American student’s family is a distinct subject from school but for international students, it is something naturally integrated into their social lives, which is why they care so much about their parents (Nathan 73). Furthermore, she discusses how many foreign students make comments about how different students look and the lack of attention that they give their professor compared to in their home country. Nevertheless, the social life and making companions in American can be quite troublesome for any foreign students. However, once you become acquainted with American students and get to be

However, the change from home to college can be difficult for international students (Mesidor & Sly, 2016). While some international students find it easy to adjust to the transition, others international students find it challenging to adjust to the transition (Mesidor & Sly, 2016). Studies show that international students experience many challenges as a result of language and cultural barriers, academic difficulties, financial difficulties, medical issues, housing concerns, food differences, alienation, homesickness, lack of social support system, racial discrimination, and cross-cultural loss) (Akanwa, 2015; Guzman et al., 2015; Mesidor & Sly, 2016; Sherry et al., 2010; Smith & Khawaja, 2011; Tung, 2011; Zhang & Goodson, 2010). According to Prieto-Welch (2016), international students as a group are regarded as a main minority population in campuses

College level requires students to be prepared at all cost to face various challenges and learn how to overcome them before it affects their future. College also instructs students to a higher level of responsibility and management at their work place, at their house, and everywhere they might be in contact with people. As an International Students, I have had ups and downs throughout my journey in High School, and college, and I have learned so much from my mistakes. My first

Opportunity to travel abroad: traveling to another country enables you to get a complete picture of the culture, it also helps to enhance your interpersonal skills as well as your communication skills and it enables you to appreciate new customs. (San Diego State University, n.d.)