Unforgettable Experiences in the U.S.
Problems faced by international students who come to the U.S. for the first time are not always easy to overcome. As one of them, I've found it very difficult to handle most of the problems I've encountered. I've experienced a very terrible culture shock that still makes me upset. As a student, I've found that the personal and cultural problems I experience may gravely affect my grades. The three major problems I've encountered deal with independence, homesickness, and loneliness, which really shocked me.
Since my culture is completely different from the U.S., I was very surprised and shocked by the U.S. way of doing things independently. For many years, I lived in a totally different culture; I
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As a result, I always think about going back to Indonesia and can't concentrate on studying.
The second problem I face is loneliness. Since I am the only Indonesian student in this university, I can't share my feelings with someone from the same culture and language as mine-someone who can really understand me. So I have nobody to talk with, nobody to complain to, and nobody to share with. For example, as I have observed lately, many other international students prefer to spend most of their time with students from the same country they are from. The only time I can spend with those students is when there is a meeting for international students or an activity that includes all international students. Other than that, I have to stay in my room by myself and just think about home all the time and study. This has put me under great pressure for the four months I have been here, and it's a really serious problem for me to deal with. During weekends, many international students always have fun together with friends from their own countries while I have to stay alone all day in my room. This causes boredom and a dislike of being in America.
The third problem is homesickness. In Indonesia, I used to have a good time with my friends, and my parents made me feel comfortable and secure. I felt that I was always
In the article, “Colleges Adapt to New Kinds of Students from Abroad,” Karin Fischer (2011) explains the increase of foreign students in U.S. universities leads to make more problems in campus and how universities are trying to overcome those problems and help foreign students to adapt to campus. Fischer explains the increase of the foreign undergraduate students due to the support from foreign governments. Fischer quotes Wesley Young, the director of services for international students and scholars at the University of California at Davis, to discuss that the increase of foreign undergraduate students especially requires more care and help than graduate students. While older students know what they need to do and what to do in U.S. university,
The need for higher education has prompted many students to seek further studies in international colleges outside their countries and Australia has become an academic hub for international students who mostly come from developing nations in Asia and Africa. The students, once they secure a place in this schools, they are subjected to a new environment which comes with different challenges. International students in Australia have become an integral part of the society both social and economical. However the students face a myriad of challenges before fully adopting to the new learning culture. In
They have to face new experience and new challenges in their life when they come to abroad. The first year of their college abroad is a litmus test for them, if they have a positive experience they will stay but if they have negative experience they have to leave. I had observed the issues faced by the international students over here as they make their entry to new culture and a new educational system. They have to begin a new life in an environment that is very different. For example simple tasks such as going to grocery store where the language is different and the products are unfamiliar. The education system in India and Canada is different as in India, more focus is on memorization and there is no practical work but over here, more focus is on problem-solving skills and self-guided research. Majority of the students live without their family which is very hard for them to live without parents in abroad. Their parents sent them over here with a hope of their family
When i first got here i was scared that i will not fit in and how i need to find someone who likes me. The first few weeks after i arrived i revert back to my old self and just stay in my homestay and play games for most of the day. But it all changes when i met some of my indonesian people and made friends and now i was not like the old me who isolate myself from the world. This article say in the end says that every people will find your friends or people but you just need to wait. So this was what happened to me and as she said that after some amount of time i will find my people
Initially, due to English is a foreign language, international students usually need spend more time in studying than local students. In fact, more or less language problems will happen in international students’ studying life. For example, some students cannot correctly use English to analyze the topic, research the information and write work paper in their group-research. Moreover, different countries have different cultures, those from countries in different education system even need to change their way in speaking, writing and thinking etc. into international models. Therefore, learning time for international students is very tight because they are facing with so much pressure. This means that, if international students use too much time doing part-time work, they cannot have enough time to do their school work which is
As the widespread population of teenage international student body growth, many more promising and upstanding students came to America to develop their better selves. When the first year they come, the very different environment would be a challenge for this young generation of student who just left the protection of their parents and familiar teachers and friends. The adjustment of academic will be a fundamentally challenging for them in many different aspects.
The time I moved to America, as I was in the hostel I got to meet many new people ever. I thought it's not a big deal to adjust in a new country. But it wasn't like that, everything was different here food, clothing, lifestyle. It was very difficult for me to understand what should I do. I thought that my parents will
One of the most obvious difficulties for an international student is culture shock. Culture shock is the result of moving from an environment that is familiar to one that is not. Adjusting to new food, people, environment and
We have to take in consideration that William Zinsser wrote the essay “College Pressures” in 1978, almost thirty years ago. In the modern society today, I believe that we have even more pressure than the students in the seventies. The author listed four main pressures: economic, parental, peer, and self-induced pressures, beside those listed there are other pressures that we could face. First time students can have problems with homesickness and new responsibilities. Some of new students never washed the dishes, cleaned the room or cooked food. So, it could be very stressful to adjust to completely new lifestyle in addition to all academic requirements. Also, immigrant student may encounter pressure to overcome cultural shock that conflict
Maureen Andrade article, “International students face academic and social transition issues in their first year of university” (P.135), so, students will face hard times at the beginning because they came from different countries which have different traditions and believes so, they will need time to adjust with the new environment depends on the student’s personality if he or she is extroverted or introverted. Accordingly, social adjustment issues present an obstacle for the international student; they face new life style, and sometimes the social support they get is less than what the domestic students get. Language proficiency can be the biggest obstacle for the international students, sometimes they feel shy speaking to native speakers because
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
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
International students face many different challenges when studying abroad. This is due to many factors. First, they are living in a country very far away from their own. The country they are studying at has a very different way of life than theirs. Further more, the laws in that country are much different than the laws in their own country. Due to that they face a lot of problems trying to adapt to this new culture. Me personally as an international student in the US studying at ASU, have faced three particularly difficult challenges that I was able to overcome through time. In this essay I will explain how international students can overcome tough challenges and situations.
Living away from your country can be a really interesting and unforgettable experience, but at the same time it has very important effects on one's life. The purpose of this essay is to discuss the three main effects that living in another country can produce in your personal life.
Throughout life I have had many memorable events. The memorable times in my life vary from being the worst times in my life and some being the best, either way they have become milestones that will be remembered forever. The best day of my life was definitely the day that I received my drivers' license. This day is one of the most memorable because of the feelings I had when I received it, the opportunities that were opened up for me and the long lasting benefits that I received from it that still exist today.