Changed Views

After being abroad for nearly three months now, I have to say that my perspective on international students at W&J has changed tremendously! First of all, I give them so much credit for coming to the United States and taking classes with all American students. With my program at UPO, I’m not even mixed with Spanish speaking students in my classes, and I still feel overwhelmed at times! I know how hard it was to get adjusted to the way of life in Spain, and I’m sure they felt no different about the adjustment in the U.S. Yet there is such a small group of international students that come to W&J, in comparison to the 400+ that are studying at my school in Spain right now. I give each and every one of them so much more credit for having the courage to step into a brand new school, full of English speaking students, when some of them aren’t even that comfortable with English. Many people really don’t understand the daily struggles and stresses of an international student until they have walked in their shoes; I can finally understand so much better now. 

Another thing I’ve noticed is that foreign people I’ve met abroad in their home countries are so patient with me when I’m speaking Spanish or trying to understand something I might find confusing. I rarely have anyone who doesn’t do everything they can to help me out when I’m struggling and need direction. However, this isn’t always the case in America. Too many times you’ll hear arrogant Americans saying the phrase, “Welcome to America, now speak English”, and I can’t even begin to describe how much this infuriates me even more now than it already did. I cannot even imagine someone saying that to me in Spain or anywhere else that I’ve traveled in Europe because in different high level stress situations, I would probably cry if someone was that rude to me. On a side note, it’s amazing how many places you go that citizens of that country not only speak their own language but English as well; and they love to practice their English! So many people in Europe are so intelligent when it comes to languages, and it’s so common to meet people that are at least bilingual but often times trilingual and more, which is usually the case for most of the international students at W&J, too.

When I put all of these observations together, I realize that all of the international students at W&J, as well as other college campuses throughout America, deserve all the credit in the world. Although I’ve never been too involved with the international students on campus in the past, I’m so happy that they are a part of our college, and I welcome them wholeheartedly!