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arts & culture KANSAN.COM/ARTS_AND_CULTURE THURSDAY, JULY 7, 2016 What it's like to be an international student at KU
- RYAN WRIGHT
@ryanwaynewright
Contributed Photo
Every year, thousands of students from all over the world travel to the United States to continue their education at the University. Going to a new country for the first time isn't the easiest thing in the world, and international students have many adjustments to make. But beyond adjusting to the culture of Lawrence, many students say they just want to make an American friend.
According to Charles Olcese, the director of International Student Services, international students tend to rank making an American friend very highly in their incoming goals.
"That's why they came to the U.S. They could go to University in their own country or in a similar country, but they came to the U.S. because they wanted to have an American experience. They wanted to get to know America," he said.
Kunal Karnik, a senior from Mumbai.
Kunal Karnik, a senior from Mumbai, said some international students go out of their way to make American friends.
"I have some friends who don't want to talk to other Indians because they feel they are out of India now and they shouldn't be hanging out with Indians," Karnik said.
Karnik was 17 when he arrived in Lawrence, and with no family in town, he was forced to put himself out there and make friends.
"My family wasn't here,
my entire support system was my friends. So I had to make a lot of friends fast," Karnik said.
However, making an American friend is not a goal that's always attainable. Olcese said he believes it's partly because domestic students aren't great hosts. He said he doesn't think American students approach hosting as something important and should take initiative.
"Part of being a good host is taking the initiative and making people feel comfortable," Oleese said. "They are probably more eager to want to be your friend than you are in reaching out, because that's really valuable experience for them."
My family wasn't here, my entire support system was my friends. So I had to make a lot of friends fast."
Kunal Karnik International Student
Because of these barriers, international students may choose to spend their free time with other international students from the same or a similar country.
"International students are more quiet, they just stay in their group of friends that are from the same country. I feel like it's easier for us to make friends like that," Yupaporn Kawinpakorn, a 2016 graduate, said.
Kawinpakorn is from Samut Prakan, Thailand and is a former member of the University's women's golf team
Kawinpakorn said she struggled with English when she arrived, which made it harder for her to make friends and do her classwork.
"I remember when I first got here my English wasn't that great and I couldn't catch what they [professors] said, exactly," Kawinpakorn said.
After she got into the groove of the semester and her English improved, Kawinpakorn said she became confident and began to make friends.
"It's hard at first because I was shy to speak and I didn't have a lot of friends. Now I'm good, I have a lot of friends now," she said.
However, making friends isn't the only challenge international students face when they arrive on campus. As one can expect, it takes time for many students to get adjusted to Lawrence. According to Olcese, it's an easier adjustment during the fall semester than it is for students who start in the summer.
"I always feel sorry for international students who start in the summer term because it's so vastly different than they expected. It's very different from what they get when fall starts," Oleese said.
This is similar to what Karnik experienced when he first arrived in Lawrence. He wanted to arrive in Lawrence a couple weeks before school started so he could adjust to the city. Before getting to Lawrence, he had a layover in Chicago at the O'Hare International Airport and the first thing he saw in America was an overhead view of Chicago.
He arrived in Lawrence in the middle of the day and no one was around. This is not what Karnik expected, being from such a densely populated city like Mumbai.
"Being from Mumbai, you look in one direction you see at least a hundred people," Karnik said. "It just felt like a ghost town. Frankly, I was scared. I was like 'Where am I? This does not feel like Chicago.'"
Money can also be an issue for international students. They pay nonresident fees, which are typically about three or more times the resident fee. And they often don't have the same access to financial aid options because only citizens can get loans or grants from the U.S.government. Unless students have a program from their home country, they often times pay full rate, according to Olcese.
This can also factor into how many times a student can visit home, if ever. A good number of international students don't go back home during their time at KU, while some go back once or twice a year. Karnik falls in the latter group and visits India at least once a year.
His younger sister was 11 when he left for school in
2013, and while he enjoys going back home to visit family, he's disappointed he wasn't there to see his sister grow up.
"My sister grew up really fast and I missed all of that. That's the only part that gets me," Karnik said.
"I went back for 15 days recently [...] and sometimes she just messages me 'What's that? Who comes for 15 days?' and whenever you look at that it's just like now I feel bad [...] it gets you on the inside."
Despite struggles, Karnik said his overall experience at the University has been good and he enjoys the college-town environment of Lawrence.
"So far I'd make this decision again," he said.
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