Do you know what your international students are doing for the holidays?
Dec. 14, 2012 at 08:59 AM | By Daniela Locreille with International Student, Andres Calderon | Comment Count
Have you ever imagined leaving all of your friends and family and heading to a foreign land by yourself to celebrate the holidays? For most, this doesn’t sound too appealing. Well, for the thousands of international students studying in the U.S., this is exactly what they experience as they travel abroad for a better education.
Besides the fact that they often miss their families on a daily basis, international students don’t always have the luxury of returning to their homeland for the holidays. As a result, families are missed, new traditions are started, and cultures unite as international students are immersed into our culture when celebrating with their American friends and adoptive families.
As a former international student myself, I believe the holidays are an opportunity for schools to truly engage with their international students by assuring they have a well-supported holiday season. When I studied in Oregon, I was fortunate to meet an incredible family during winter break with whom, after 25 years, I still keep in touch. At that time, I decided to fully embrace the American way of celebrating the holidays. I even cooked some Argentinian meals for my host family to try.
International student, Andres Calderon from Colombia, has chosen to spend this year’s festivities in Oklahoma with his American family. Here’s his take on celebrating in the U.S.:
“I’ve been spending the holiday season in the U.S. for the last five years and it gets better every time. As winter break approaches, I get eager for the school semester to end, and I brace myself hoping that we’ll get some snow this year.
Finally, there’s nothing like tuning to the local holiday radio station to get in the holiday mood. But of course, even with the rush of the season, it’s not easy to ignore that I haven’t seen my Colombian family and friends for so long. I’m quite sure that my fellow international students must be feeling the same way about their loved ones. For those who get the holiday blues, make sure you build a diverse support base of friends in the U.S.”
Feeling homesick is no stranger to international students and it’s hard to combat alone. Schools can better serve international students by making sure they help establish a game plan for holiday breaks. Here some pointers to communicate to your international students:
- Don’t be afraid to go out and meet new people. Developing friendships can help international students grow more comfortable with American traditions and customs.
- Share your culture. International students will undoubtedly learn from their experiences with their American friends but their friends can also learn from them. This is what Internationalization is all about.
Homesickness may never completely go away. Thankfully, building strong, lasting friendships and exchanging international traditions and customs makes being away from home during the holidays a little easier. After all, it’s a great feeling to know that you’re not alone in a foreign land.
Happy holidays everyone and may the joy of the season surround you!
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