An international struggle

[dropcap]W[/dropcap]alking through campus, I found myself stuck behind a group of lost-looking people speaking a foreign language. “Great, internationals” I thought to myself with a heavy dose of all-too British sarcasm. Then I realised, I’m one of them.

I’ve been in the USA at the University of California Santa Barbara for just over a month and, despite my best intentions, in many ways I’ve become typically ‘international’. However, this has given me a perspective that, I hope, will make me a little more understanding of (and a little less tempted to make stereotypical Yik Yak jokes about) international students when I return to the UK. For starters, I hang out with a lot of internationals but, crucially, not because I’m antisocial or don’t want to adapt. I don’t even have a language barrier as an excuse and yet the initial social activities I attended began a few days earlier than general student move-in, and were aimed at international students. So, other than my Californian roommate, I only had the chance to meet and make friends with non-Americans.

A couple of weeks in, and I find myself spending lots of time with the Brits I’ve met in classes here. A r r i v i n g as second or third years rather than Freshman means that, other than fellow internationals, many of our American classmates already have established friendship groups and are less interested in making friends with new people.

That said, out of my closest friends here now, about half are American; in fact, much to my excitement, the Americans even outnumbered us at dinner the other day. But I can no longer fully blame internationals for sticking with people from similar places; it’s a practical not a personal thing.

A couple of weeks in, and I find myself spending lots of time with the Brits I’ve met in classes here

Furthermore, there tends to be a stereotype that international students have a lot of money, and don’t always spend it wisely, or at least don’t budget in the same way home students tend to. I certainly don’t have a lot of money, but being an international student has definitely affected the way I spend it. Firstly I was prepared for this year to be more expensive as I had to prove I had the funds before I was even offered a place, but I also know that this is a once in a life time opportunity, so I want to make the most of my time here. If that means I end up eating out more or spending money on trips to Disneyland, it’s because I want to experience the culture as much as possible while I still can, even if it means living on rice and pasta for my entire fourth year.

I certainly don’t have a lot of money, but being an international student has definitely affected the way I spend it

Finally, I like to talk about England… too much. There’s a certain ‘grass is greener’ mentality that I think is part of the culture shock for international students. It’s great for making the thought of returning from a place that rarely gets below 20 degrees Celsius a little more bearable but for the Americans, or even other internationals, it’s got to grate. Just over four weeks here and I can now say, as your typical international student, please don’t be too quick to judge, it’s often not for the reasons I used to assume and, not that deep down, we’re really just like any other student.