Personal essay: The international student experience at UMW

by THERON GERTZ

Staff Writer

International students aren’t easily identifiable upon first glance. Much like shapeshifters, one can usually only identify them by very minor idiosyncrasies revealed through prolonged conversation. Unlike shape-shifters, they are real people whose experiences we should try and empathize with and better understand. I know this because I initially transferred here from Japan.

To start this discussion about the international student’s experience, we must first note that culture shock is real and jarring. People who are born in the U.S. might not consider some things strange, but they can appear truly bizarre to non-native citizens. To list some of my first impressions, I’ve noticed Americans’ road rage and how often they honk and curse each other out on the road. I’ve also observed how little they know about the rest of the world compared to other groups. Living in Asian and European countries, I felt a much stronger cultural emphasis on being worldly and informed about different cultures.

Unfortunately, this information leads me to my next point, which is that telling people you’re an international student––or, more organically, telling people you’re from “X” country––is a lot like telling them you’re vegan. More often than not, they will respond with a quick “that’s cool,” and allow the subject to change. Best case scenario, they may throw a few declaratory statements about how “they aren’t, but how cool it is that you are” or ask a couple of superficial questions. Either way, the eventual result is the same: conversational annihilation. 

As an international student, isolation is an incredibly terrifying prospect, making it especially important to make friends. Without family members close by, you have few other options for a support net. While many international students can attest to having made lifelong friendships, most can also admit it is initially difficult to connect with locals.

One of the first things I noticed upon arriving here was just how much of Virginians’ small-talk is based around the state itself; historical knowledge, district rivalries, regional descriptions such as NoVA (Northern Virginia) and SWVA (Southwest Virginia) are rife. Having a conversation with a local Virginian feels eerily similar to taking a test without having read the textbook pages that you were assigned. This even holds up for their specific vocab terms, such as “seeing someone in a brick,” or, upon finding something funny, being “geeked.” 

Another important fact worth noting is how different the relationship of an international student with this university is compared to that of non-international students. For example, it may be significantly harder to feel school pride when you’re paying almost twice what an in-state student does. Regardless, not having a family to visit means you will become more acquainted with this school than the average person. I know this university like the back of my hand, mainly because I’ve spent the past three, almost four, years living in it. What this often means for international students is that they will become more acquainted with school facilities than native students could possibly imagine. For us, financial aid, the student health center or the Talley Center are not resources that are “nice to have” and that you can possibly put off until going home; rather, they are absolutely essential. 

Holidays are uniquely bad in this regard. More often than not, I stay on campus and choose to wait out the days. Without its usual population, the school looks like New York did in the movie “I Am Legend.” That is to say, eerie and depressing. The few people who are on campus seem to make frictionless eye contact with you, and it almost never leads to social interaction. 

Still, despite all of this, it’s not all bad. Not being from here means you can better appreciate all that the area has to offer. I can attest to Virginia’s spring being one of the most beautiful anywhere in the world. Likewise, while not perfect, Virginians are, more often than not, incredibly well-meaning. A big part of why I decided to stay here was because of the warmth and support people showed me. 

To truly survive in a place, you often have to find your own niche, and nothing teaches you that more effectively than living in a foreign country. While I believe people are fundamentally good, not all of them may be your crowd. Still, you will find out that many of them are, country or culture of origin notwithstanding.