A shrinking world, growing diversity
By Molly McCue
When Silu Ma, an international student from China, first came to Minnesota, he didn’t know how to ask where the ketchup or napkins were because there were no words for those things in Chinese. Ma is now a senior and has gotten used to being a college student in America. The students who started this semester, however, are still adapting.First-years Xin Piao and Clement Dai agree that being an international student in America is challenging and demanding, but also very rewarding. Although it is not easy for these three students to be so far from their families, they say it is ultimately worth it.
“The place your college is doesn’t matter. It’s the school and the people that do,” Piao said.
By the numbers
The current first-year class has 33
international students from China, the largest number in CSB/SJU’s history.
Because there are 53 total current students from China, the class of 2012 has a particularly significant presence at CSB/SJU. The students are among the 127 international students from all countries represented this year.
Culture shock
Piao and Dai both commented on the profound differences between the
education systems of the United States and China.
“In China we didn’t have the freedom to choose what to learn. Learning wasn’t
‘interest-oriented,’” Ma said.
Dai agreed.
“Here you have control of everything for yourself,” Dai said.
The students were pleasantly surprised by the friendliness of CSB/SJU students, professors and other members of the
community.
“People are so nice to me; I just can’t say enough,” Piao said.
Speaking English
Aside from the different foods and the fact that they do not see old friends from high school or their towns back home, the hardest part of being an international
student, the students said, is breaking through the language barrier.
“It can be really difficult to understand the English language when my friends and other students mumble softly or use slang terms,” Piao said.
Ma said it takes him much longer to read books and write papers than American
students. Dai has encountered his own set of language issues.
“I had a problem the other day because my father, who only speaks Chinese, called the phone in my dorm room and I wasn’t there. My roommate had to take the call, and neither person on the phone knew the other language!” Dai said.
Life at CSB/SJU
Dai, Ma, and Piao revealed the reasons they love these colleges, and the reasons they are here as international students.
“I love that it is a Catholic school, and the way men and women are commingled. You can feel proud to be [either male or female], but also interact with the opposite sex,” Piao said.
“Here, at St. Ben’s and St. John’s, I am really enjoying my life. I feel I have achieved something,” Ma said. When Dai’s mother begged him to return home from America by Christmas, he gave her a clear, determined, “NO!”
By the numbers
The current first-year class has 33
international students from China, the largest number in CSB/SJU’s history.
Because there are 53 total current students from China, the class of 2012 has a particularly significant presence at CSB/SJU. The students are among the 127 international students from all countries represented this year.
Culture shock
Piao and Dai both commented on the profound differences between the
education systems of the United States and China.
“In China we didn’t have the freedom to choose what to learn. Learning wasn’t
‘interest-oriented,’” Ma said.
Dai agreed.
“Here you have control of everything for yourself,” Dai said.
The students were pleasantly surprised by the friendliness of CSB/SJU students, professors and other members of the
community.
“People are so nice to me; I just can’t say enough,” Piao said.
Speaking English
Aside from the different foods and the fact that they do not see old friends from high school or their towns back home, the hardest part of being an international
student, the students said, is breaking through the language barrier.
“It can be really difficult to understand the English language when my friends and other students mumble softly or use slang terms,” Piao said.
Ma said it takes him much longer to read books and write papers than American
students. Dai has encountered his own set of language issues.
“I had a problem the other day because my father, who only speaks Chinese, called the phone in my dorm room and I wasn’t there. My roommate had to take the call, and neither person on the phone knew the other language!” Dai said.
Life at CSB/SJU
Dai, Ma, and Piao revealed the reasons they love these colleges, and the reasons they are here as international students.
“I love that it is a Catholic school, and the way men and women are commingled. You can feel proud to be [either male or female], but also interact with the opposite sex,” Piao said.
“Here, at St. Ben’s and St. John’s, I am really enjoying my life. I feel I have achieved something,” Ma said. When Dai’s mother begged him to return home from America by Christmas, he gave her a clear, determined, “NO!”
By the numbers
The current first-year class has 33
international students from China, the largest number in CSB/SJU’s history.
Because there are 53 total current students from China, the class of 2012 has a particularly significant presence at CSB/SJU. The students are among the 127 international students from all countries represented this year.
Culture shock
Piao and Dai both commented on the profound differences between the
education systems of the United States and China.
“In China we didn’t have the freedom to choose what to learn. Learning wasn’t
‘interest-oriented,’” Ma said.
Dai agreed.
“Here you have control of everything for yourself,” Dai said.
The students were pleasantly surprised by the friendliness of CSB/SJU students, professors and other members of the
community.
“People are so nice to me; I just can’t say enough,” Piao said.
Speaking English
Aside from the different foods and the fact that they do not see old friends from high school or their towns back home, the hardest part of being an international
student, the students said, is breaking through the language barrier.
“It can be really difficult to understand the English language when my friends and other students mumble softly or use slang terms,” Piao said.
Ma said it takes him much longer to read books and write papers than American
students. Dai has encountered his own set of language issues.
“I had a problem the other day because my father, who only speaks Chinese, called the phone in my dorm room and I wasn’t there. My roommate had to take the call, and neither person on the phone knew the other language!” Dai said.
Life at CSB/SJU
Dai, Ma, and Piao revealed the reasons they love these colleges, and the reasons they are here as international students.
“I love that it is a Catholic school, and the way men and women are commingled. You can feel proud to be [either male or female], but also interact with the opposite sex,” Piao said.
“Here, at St. Ben’s and St. John’s, I am really enjoying my life. I feel I have achieved something,” Ma said. When Dai’s mother begged him to return home from America by Christmas, he gave her a clear, determined, “NO!”
