Kennesaw State University is becoming a very diverse school, with its constantly-growing campus life and variety of clubs and programs. Recently, I’ve been introduced to a new facet of campus life at Kennesaw State: the international students’ organizations and events.
The International Students' Association (ISA) at KSU is one of the largest clubs on campus and hosts a variety of events throughout the year such as pageants, festivals and other exciting programs that celebrate the cultural diversity at Kennesaw State. In addition, Kennesaw State runs a study area on the second floor of the student center called the Global Village, where anyone can go to study, eat lunch or meet new friends.
I was introduced to the International Students Association recently and I have absolutely loved getting to know some of the students in this club. The international students on Kennesaw’s campus have a true zest for life; they are so friendly and so excited to be at our school.
For this article, I interviewed six of the international students and asked them about their stories- some of the cultural differences they have discovered between their home countries and the United States, how they got to Kennesaw State in the first place and what they miss most about home. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting these six and I hope you do too!
Interviewees:
Miguel Santiesteban from Colombia
Nicodemus Zewde Mahire from Ethiopia
Fernando C. from Argentina
Arthur Ervolino from Brazil
Akshita Maan from India
Laura McIntosh from Australia
(The following words written in quotation marks are direct quotations from the interviewees, from audio recordings made in Kennesaw State's Global Village on Feb. 3, 2016. Anything enclosed in square brackets was added by me for clarification. Verbal fillers and some content were edited out by my discretion, but I tried my best to transcribe the essence of each conversation and the specific wording used by each interviewee.)
1. What made you decide to come to KSU?
Miguel: “I was coming to visit my godparents -- they’re Americans -- and I thought it would be good to study English here. I was supposed to study in Colombia, but then I studied English here in the Intensive English Program at Kennesaw and I loved the university and the people.”
Fernando:“I decided to transfer. I was studying back home and little by little things began to show up to come here, so I decided to change schools.”
Arthur: “I graduated from high school and then I came to Atlanta to study English. I went to [Georgia] Tech for about six months and I did an English program there. During that time, I realized that I wanted to pursue my degree here in the U.S. and then I went to [visit] different colleges. KSU was the most appealing one, so here I am.”
Laura: “I had options and I picked 10 universities. This one, I liked because it’s different from where everyone else was going and it’s in a different area.”
2. What are some things that your country is known for?
Miguel: “Colombia has been declared the happiest country of the world. Last year, it used to be Sweden, but now we’re the happiest country. It’s known for having the most delicious coffee in the world. Our soccer team is getting very good. They did such a good performance at the world cup. Colombia -- it’s getting famous.”
Nicodemus: "The earliest fossil defining human life was found in Ethiopia -- that’s something kind of cool.”
Fernando: “Messi. Lionel Messi is a football player. He’s a very well known football player. The other person -- also a football player -- is Maradona. Those are the two main icons of football. The other thing is Argentinian barbecue. It’s special -- not like American barbecue. Dulce de leche -- it’s a kind of a sweet milk, a kind of jelly -- that is also pretty known.”
Akshita: “Good food, the abundance of culture and religions. Apparently the fashion is very good, because Americans are starting to use that.”
3. What's your favorite part of being at KSU?
Miguel: “So much diversity. There are a lot of students who dropped out for a couple of years then came back, older people, a lot of internationals, a lot of multiracial people as well. I love that -- I love learning about the diversity and the culture, the richness that Kennesaw has.”
Nicodemus: “It’s such a big school, which at first made me afraid. But then, it just [gives] you so many different opportunities to meet so many different types of people that you never thought you’d meet.”
Arthur: “ISA is a really cool place to be. The organization is awesome. Everyone is super welcome to join and to keep coming to the events. You make friends that [will] last for your whole life.”
Akshita: “Global village. I can come here whenever. I can study, I can hang out with friends. It’s not like you have to be doing something all the time.”
Laura: “The people. Everybody is so nice. It’s a different lifestyle compared to an Australian university. It’s more social, which is really good. Everyone is so much more friendly.”
4. How is American culture different from the culture in your home country?
Miguel: “[In Colombia], we’re very close. There’s something we call the warmness of people -- you feel it. When you go to Colombia, you feel welcome. Here, everyone has personal space -- two, three feet. In Colombia, we’re like, one foot. Here’s another difference: [In the U.S.], people live separate from each other. The houses are not too close. In Colombia, everything is linked to everything. That’s something that causes us to be very close. The food is very different. Here, everything is so processed. We actually cook everything in Colombia and the food is so delicious. We love cooking.”
Nicodemus: “Ethiopians are quiet and submissive-sounding and Americans are so proud and loud and exciting. It pushes me to be loud and exciting too. I like that.”
Fernando: “We are louder. When we greet each other, we are very exciting. I won’t say yelling, but if you are there, you will feel like we are yelling, because it’s a different culture. The handshake -- I’m not used to. [In Argentina], if you go and say hello to a girl, usually you give her a kiss on the cheek and not just a handshake. So, [giving handshakes] was awkward at the very beginning -- it was kind of like, ‘OK, this is the way you do it.’"
Arthur: “[In Brazil], people are warmer. If you go to a restaurant, the server really means when he’s saying: ‘how’s it going?’ ‘Is the food good?’ -- things of that nature. We are much more attached to family. When you’re 18, you’re not expected to leave the house. It’s cool if you stay with your family and you still go to school and have a job. When you want to move out, your parents ask, ‘why do you want to move out?'"
Akshita: “ [In India], Women have to be more conservative. If you’re a woman and you’re outspoken there, it’s offensive to pretty much everyone. You have a lot of freedom here. In India, you have a different type of freedom; on a daily basis you can kind of do whatever you want, but there’s a lot expected of you. Here it’s like: ‘oh, if you fail a course, that’s OK. Just retake it.’ You don’t have that luxury in India at all.”
Laura: “It's a little bit similar, but the university life is different. Everyone is more involved. At our [Australian] universities, you go and you do stuff and you leave.”
5. What do you miss most about home?
Miguel: “I miss my food a lot! Waking up to arepas. They’re made of corn flour and you can put in chicken, cheese, steak -- eat it in the morning with some coffee. They’re SO delicious. I sometimes make them here, but they don’t taste the same. I miss my mom cooking them.”
Nicodemus: “My family -- I miss them a lot.”
Fernando: “The fact of being able to go to someone’s house just to chat. You go and you spend a good time and there’s no rush. You spend a lot of time and you talk about a lot of things- even silly things, or deep things or family things.”
Arthur: “I guess it’s kind of cliche, but my friends and family -- the people. But, there are a lot of things that I don’t miss. There are a lot of pros and cons to every decision you make in life."
Akshita: “My family… and the food. Mainly my family. I only have my immediate family here -- everyone else is in India. Until I came to KSU, I didn’t know many Indians that I could talk to about my culture.”
Laura: “The weather. It’s so cold here, compared to home. And it’s summer there now.”
Are you interested in learning more about the International Students' Association at Kennesaw State?
Visit their Facebook page.
