Worldwide Welcome

International students acclimate to life at JMU with help from school program

Many freshman year stories are similar. Most students remember being a little bit homesick, attending first parties and sporting events, learning their way around unfamiliar campuses and adjusting to more difficult schoolwork. At JMU, many students take comfort in the knowledge that their families are just a phone call (or short car ride) away, or, that like most hometowns, there is a Super Wal-Mart around the corner.

But, for the many international students who attend the university each year, these consolations are not as available. Families are separated across oceans, phone bills quickly become expensive and friends are miles away. Despite these difficulties, the foreign students who attend JMU often are in for great adventures, as well as a bit of culture shock.

About fifty new international students attend JMU this year, representing such countries as South Korea, China, Japan, the Netherlands, Romania, England, Zimbabwe, Australia, Uganda, Spain, Belarus and South Africa, said Ellen Kokinda, Madison International Association president. Because the United States can be very different from many of these countries, JMU tries to acclimate new exchange students to America.

Just as new freshman attend an orientation upon their arrival to the university, international students also participate in a program intended to assist in their relocation to the United States. "Transition America," promoted by the Center of Multicultural and International Student Services, is a three-day experience to help international students adjust to American life. During this orientation, participants take thorough campus tours, learn about Dining Services and meal plans, open up bank accounts and discuss aspects of American culture that may be completely unfamiliar or unexpected to them.

"We discussed typical American classroom behavior and how it can be much more relaxed [than classrooms in other parts of the world]," Kokinda said. "The atmosphere is more laid back. Americans eat in classrooms, they sometimes speak when not called on, they will sometimes put their feet on the desks _— it doesn’t always happen, but we told them not to be totally shocked." Esther Broomhall, a junior American History major from England, thought the program was extremely helpful. "Meeting other international students [was wonderful] — they’re my closest friends now," she said. Broomhall also agreed with Kokinda’s opinion that classes in the United States can be very different from in other countries.

"Americans do so much more work," Broomhall said. "Also, at home, we go into a big lecture hall—the professor lectures and the students take notes—but here, there’s much more participation."

Yuki Yoshie, a junior communications major from Japan, reaffirmed Broomhall’s observation. "There’s lots of work here … [also,] the students and teachers interact a lot," Yoshie said, explaining that in Japan, the students and professors rarely intermingle. "The environment is also so different. I’d never used a bus on campus before, and this is my first time living in dorms."

Both Broomhall, who attends Leicester University in Leicester, England, and Yoshie, who attends Nanzan University in Nagoya, Japan, say they received little preparation from their home schools before departing to Virginia."We had a few meetings with the director of Study Abroad, who warned us a bit about culture shock, but we were pretty much thrown in," said Broomhall.

In addition to Transition America, many international students choose to live in Ashby Hall, home of the Madison International Program. Here, both American students and international students live together in an atmosphere designed to promote mutual exchanges of culture.

"Ashby is a great place. Everyone’s so nice," Broomhall said, "It’s also good to have fellow international students on your doorstep—they know what you’re going through."

Yoshie said, "When I have trouble, [other students] can listen to me and understand." Yoshie also noted that Ashby Hall is convenient for international students because many of the residence hall programs are directed toward international residents.

The international students attending JMU may have a lot to learn about the United States, but Kokinda thinks that American students can benefit from their interaction with them. "They have so much to offer," Kokinda said. "Most are well-traveled, articulate, have dynamic personalities and, most of all, they want to have a great experience while they are here."

Broomhall certainly is enjoying her time in the United States so far, and recommends that students try to find an opportunity to study abroad. "It’s hard at first, but it’s an opportunity—Go for it." Interested students should visit the Office of International Programs, located at 1077 South Main Street or call x 86419.

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