University of Michigan International Center

Let’s talk about “you,” shall we? “You” are an international student, most likely grown up using English only in classroom settings. You might have traveled to the United States a few times with families or friends, but have never been around for more than two months, and, most importantly, alone. You probably have aced in buying a Grande Mocha Frappuccino from Starbucks and in your interview with some representative from the U of M. In sum, your proficiency in English is self-evident, but you still feel hesitant whenever you need to engage in conversations in English that are not out from necessities.  One day, after the tenth time of being barely present at hangouts with your American acquaintances (because the topic always outruns your attempt in organizing your words), you realize that your struggles will never pay. You will never cross the language gap of 5 years, 10 years, or even 15 years, depending on when you started acquiring English. You will never fully expres...

Personally speaking, it is hard to be an international student. People said that growing up is a process, but from my point of view, growing up starts from the moment that you get on the plane to US. Starting from that moment, almost everything that you were familiar with is getting unfamiliar. The time difference, homesickness, eating habits, languages, academic pressures and all the cultural differences - they are all going to become big challenges for international students to overcome. And besides those tasks, the most important issues that always occur for international students are loneliness and social insecurity. It is very common and happens to almost all of us. Most of my friends, including me, have had a hard time trying to figure out how to fit into this society and find our place at the University of Michigan (U-M). As a junior student, here is some advice that I want to give to incoming international students: Don’t be shy. Start to make friends from the orientat...