By Katerina Mansour, Staff Writer

Published in print Feb. 4, 2015

Most universities have an international program that receives students from around the world. The chance to study abroad is one of the greatest opportunities we are given during our college experience. However, there still seems to be a huge distance between international students and the rest of campus.

Part of this is due to the mind set internationals bring with them when they come to UNCG or any other college. When you’re suddenly in a strange land with strange people around, you tend to flock to those with whom you share something.

Each culture or nationality seem to stick side by side in an effort to feel comfortable and have someone by your side who can understand what you’re going through, and most importantly someone who speaks the same language.

Another reasoning behind this divide is The I-House, or Phillips-Hawkins, the dormitory is almost completely isolated building at the far end of campus. Short of the internationals who live there, few people go there. There is little or no foot traffic due to its location on campus. All this makes it fairly easy to forget that Phillips-Hawkins even exists.

UNCG has many programs designed to address these two issues. There’s the international festival each semester, Friday fest every week, and a number of other campus activities that center around internationals, culture and global topics. But, is that really enough? Are our internationals getting the immersion experience they deserve? My response to that would be no, and I have a few suggestions on how to fix it.

Have the internationals live in a different building. It seems that living on the quad would be a much better alternative than being in some isolated corner of campus. Living arrangements play a major role in facilitating immersion within a community. Having internationals live at the heart of campus seems only logical, so please, let’s give internationals a better experience of campus life.

Also, have internationals room with local students. With the existence of the Global Village, many have suggested that members of the Global Village should share rooms with international students. Your roommate can open up a whole new avenue to make new friends. If your roommate is also an international student, these opportunities would be much harder to achieve.

Or how about trips within North Carolina? Many internationals come here and get comfortable with their routine in Greensboro. North Carolina is a large state, with so many sites to see! Why not facilitate their discovery of the rest of it? A program through which internationals could visit Asheville, the Blue Ridge Mountains, Wilmington and other important places within North Carolina would add so much to our internationals’ experience. Even weekend trips to fun locations such as Carowinds would offer the international student a chance to enjoy themselves, while seeing different areas of North Carolina. This would help internationals branch out and socialize outside of their usual group.

Let’s not kid ourselves by thinking that a few campus festivals are going to truly give our internationals the opportunity to learn about North Carolina’s culture and experience life in the United States. Hands on experience is how we learn. Listening to lectures, brief presentations on each others’ cultures, and other activities within the confines of our campus aren’t enough. Internationals should see and experience things first hand.

Imagine yourself abroad in Japan. Would you rather participate in a cultural activity on campus where you are told about Japanese culture and given certain Japanese foods, or would you rather go explore other Japanese cities and experience those foods where they are normally served and sold? Would you rather live in a dorm with other internationals, many from the same country as you or would you rather room with a local Japanese student who can help you practice the language, meet new people, and learn new things?

The experience of studying abroad is a once in a lifetime opportunity for most students, and there are many things UNCG could do to improve the experience of its visiting internationals.