New to America

University of the Cumberlands is home to 87 international students representing 23 different countries.  Students come from as far away as Australia, Brazil, China, England and Mongolia. How did they hear about a small university in Williamsburg, Kentucky? Wanda Hensley, who works in the Office of International Student at UC, said that sometimes students hear about UC through friends, on the Internet, or through an agent.

Moving to the United States, for most foreign students, is a big change, and probably not what they had expected.

“Not having my family, moving to a small town; everything was different,” said David Intal, who moved here from New Zealand but is originally from Cambodia. Intal had been to America before. He had visited Orlando, Chicago, and Los Angeles, but Williamsburg was nothing he had expected. “I expected there to be big train stations in every city. I thought everything was big.”

Some students experienced more of a cultural shock than others. The biggest challenge for many was the language. Most students could speak or read at least a little English, but with the southern dialect and slang, picking up the language proved to be harder than what would have been studied at home.

“I think food is a big thing too,” said Hensley. “They miss their home cooking. They’re not used to pizza and hot dogs and stuff like that yet.”

Intal said another challenge is making friends. “Finding where to fit in was hard because I was the only Cambodian student. But I made some friends,” Intal said.

UC is very diverse, and all students, whether from China or Williamsburg, are adjusting to life on campus and are trying to find their place.

 “I think our internationals have a lot to offer,” Hensley said. “I’d like to see more interaction between the foreign students and the others. I think they have a lot they can teach us.”