International Students
An international student arrives at their destination with many expectations of a better life and opportunity. Although the reality might be different from the expectation, some international students are privileged and have it easy in tackling some issues related to other international students. In other cases, they might have limited opportunities in a foreign country, in terms of socialization, accommodation, cost of living and academics.
Figure 1. this photo illustrates the changes of home environment and new adventure of an international student.
Socialization plays a role in not just connecting with people, But also in participation academically. Poor socialization can be stimulated, due to the language barrier. Although Canadian core languages are English and French, communication is a crucial problem with international students. These are due to the differences in the pronunciations. These can be difficult for a student from a different country to comprehend. The lack of socialization can trigger homesickness or poor academic performance. Homesickness for international students is also an issue that can affect a student’s mental health or academic performance. Social media has made it easy to get in touch with family and friends, compared to a friend in the same city, which can increase the opportunity for leisurely activities. In terms of poor academic performance, the pronunciation of certain words might be different and complicated to comprehend, This is due to international students not clearly understanding or even avoiding participating in group activities due to the fear of other students not clearly understanding them.
Figure 2. this photo showcases a new isolated international student with no friends.
Figure 3. this photo indicates the good connection, or fun an international student will experience, either from the same country, race, or by good communication in terms of diversity.
In most cases, Housing is a crisis for international students. This is because of the large number of new students, which leads to shortage of accommodation for other new or old students. Meanwhile, distance and cost might be another issue for international students. Distance is the reason why some students take longer to find suitable accommodation; this can diminish a student’s academic performance due to late attendance or being absent from the lectures. The cost of apartments is another reason there are problems in finding suitable accommodation.
figure 4. this photo indicates the most obvious problem of international student which is accommodation.
In terms of cost of living, international student needs to sustain any job to meet their cost of living. Most of the common bills include cost of accommodation, and cost of transportation. The cost of accommodation does not cover just the rent of an apartment, but also other bills associated with accommodation, for example, WIFI, Hydro, and Hot water. The cost of transportation is either determine by the distance of the destination, and method of transportation. In most case, taking a public bus transport might slightly affect a student considering their place of residing. For example, my first job was at Denny’s, and I lived at Hugh Allen at Aberdeen, I was pressured into using the cab considering the bus timing. Other issue includes maintenance if a student owns an auto mobile.
Conclusion
In conclusion, international students should not only be considered for their academic or work abilities, but also how their able to cope with these obstacles.
The outline of the story focuses on the following,
- Adapting to a new environment far from home.
- Problems in socialization among international students.
- How socialization affects a student participation in class.
- Problems in finding an accommodation.
- The cost of living for an international student living in Canada.