As most students who frequent the Park University campus are aware, there is a very large population of international students. Students here receive a different college experience than students who attend other schools and never open their minds to the idea of other cultures. At Park, it is almost impossible to not make a friend from a different country.
My freshman year at Park, I was assigned a roommate from China. Admittedly, this was a bit of a culture shock for me. Helping her adjust to the American culture was a challenge, but it was fun and interesting.
It was also educational to witness the vast difference between societal norms for her and the typical American student.
Three years later, she still doesn’t understand why we do some things and there are aspects of her I will never probably understand. The only thing you can do in this situation is refrain from judgment, accept the differences and learn from them.
This roommate paved the way for me to let in the ideas of other cultures. Some people I now claim as my best friends are from Brazil, France, New Zealand, England, Nigeria, Ecuador and China. They have taught me phrases in their native language, made food for me from their home land and accepted me and my American ways.
If these friends have taught me anything, it is how to be open minded. For instance, when I met a new student from Brazil on the first week of this school year, he was genuinely surprised by my lack of surprise at the many differences in our cultures. These differences now seem normal.
It is difficult – even in classroom atmospheres – to avoid clashing cultures. In most of the classes I have been enrolled in, there are at least a handful of international students. It is especially interesting in a political science class to have representatives from different countries to explain how their national government works and differs from the United States.
Two years ago, in my public speaking class, there was a man of a different ethnicity which I cannot remember now, who gave a speech about why females should not go to work and should stay at home with the children, “where they belong.” I specifically remember glancing around the classroom and seeing shocked looks on the American women’s faces reflecting the way I felt.
What I did not realize at the time was that in his culture this statement was not abnormal. Not only is it normal to feel this way about women, it is done out of respect for women. Although I still cannot completely wrap my mind around it, I have accepted it was how he was raised. I do not need to understand how he thinks – because it was his point of view, not mine.
As an American student, I am asking tolerance of you. We need tolerance of culture, religion, society and ethnicity. These international students come to the United States just as oblivious to our culture as we are to theirs. They are giving us a chance and the least we can do is give them the same courtesy. And who knows? You might find your new best friend or even your soul mate.
