George Tan
Blue & White Flash/Staff Writer
Many of the students at Jackson State University had to only travel hundreds of miles away from home to go to college. But can you imagine being more than 8,000 miles away from home to attend college? There are many international students at Jackson State University who have done just that to immerse themselves in a whole new environment of different cultures and language.
Adjusting to the cultural shocks and frustrations of adapting to new surroundings is often a struggle for these international students.
Anissa Hidouk came to United States right after high school and spent two months studying English under JSU’s English as a Second Language (ESL) program before enrolling at JSU in the undergraduate studies.
The sophomore mass communications major from Algeria said she experienced tremendous emotional changes studying so far away from home.
“I was so happy when I first arrived in the USA and I was amazed by the Jackson State campus,” said Hidouk. “But the positive feelings didn’t stay long.”
Hidouk stated that she felt handicapped for not being able to communicate with other people. She tried to make friends but experienced difficulty because of her [lack of] English proficiency and began to feel depressed, anxious and experienced a strong repulsion of the culture. She said, “I just wanted to go home.”
Things changed when she started making friends on campus although she doesn’t live on campus. She said she missed the opportunity to have an American roommate as her first friend. Her first friend on campus was an international student as well.
Hidouk said that things improved after her first semester because she started interacting with American classmates. She found that the students were friendly and helpful and the professors were understanding and supportive.
“It is just a hurdle that I had to go through. Being an international student, I now know we need to work harder than others and put in extra efforts but I know I will be able to make it with determination,” said Hidouk.
Even though she too experienced cultural shocks and home sickness, it was not too hard for ShuYing Wei to adapt to the new environment.
Wei, a junior English education major from China, is an active member of International Chinese Association and JSU Chinese Association. She organized the Chinese Moon Festival in Fall 2012 where she performed a Chinese Cultural dance. She actively promotes Chinese cultures to the community and performed Chinese dances at the Chinese New Year Festival organized by Mississippi Chinese Association and International Festival at Mississippi College.
“All day study and no play makes Jack a dull boy! I appreciate the richness of student activities at Jackson State,” said Wei.
She is a big fan of volleyball and attended most of the volleyball matches at Jackson State and other sports activities as well.
She said, “As a Tiger, I’m definitely going to support our Lady Tigers! I am so proud to see our volleyball team won the championship!”
Wei also participated in Alternative Spring Break where she performed community service with a group of other JSU students to rebuild the community in Hattiesburg affected by a tornado. She enjoyed helping the community and learned more about social issues.
Wei gives credit to the professors for being supportive and understanding.
“They are helpful, but I need to work extra hard to meet the standards. I would spend hours studying in the library,” said Wei.
She admitted she didn’t understand the accent at the beginning, but she picked up really fast. She wanted to thank Mei-Chi Piletz, former Director of Office of China Initiatives for helping her engage in JSU campus life. During her tenure, Piletz would meet with the Chinese students every week to discuss problems they encountered.
“I am just blessed for the help and support I get from my friends, professors, and family back home! I love Jackson State so much!” said Wei.
A piece of advice she gave to international students adapting to new environment was, “Be positive, do not be afraid to try new things, and ask questions.”
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