10 Reasons You Should Make International Friends

My name is Muyao Shen and I’m a senior studying Journalism at Ohio State. Although I joined school a semester behind most first-years and came straight China, I am grateful to have made many cross-cultural friendships during my time at the university. As a result of my own experiences, I thought I would share with you ten reasons why I think everyone should be friends with international students at The Ohio State University!

 

  1. Well, because they are kinda smart and cool.

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Seriously, dude. As international students, most of us are speaking our second language on a daily basis. Like right now, I am writing this post in English, my second language.

  1. Because Ohio State has one of the biggest international students population.

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Image how awkward it would be when you get out of college and someone ask you “so you went to Ohio State? But why were you not friends with any international students there?”

outlander29Seriously, there are so many of them at OSU!

  1. Because when you travel abroad, you find you have a house to stay everywhere. 🙂

    And your friends’ parents treat you as their second son/ daughter

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  1. Because when you try to find a job in a multinational corporation (MNC) after graduate…

…your potential employer starts to like you better when you say “One of my best friends is from China and she shares everything about China to me I went there one time with her.”

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“She must have a good understanding in different cultures.” – from your future employer.

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  1. Because when you go to an ethnic restaurant, you feel 100% confident about what to order.

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Your waiter enters and you say “I would like some Aloo Sang” without reading the menu.

  1. Because you realize you can easily swear in 5 different languages

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– *swear in French – “What did you just say?” – “Nothing. :)”

  1. Because Ohio State offers some of the best activities for you to get to know more about international students

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Taste of OSU is coming soon!! Mark your calendar!

 

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check out programs at Global Engagement from Office of International Affairs: http://oia.osu.edu/workshops-and-events/global-engagement.html

  1. Because stereotypes break down after you hang out with international students more!

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– No and No

 

  1. Because you can eat food actually taste like the way it tastes in its original country

Your international student friend: “This is not authentic Thai food, I will make some real Thai food and bring it to you tomorrow.”

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  1. Because you feel absolutely unprecedentedly proud of your country when you introduce every good thing about America to your international friends.

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– “Welcome to the country of freedom!”