Abilene Christian College - Prickly Pear Yearbook (Abilene, TX)

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ACU Gets a Tastem of International Seventy-three students rep- resenting 26 foreign countries flavored the ACU campus this year with culture, unusual languages and a new perspective on international These students chose ACU for various reasons, but each went through the same steps to receive a letter of acceptance. Like all ACU students, they presented academic credentials either in the form of secondary school or university transcripts. Unlike most applicants, foreign students must present scores on an English test. They also must show evidence of financial ability to meet expenses while in school because they are not eligible for loans or Clint Howeth, director of ad- missions, said the number of foreign students has increased in the past few years. ACU receives about 20 new applications each year, and 50 percent or more are accepted. Each of these students had a unique viewpoint of his new surroundings, and most agree that Americans are friendly and ACU is a good school. Few admit to having cultural adjustment problems. Differences between the U.S. and their countries are great, but many come from large, developed cities in which lifestyles are similar to those in this country. These countries are often in the news, and the reality of many situations only comes to the students via letter or telephone calls from home. The individualism of these ACU students is best expressed in their own words and thoughts. This represents not an ending, but a continually increasing foreign student population at ACU. Ok Boon Han and Mi Sun Cho are two of the four Korean students who attended ACU this year. Ok is a senior social work major and Mi is a senior religious education major. They live together off campus. Mi wants to work with Sunday school education programs when she returns to Korea. “It’s good for children, but it is lacking in our country,” she said. Both girls gained experience by working with the Highland Church of Christ education program for experience. Mi chose to study in the United States because the “education field is the best in the world.” Because the U.S. is an advanced country, Ok said she thought she could learn a lot here, so she wanted to come. Ok was encouraged to come to ACU by a professor at Korean Christian College who graduated from ACU. “He said ACU is the best one in the U.S.” She said since she belongs to the Church of Christ, it was God’s plan for her to come. When Ok returns to Korea, she hopes to become a children’s counselor for the church. But before going back she wants to get her master’s degree. Language is the biggest problem the women face, especially in class, Mi said. Ok says the problem is that the professors think American students and Oriental students are the same. Despite the problem of difficulties in understanding English, Ok says she loves the professors. “They are so nice and are intelligent,” she said. The girls like other things about being in the states. Mi likes picking up pecans and American food, but says “we cannot cook (American food).” She also likes the size of Abilene in comparison to the large crowded city she comes from. Abilene is more like a family, she

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Fashion is here to stay. Not that it won’t change, mind you. Every year new styles or even complete new attitudes towards dressing emerge. And just as we recognize the 50s by saddle oxfords and poodle skirts, someday people will recognize our college years by the way we wore ... tank watches jogging suits t-shirts

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Flavor About Americans, Ok says she likes their “new frontier spirit.” Of ACU, she says, “I love chapel because I can pray to God. ’’ During the fall semester, the girls heard news of the Korean president’s death. “We were very Two brothers from Sierra Leone, West Africa studied at ACU this year: Edward Mansaray, a senior Edward heard of ACU from missionary who wanted to work in the villages of Sierra Leone in 1975. Edward helped translate for him for three years. The missionary gave Edward the address of ACU, and he was accepted. Bockarie was then influenced by his brother to attend ACU also. Edward will return to Sierra Leone after graduation. He wants to do graduate work, and then return again to his country to find work in agricultural product exporting, either with a corporation or the government.Bockarie wants to return and help his people with farming. The differences between Sierra Leone and the U.S. are great, said Bockarie. In Sierra Leone, a person would never see prejudice, he said. There are whites in Sierra Leone, but “we are all the same.” Edward had a bad experience his first year in the states.On the suggestion of a friend, he went to visit a couple from church. The wife was home alone, and when she opened the door and saw him, she pushed him back and called the police. Edward said, “I almost cried,” the next time he sat near the woman at church. “There are some good Christians, but some bad ones,” he said, “and many are just church- goers.” Edward had several false ex- pectations about the states from what he had seen in movies. He had expected to see “people with guns in their pockets” everywhere. Bockarie said some other dif- ferences are the factories and in- dustry in the U.S. There are more cars here, and the Mall of Abilene is very different. “We don’t have that store in our country,” he said. Bockarie has had to make a big adjustment concerning the weather. “I was getting sick all the time...the weather is very different...60 degrees is very cold,” he said. Desmond and Lisa Steyn plan to return to South Africa in the future. He is a native South African, and she is American, although her father is South African. Desmond transferred to ACU after three years at Southern Africa Bible School, to receive a master’s degree in Bible, and teach there. He says ACU is an excellent university because it is a Christian school. “Fellowship here is incredible,” Desmond said of the Churches of Christ in the states. He attended the largest congregation in South Africa, which has 300 people. South Africans are reserved and formal, but here, people are easy-