Northeastern State University - Tsa La Gi Yearbook (Tahlequah, OK)

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Cs — Foreign Students 23 Oe ee ee

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Strangers ina Strange Land If one were to look on a globe, Tehran, Iran, is almost halfway around the world to Tahlequah, Okla. This is a long way to go to school. During the spring semester, some 47 students from 12 nations were attending Northeastern. The country with the largest number of students attending NSU was Iran, with 23. American students occasionally wonder how foreign students wind up in northeastern Oklahoma, particularly in Tahlequah, a place that is not that well-known outside the borders of this state. Some foreign students may wonder the same thing. It is erroneous to try and group individuals under a blanket term of foreign student. It is too easy to let stereo- types develop. Students come from Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Nigeria, France, Lebanon, Philippines, Korea, Taiwan, Ethiopia, Venezuela and Pakistan. If the student who moves on campus from Pawhuska has problems adjusting to campus life, then it is difficult to imagine the trials facing a student from an entirely dif- ferent background. No matter how well the student understands it, the language is not his mother tongue. The American lifestyle no doubt deals out large doses of culture shock. The average Oklahoman’s diet is often a strange fare to the new foreign student. And, of course, there is the rollercoaster climate of this area to contend with. There is no common set of reasons for leaving their countries to attend Northeastern. Even so, there is one common thing shared by each foreign student: they must not only struggle, as any college student, to get an edu- cation, but they also must contend with the problems that come with being a stranger in a strange land. 22 Foreign Students iil

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Dorm Students: | Stayin’ Alive 24 Dorm Life For the almost 700 students who live too far away to commute, or who would rather walk to class than drive, living in a dormitory becomes a new part of life. Moving away from home and breaking ties from Mom and Dad for the first time is an eerie feeling for anyone, but having to move into a stark, bare-walled, empty room and sharing it with a total stranger is more than a new life: it's a scary new part of life. But at last, you finally have your own space, limited as it may be, and finally you're ‘“‘living on your own’’, encoun- tering all kinds of new experiences. Suddenly, nobody is around to tell you to clean up your room, go to class, study, do laundry, come home by 12, to make your deci- sions for you. You shock yourself by keeping your room livable, going to class (most of the time anyway), cram- ming for tests, washing clothes out of necessity, and when you Can, getting a few hours of sleep at night. Privacy becomes a thing of the past. Your room becomes a central meeting place for all your friends who want to borrow something, or inform you of the latest tragedies. Pretty soon, you’re learning the ropes. You never trust elevators. You don’t undress with the shades open. You memorize the campus security number so you can call them instead of a sleeping friend to let you back in the