International Students In Fresno

Around 120 international students from around the world have come to Fresno State to study this year.

They travel from places such as Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Canada to experience a culture and way of life that is completely different to their own.

Each student has their own reasons for wanting to study abroad. Jonathan McManus, 19, a mass communications major from England said: “I thought I could learn more about myself by going into a complete alien country, getting out of my trend of friends and moving out of my comfortable environment.”

Another student, Marko Djordjevic, 22, a business major from Serbia said: “I’m hoping to improve a little bit my english and to learn the culture in America.”

But for Andres De León, 25, a marketing and finance major from Columbia, it is not his first time studying abroad. He has come to Fresno from the Jönköping International Business School in Sweden and said: “It’s a good opportunity to get to know people, culture, also new courses and new environment.”

For many international students when they are accepted to Fresno State, Tatyana Ryabora, the Program Administrator for the International Business Program, is their first point of contact.

Tatyana is employed to help the international students select their courses and make sure that Fresno has the right program for them.

Originally from Russia, she was once an international student at Fresno State herself, so she knows first hand what international students are going through.

She said: “When I came to the United States I didn’t speak any English, I learnt the alphabet in the aeroplane! It was a hard adjustment for me at first, it’s a different culture and language, so I know how they feel because I’ve been in their shoes.”

One of the main problems at first for most international students is the language. “I think in the beginning it’s kind of hard for them because when they come to my office they still speak their native language to each other,” said Tatyana.

“So I try to really encourage them to go out there and don’t be shy, to introduce themselves to American students. I know it’s kind of uncomfortable for them but this way they’re going to learn about American culture and try to adapt to the different environment.”

Now, half way through the semester, most international students are adjusting to the American way of life and the culture.

It seems the majority of international students have found adapting to the American culture fairly easy. “Everybody’s friendly and yeah, it’s a little different than Europe but you get used to it,” said Marko.

“People are a little more open minded here. And there is a big mixture of culture, different people from different countries, different races. In Germany people are all white.”

Toby Schmidt, 21, a business major from Germany said: “There’s some rules and laws, like clubs are closing at 1am in the morning and that restaurants are closing at, I don’t know, 9.30. That’s kind of strange, it’s very different to where I come from. But I didn’t find it very difficult to adapt to.”

When comparing America to the pure culture in Sweden, Andres doesn’t think there’s an identifiable culture to adapt to.

He said: “I don’t think in this country they really have their own culture because there’s so many people, so many immigrants, it’s not like a unified culture.

But for other students it’s not so easy. “It’s been fairly difficult, harder than I imagined actually,” said Jonathan, “I’m not used to the full embracement of people I guess.

“People are very in your face and that’s something I’m not very used to. I don’t feel that I’ve blended in too much but hopefully I can sort of adjust.”

International students aren’t the only ones to benefit from the study abroad program. Fresno State track and field athlete Rosie Sanchez, 20, had a roommate from Germany last year.

Being around Philine Sander, Rosie was able to experience and learn about many things from the German culture. She saw the way Philine transformed her room into a European kind of style and the way she organised herself. She tried European foods and dishes.

“They teach you new stuff that you wouldn’t realise would exist,” said Rosie, “you have a lot of fun learning, you know, it’s never boring to be around an international student.”

Tatyana thinks that having internationals come to Fresno brings great benefits. She is also in charge of American Students going abroad and said: “American people, especially Fresno people, are very focused locally, they are not international.

“So by seeing international students I think that it encourages them to go to different countries and learn more.”

This is something that Rosie can relate to herself. “Philine really influenced us as an international student. She opened our minds and our eyes to see that maybe we can explore beyond Fresno State. My other roommate, Nancy, next semester she’s going to Spain, because of Philine’s influence.

“Now that I have my major, I think that it would be a really nice experience to go to Spain to improve on my Spanish skills. It’s really motivational to see how far they travel just to be here, it’s cool.”