Tufts boasts a large and varied international community, making up 16 percent of the undergraduate population. These students come from over 65 different countries, ranging from China to Ghana to Moldova. Their experience at Tufts is quite different from that of the average American student, as many face significant academic and social challenges within the Tufts community with which American?born students do not have to contend.
The first and most daunting task for international students is adapting to American university culture. For many, understanding jokes and cultural references is difficult, especially when the context is unfamiliar. Language is another major hurdle, according to Puerto Rican freshman Giovanna Castro.
"I was surprised that, even though I've been speaking English since I was six years old, the sudden change of speaking English all the time [was] hard," Castro said. "It still is kind of hard. It's easier for me to express myself in Spanish."
"My English level wasn't ideal when I arrived," Pablo Fernandez, an exchange student from Spain, said. "It was basically really difficult to understand people."
Freshman Adiel Pollydore is originally from Guyana, but she has lived in Beijing, China since the age of six and attended an international school there. She has noticed several cultural differences between China and the United States.
"China is very crowded, and there are a lot of people, and there's no such thing as a personal bubble of space," she said. "Here, people are very much about, 'this is my space, don't step into it, give me my room' - not all up in each other's business all the time, which is an interesting part of the culture."
Pakistani senior Asad Badruddin pointed out another major change in culture he has experienced in America.
"Culturally, America, or at least college in America, is different in the sense that people here are a bit more individualistic," he said. "[That's] not necessarily a negative thing, but they're very focused towards their goals in life - I mean, everyone is, but more so here."
Academics in the United States and at Tufts are another aspect of life where many students need to adjust. Lecturer Lynn Stevens, director of the English 3 and 4 courses, teaches a first?year English course for international students called "Reading, Writing and Research." She says that many international students are behind in these three areas.
"Many students already come at a huge disadvantage," Stevens said. "They have huge amounts of text to read, arguments to write ... and their educational system may not have provided them with an understanding of how to move forward in this field. This is true of U.S. students too, but [international students] particularly struggle."
"I'd never written papers longer than 600 words," Badruddin said. "Writing papers three to five pages and longer was hard for the first couple of semesters."
Fernandez, who is a graduate of the University of Alcal?? in Spain, noticed differences in American students' academic expectations.
"It's really different, because everyone expects to get an A, and having an A or a B+, 90 percent of people could have it," he said. "In Spain, I would say about 20 percent of people get a top grade. It really shocked me."
Food is another important part of Chinese culture that Pollydore misses.
"Food is a big part of it, because eating burgers and pasta and French fries - the stuff that Dewick has for lunch sometimes - I eat that when I'm at home around once every two weeks," she said. "When people here say they're going to eat Chinese food, it's not actually Chinese food, that's American Chinese food."
Many international students participate in International Orientation (IO), which provides an opportunity to meet and form friendships with other students going through the same transition process. According to Jane Etish?Andrews, the director of the International Center, it is a starting point for students to build strong relationships, both between international students and between international students and Americans.
"At International Orientation, we include Americans, so coming into it, you're already a part of that community," she said. "It is a truly bonding experience for new students."
"I was able to meet a lot of students who were going through the same thing as me," Pollydore said. "They were getting used to being in college, but also being in college in a country that wasn't their home country."
Sophomore Michelle Choi, who is from Korea but has lived in the United States for eight years, is an active participant in IO. She was part of the program as a freshman, served as a host advisor this year and will coordinate it this coming summer. She sees benefits, but also drawbacks, to the experience.
"I think it goes both ways, at least from my experience," she said. "You meet a lot of people before school starts as a freshman, and that's a comforting thing ... you're making the transition a lot faster. But at the same time, it could be limiting ... Obviously some people do branch out, but some just don't."
According to Choi, one negative stereotype about international students on the Hill is that they isolate themselves within the wider Tufts community. While this tendency may come from seeking comfort in those with similar backgrounds or experiences, Choi says that this disunity is detrimental to everyone involved, because it furthers a lack of understanding.
"It is true that ... a lot of the international students tend to stick together and form a separate community [within] Tufts. To some extent, they are conscious of the fact that they are segregating themselves from the rest of the community," she said. "The stereotypes that American students have of international students are there because they don't necessarily have a chance to interact with international students."
International students are aware of the divide that is consequently created.
"It's like two different worlds, my American friends and my international friends," Castro said.
Many international students participate in clubs or groups pertaining to their specific country or culture, in addition to international programs such as IO and the International Club. Badruddin cites the importance of this form of cultural unity, but the necessity for integration as well.
"I think there's definitely a place for groups relating to specific nationalities or ethnicity or race, but I also think that everyone needs to make an individual effort to challenge themselves ... with the situations they put themselves in," he said.
Pollydore, who is currently the downhill freshman representative to the International Club, sees the situation a bit differently. From her experience, the international community balances solidarity and assimilation into the Tufts community.
"I think that within the international community, when we're together, we're very strong," she said. "But I feel like people really do make an effort to integrate themselves into other parts of Tufts' campus."
Another pervasive stereotype about international students at Tufts is that they are significantly wealthier than the typical American student. Etish?Andrews acknowledges that this perception is based in reality.
"For our undergrad students, it is quite expensive to come to Tufts, so if you're not on any financial aid, you need to show that you're able to come as an American would," she said. "I think there is some reputation among international students developing throughout the country that they're coming from wealthy families, and there's some truth to that."
Castro agrees that the stereotype is true in many cases.
"Most of the international kids I know are really rich. And it makes sense, because they're studying abroad," she said.
However, Etish?Andrews also points out significant advances over the recent years in the availability of financial aid for international students, which enhances the internal diversity of the international community itself.
"With that mix, as it has grown over the years, you have the opportunity to really interact with students who would never have gotten here without some type of financial assistance from Tufts," she said. "That population enriches what is already a very interesting population."
The demographics of the international community have changed over the years and continue to change, especially in terms of region of origin. According to both Stevens and Etish?Andrews, there has been a recent influx of international students from Asia, especially China. Both see this change as reflective of larger changes in the world political and economic situation.
Because of their non?American backgrounds, international students can bring a unique perspective both to Tufts and to American society.
"Tufts does create this sort of bubble, and you can go to university and not understand what's outside the bubble," said Badruddin. "Coming from a different country with different problems gives you a perspective on what's outside that bubble."
Castro has experienced this, particularly when it comes to the American political situation and its flaws.
"I think I can see a lot of problems with the United States that a typical American [wouldn't] ... My perspective, especially coming from a place that's been colonized by the United States, [is that] the United States is very political," she said.
These perspectives reinforce an existing academic framework at Tufts that emphasizes international relations and a general global outlook. According to Stevens, the insight that international students can provide in this setting is often useful for both international and American students.
"[International students] bring an opportunity for U.S. students to learn beyond the limit of their perspectives and find out that not everyone in the world approaches things the way you do," she said. "Meeting international students makes them curious about global issues in a personal way and talk about controversial issues in a meaningful way."
Etish?Andrews agrees, citing the importance of relationships between international and American students in adding to both academic and non?academic global learning.
"If you become friends or interact with international students, you learn so much about an area of the world, or a country, an ethnicity, a religious group ... If you're talking about something happening in Turkey, and Turkish students are in the class or part of that environment, it can enrich the experience," she said.
Pollydore has experienced this knowledge exchange firsthand. She says that in addition to bringing new understanding to American students, international students go through their own learning process from being at Tufts and in the United States.
"I think that as an international student on campus, you bring your experiences and your views and everything that you know and kind of weave that into the already existing global perspective on campus," she said. "It facilitates good dialogue back and forth between international students and between American students. [International students] shine light on issues pertaining to America just as much as we shine light on issues pertaining to our home countries."
For Castro, this learning is happening in a much more diverse atmosphere than she could have experienced in her country of origin.
"Here ... it's so much more open, in the sense that there are so many people, so much diversity. Puerto Rico is very homogeneous," she said. "With my international and American friends, I'm finding out about their lives and their cultures, and who they are as people."
Fernandez mentioned several aspects of an open and diverse American society that he plans on bringing back with him to Spain.
"Here, I've met people from almost all over the world," he said. "I didn't know that Tufts was such an accepting university for the homosexual and bisexual and LGBT movement ... now I know a bunch of sexually diverse people, and I understand their problems way better, and I support them."
Some, however, see room for improvement. Stevens thinks the Tufts administration could be more aware and proactive concerning the individual needs of international students.
"There are some areas where international students are impacted more severely - there could be more sensitivity to their needs. They are so far from home and need help with the housing system and how to use their own voices for change," she said. "It's up to the Tufts administration to be sensitive. It's up to faculty to be aware of international students in their classes."
Pollydore celebrates the level of national - as well as racial, socioeconomic and ethnic - diversity that Tufts has attained so far. But she thinks that it can still be improved.
"I do feel like there's more to be done, with regards to diversity, in a way that makes people more aware, excited and interested," she said. "People are, but I feel that they could be more so."
