International Students at SMS

Write yourself a letter and talk about your hopes and fears for your experience abroad. (You can write it on a separate sheet of paper to be sealed in an envelope to keep your thoughts confidential.) Keep the letter until you return home. It will be interesting to see if what you are imagining now matches the reality of your stay in the host culture. The following suggestions can serve as a guideline.

  1. Describe the most wonderful thing you can imagine will happen.
  2. Describe the worst thing that will happen.
  3. Describe the best roommate you can imagine.
  4. Describe the worst roommate you can imagine. If you were placed with that roommate, what could you do to make the best of the situation?
  5. What do you see as your role as an ambassador for your country at St. Margaret's?
  6. How can you get to know your fellow students and help them get to know you?

AT THE BEGINNING.....
          I FELT LONELY

At the beginning I felt lonely and far away from my family and friends. I thought I would never make it through. I really didn't know what I'd do.

However, I was here and I realized that I'd come to "experience" another life. Then I decided to try to do my best . . . I decided that I was here to learn and I started to get involved in the exciting process of trying to learn everything about everything. Above all, I started to adjust my mind to new values . . . I kept observing people and things and I finally learned who I am, what I like, what I dislike, and what I want to do.

At the beginning of the stay, I didn't always understand my roommate's behavior. However, I talked it over with my dorm counselor and I came to understand that Americans just do some things differently. Maybe we were both trying too hard to "fit" the others' expectations? After I realized this, we got along quite well because I knew her and was able to accept and live with her.

As I learned to be more patient and open-minded, I got closer to my roommate and now I am really going to miss her!

Remember, it is important to solve any problem, even the smallest one, because often it is the easiest one to solve! If you let problems get big, they turn out to be a different situation.

—From a former International Student


Below are the most frequently asked questions with answers about the International Program: