IT’S a topic that often comes up in discussions. Do international students tend to stick to themselves? Why? And is that a culture that needs to change? Vivian Tan explores and invites you to join the conversation.
Photo: Wan Shing Lang
Do you identify?
Alison Chang has a story many international students may identify with.
Now returned to Malaysia, she looks back at her semester-long exchange program at Monash University and reflects on her struggles settling into life on campus.
It had been a lot harder than she thought.
“I adapted quite quickly to the university life in Malaysia as compared to Melbourne,” she says.
“I felt more secure in Malaysia because it’s home after all. In Melbourne, I was pretty much alone at the beginning.”
She found it daunting to be the only Malaysian student in her class. She often felt out of place and found it challenging to be as outspoken as the rest. As much as she yearned to participate, she would hold back because she was afraid of what her classmates might think of her.
“It was difficult talking to local students… I think it’s mainly to do with the difference in culture,” she says.
“They like different food, music, and hung out at places that were new to me.”
She also found their tastes in music “weird”.
“They were into the whole dubstep scene. Some liked heavy metal too. As for me, I’m guilty of enjoying mainstream music”, she says.
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“Don’t give up and keep trying”
Catherine Nguyen acknowledges the difficulties many international students face fitting in, but encourages students to “not give up and keep trying”.
Raised in Vietnam, Catherine moved to Melbourne in 2008, and after high school, was was surprised to discover many international students at university were isolated and found it difficult to engage their Aussie peers.
Wanting to improve the experience of international students in Melbourne, she joined the Australian Federation of International Students, and now gives regular talks to students at TAFE during orientation.
She says international students are bound to encounter bumps during their course of study in Australia, and in addition to feeling homesick, for some – it’s the first taste of living independently.
While there’s a tendency to want to put on a happy front, Catherine says the best thing students can do for themselves is to reach out, and realise there are networks and resources available to them.
“Melbourne is a good hub for international students,” she says.
She also challenges students to be open to embracing a new culture, and to see it as part and parcel of the overseas student experience.
What’s the overseas student experience been like for you? Is it okay for international students to be in Australia but not have Aussie mates? Are cultural barriers to blame? What will help? Share your views with us in the comments section below.
As an international student, I can say that I didn’t have much trouble making Aussie friends. This is probably because I’ve been living in Australia for a while and studied in an international school back home so I was quite socialised with anyone from anywhere.
But I can definitely see myself sharing the same feeling/situation some international students at some points in my studies. People are often surprised with my English or the way I behave to be “less Asian” than they expected.
What I know is that some international students still party/go out drinking like many Aussies students would do on the weekends, so technically people do the same thing for fun – except Asians seem to only go to designated “Asian” clubs or bars (especially around Melbourne) which definitely has a higher number of Asians students than to other clubs or bars.
Overall, I’m not sure if the issue roots entirely from stereotyping of how Asian students behave or that there’s cultural barrier in the sense of the difference in entertainment/leisure activities between the international and the Australians.