At midnight in Farmville, most people are sleeping but some are having trouble. But the problem is not the sleeping issue but rather the time. There are some people on Longwood’s campus that are still adjusting to jetlag along with being in a new country.
Longwood University may be a small university, however it is internationally known. Among the totality of students are those that hail from China, Saudi Arabia, Africa, South America and Europe. They have come to Longwood to attend classes, learn English as part of the English as a Second Language program and broaden their horizons.
Even though there are some difficulties that international students can face when arriving at Longwood, such as feeling homesick, dealing with a new and different culture and missing friends and family, Longwood offers a lot of help through the Office of International Affairs and the Global Leaders program. Global Leaders are students that welcome and help foreign exchange students in the transition into the new culture. They are also mentors of the international students, to guide them along the road during the first couple of weeks at Longwood.
Lizz Stoke, a Global Leader, said that by joining the program and becoming a Global Leader, she made a lot of new friends.
“It’s a really good experience for us. I get to learn from different cultures, outside of the United States, so we are not stuck in a ‘cultural bubble.’ I have made a lot of friends from several places of the world: Colombia, India, Japan. Now I can go and visit them. All I have to do is buy a plane ticket.”
Other Longwood students who call these international students friends, roommates and classmates, share similar sentiments.
Freshman Connor Perry said, “It’s a great opportunity for them, and it means a great cultural diversity for Longwood.”
Alexis Manuel, a sophomore with a major in Teaching English as a Second Language and a minor in German stated, “Having international students means a great opportunity for other people especially myself being ESL major. It’s very helpful because I learn a whole bunch of languages. I can understand native speakers and how they learn a new language.”
Manuel also added exchange students influence the American culture. “I think it’s a cultural thing that needs to be more accepted because we as Americans are so pinpointed to ourselves that we don’t just think about other cultures. We forget that there are other countries and other people beside ourselves.” Manuel said.
She added that the experience of having international students around means a good opportunity to bring the realization that there are other cultures that are so vastly different.
One might ask what brings these international students to the small institution of Longwood to gain the experience of studying abroad.
For Jack Voss, a student from Plymouth, England, he stated, “I wanted to meet new people, experience a new culture and get a feeling for a small town in America.”
Meanwhile, David Hambling, an incoming student from University of Derby in England added, “I chose Longwood because I did not want to live in a big city. I decided to come to Longwood because it is in the southern part of the United States, too.”
Yes, Longwood may be a small university “in the middle of nowhere Virginia,” but people around the world know about it. Students are coming here to experience what it is really like to be in America. The one thing they ask of us Lancers is to welcome them.
