them,” Newman said. “For non-English language speakers who start attending without fluency, it’s a real struggle. For every hour it takes for an American student to do, it would take a nonEnglish speaker two, three or four hours to do.” Even international students from Englishspeaking countries struggle to understand the American culture and language. “Even after 11 years, I still sound different,” Wilkinson said. “I wish I had known so much more about the culture. Coming from an English-speaking country, I guess you assume that you already understand America.” There are many Baylor organizations for international students that foster this idea of community. Every Tuesday night, there are dinners held in the BoBo Spiritual Life center that allow students to get to know other international students as well as American students. For many students, their freshman year of
Above: A view from Ting Yu’s bedroom in China. Upper Left: Morales lectures to students about mathematics. Lower Left: Ting Yu shares her bedroom from Dadong, China. Photos courtesy of Ting Yu and Dr. Pedro Morales.
college is the first time they’re away from their families. They begin to search for a sense of belonging. “My main advice is to get involved,” Wilkinson said. “This is an adventure. If you see it as that and get involved, you’re going to have a really fun experience. If you cloister yourself away and think about how things aren’t like home, then it’s going to be a frustrating process. “ For reasons such as these, Baylor encourages American students to study abroad and experience other cultures. “The most important thing is that you discover your true goals and find your direction,” Morales said. “Sometimes you ask yourself ‘why are you doing this?’ Why are you away from what you know?’ But knowing that you’re pursuing something bigger gives you the motivation to keep going.”
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