Challenges of settling in – Part 2

Read Part 1 of this post here.

Food is sometimes a problem for Indian students. After all, they are used to certain types of foods, tastes and food habits while living in India. Studying in a foreign university automatically means bidding goodbye to home-cooked food. Adjusting to new types of food, specifically if the students are vegetarians, can be a challenge. Moreover, the students have to fend for themselves. There’s no home to go back to, to find mom waiting with a sumptuous meal laid out on the table.

Social adjustments also require effort. In spite of universities offering multicultural environments, welcoming diversity and organising orientation programmes for international students, getting to know foreign students and faculty members well and feeling comfortable in their company and in their social circles requires time, open minds and fairly extraordinary social skills which Indian students are not used to. Added to this is the natural human stress Indian students feel for leaving their social circles behind.

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Language can be a problem too. Supposing students obtain admissions in English-speaking countries, even for Indian students who are conversant with understanding, speaking and writing English – and have met the English language requirements during admission – using English language locally/colloquially can be a challenge. Countries such as the UK, USA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, etc. all have their specific English language usages and idioms which require familiarisation and practice. Failure to do so quickly creates difficulty in understanding lectures and in conversing with local people, slowing down the social integration process for Indian students.

Since most Indian students need to control their finances wisely, staying away from many social activities becomes imperative. Participation in social activities means incurring small expenditures which puts a strain on the students’ pocket money. To counter this, acquiring a temporary income becomes necessary. But many Indian students aren’t willing to take up part-time jobs to earn some extra cash as they aren’t used such work in India. Those students who are open to part-time work don’t always find suitable work opportunities, or are limited by the number of hours they can work in-campus.

These challenges for Indian (and other international) students are very real. Although, as foreign education counsellors, we try to set student expectations as close to the reality as possible before the students leave India for their destination universities, these acclimatisation challenges are still difficult to manage. This leaves many Indian students feeling a little bit lonely and isolated, slowing down their settling in process in their destination universities and countries. Fortunately, most Indian students get a grip on this reality pretty soon.

Challenges of settling in – Part 1

It’s normal for Indian students who have obtained admission in universities overseas to be excited by the prospect of studying abroad and beginning their life as international students. However, life isn’t always easy for them when they reach their destination universities. Relocating to another country and acclimatising to a new environment pose many challenges.

A great deal is at stake for the students. Even if they are uncomfortable in their new environment, returning home isn’t an option. Much time and effort is already invested in obtaining admission in a university; parents have borrowed significant sums of money as education loans for them; and they have travelled long distances to a foreign land. Not to mention the social repercussions of a failed attempt in foreign education should they return.

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As foreign education counsellors, we organise acclimatisation orientation programmes for both students and their families prior to their journeys abroad. But these aren’t always enough to help them settle in their new environment, make new friends, and enjoy their stay in a new country. For some students, the experience of settling in can be stressful. So, in this blog post, we have decided to mention a few of the challenges Indian students face when they reach their destination universities.

The first is the challenge of reaching the university from the airport in the foreign country should the university not arrange for local transport as a pick-up – or, if the student, by chance, misses the pick-up transport due to an exigency. It’s always better for the student to familiarise himself or herself with the destination city and directions to the university from the airport while still in India. Connecting with past students from the university or the admissions officer, and internet searches are good ideas.

Next is finding accommodation. If the university does not offer accommodation or facilitate in-campus stay, ideally arranged before the journey, then finding a place to stay can be a daunting experience for the students in a new environment. Particularly in finding accommodation which is affordable and which is not too far from the university, so that local conveyance costs are kept at a minimum. Of course, there’s also the issue of safety for the students.

[Continue to Part 2]