For 9.3 percent of students in the United States from 153 countries, going home is an expensive journey that involves hours of travel, according to the Annual Survey of Colleges in 2016. When students go off to college, it is often their first time living away from home. It is harder, however, when the students’ homes are across the world.
“I have always been set on like the U.S.,” Tun said. “The culture here is like a little bit more relaxed. And that’s what I want to be.”
Tun chose to attend IU after her freshman year in Seattle. Tun said she was drawn in by the Kelley School of Business and after she completes her senior year she intends to stay at IU and pursue her master’s of science in information systems.
Tun said the hardest part of being away from her home country is being away from relatives. She said she is saddened by the fact her relatives won’t be present for her graduation. Despite being far away, Tun said her mom has been most helpful in supporting her.
While Tun admitted to having some bad days where she misses her home country, she reminds herself that it is a priceless opportunity. Tun has no plans to return to Myanmar. After completing her master’s degree, her dream is to work in Chicago and visit Myanmar on vacations.
Tasneem Basir is a junior from Malaysia, a small country located near Singapore. Basir ended up in the U.S. after high school when she submitted a list of her top countries to her government. The U.S. wasn’t on her list, but she was given a scholarship to go to the U.S. anyway.
Basir said there were several reasons for her choosing IU. Both of Basir’s parents attended IU and they would tell her stories about their lives on campus, she said. The other reasons Basir said she chose IU were the psychology program and because she found the campus to be so beautiful.
Basir said she is happy there is so much technology available today to help her keep in touch with her family. For Basir, one of the challenges that comes with keeping in touch with her parents is the time difference between Indiana and Malaysia. Basir said she often has to stay up very late or get up very early to talk to her parents.
“I had like a few weeks where I cannot, like, FaceTime with my parents,” Basir said. “That is the most hardest part.”
Her friends and IU seniors that are also from Malaysia have helped Basir while living abroad. Basir also said everyone at IU in general is very welcoming and she feels like she could walk up to anyone and ask anything.
After Basir graduates she said she wants to pursue post-graduate studies in psychology. She said she wants to return to Malaysia and work with Teach for Malaysia, a nonprofit with the goal of empowering the nation through education.
Adlin Iskandar is a sophomore studying safety in the School of Public Health and is also from Malaysia. She chose the U.S. instead of Australia or New Zealand, where the government offers mainly engineering majors.
Iskandar chose IU because of the Bloomington community. She said the peaceful atmosphere was more appealing to her than the idea of a big city. She also prefers the cooler weather.
One of the biggest things Iskandar said she misses most about her country is the food.
“My family is like food lovers,” Iskandar said. “We eat, like, five meals every day.”
In place of the homemade food her family makes, Iskandar said she likes to go to the Thai restaurants in Bloomington. She said she particularly likes anything with curry.
Iskandar recommended other international students get involved in IU activities such as sports and other organizations, such as the Money Smarts Team, of which she is a member.
Iskandar said she has no regrets about coming to the U.S.
“It was my childhood dream to study abroad, so I am happy to be here,” Iskandar said.
