Meet Thomas.  He’s a Hong Kong Baptist student who will be traveling all the way to Muncie, Indiana for fall semester.  I imagine that he will become a lifelong friend to all of us.  We were all very excited to hear that he was coming to Ball State and already told him that we will take him under our wing while he’s in Muncie.

It has to be difficult to be away from home for so long and not have anything culturally familiar in your surrounding area.  In Thomas’ case, he might find comfort in one of the many King China Buffets in Indiana, but that might be stretching it.  Lucky for us, there are ample amounts of American presence in China, from KFC to Dairy Queen to Ball State’s own, Papa John’s.  We find comfort in talking to other English natives or seeing the golden arches while walking down the street.

Being here has changed my perspective on many things.  I have a few friends who were exchange students, but I had regrettably never made a real effort to get to know more of them.  Seeing the language barrier and the difficulties that we have come across during our travels, I hope to play a bigger role in the lives of international students when I return to BSU in the fall.