How to survive Hopkins as an international student

Out of the one or two things I learned about college, probably none of them prepared me for the unique obstacles that international students face. Just because I had to figure everything out alone doesn’t mean you have to. So, here are a couple of things I learned. 

1. Trust the Office of International Services (OIS). 

There are so many things to keep track of as an international student. Working on campus? Make sure you hit 20 hours maximum and no more. Working off campus? There are a million forms to fill out, a wait for authorization that feels like an eternity and no guarantee your request will go through. The bureaucracy required for internationals to just be like any other student feels incredibly daunting, and unfortunately it’s a process all of us must endure.

During times when you feel lost on what to do or who to talk to because the internet seems to answer every question but yours, OIS is your best resource. Give them a call and there is a team to help.

2. You’re not behind. 

It might be anxiety-inducing to not understand how to register for courses. It might be frustrating to see something in class for the first time, then find out others learned it in high school. It can feel like the world is ending because you seem to be behind everyone on everything.

Let me assure you that you’re not behind. Whenever I feel as though I’m behind everyone else, I remind myself that I traveled thousands of miles to be here in a strange place around strange people doing strange things. I remind myself that the only way I see my parents is through a phone screen and suddenly I no longer communicate in the language I grew up speaking for 18 years. I remind myself that I rebuilt a life from scratch and that in itself is the most impressive thing about all the international students I know. It takes guts to be here. Give yourself credit for that every single day.

3. Branch out from friends from your nationality, even if it’s scary. 

During my orientation week, I felt so lost, even among the friends in my first-year mentor group. I just felt so strange and out of place, so it was comforting to find other people from my home country on campus to stick with, even when we didn’t have much in common other than our nationality.

It’s incredibly easy to fall into this trap  — the trap that the only friends who will make Hopkins feel more like home are those from home. I mean, I fell for it. This simply isn’t the case. Those who will make Hopkins feel like home don’t necessarily have to be those you have always known. I didn’t find my people until I took a step away from what I had always known. It’s scary and it took a while, but now I feel more at home than I ever did those first few weeks.

My advice is this: Even when it’s uncomfortable and awkward, talk to those outside of that group. Be proactive and surround yourself with all sorts of people. You never know when or where you’ll find your soulmate or just a friend group that makes you feel like you.

4. Call home. 

If you’re stuck here for days and days on end, it’s so important to have some grounding. Having a sense of homely comfort truly kept me sane during my freshman year. Make time to call your family. Make time to catch up with your friends from home (mine are on three different continents). Make time to remind yourself of your roots, where you come from and the people who got you to where you are now. I look forward to 30 minutes on weekends when I can remind myself of my old life and my old identity. Knowing there are people rooting for me from home truly keeps me going.

5. Go outside of the Hopkins bubble!

The first thing my parents forbade me from when I moved to Baltimore was exploring Baltimore. Truly, the city doesn’t have the best reputation. However, if you know the right places, Baltimore is such a charming city.

I sincerely vouch for getting out of the “Hopkins bubble.” By that, I mean exploring non-Hopkins neighborhoods: Inner Harbor, Harbor East, Hampden, Fells Point, Federal Hill. These areas have designated bus routes you can take, or if you can work the Hopkins transportation system to get around, even better. There is so much to see in Baltimore and the DMV in general, so go outside and explore. Otherwise, you’ll miss out on a lot of good stuff.

There are infinitely more tidbits I could add, but that would make this too long. For all the incoming international students: I see you, I hear you and you’ll be fine — I promise.

Katie Truong is a sophomore majoring in Neuroscience from Saigon, Vietnam. She is a Science & Technology Editor for The News-Letter.