Though all coming from different cultural background, five first-year international students share laughs and high-fives as they express their common feelings about their first month at Carleton University.
Sitting in a study room at the MacOdrum Library, this is their first time meeting each other. Everybody has been in Canada for less than one month, and they all have stories to share.
“I choose to study in Canada because it is a multicultural, safe and diverse country,” says Daniel Chih, a Pakistani engineering student. “My friends suggest [I] enroll into aerospace engineering at Carleton because it is the best of its educational fields in the country,” Chih says.
Gaone Matshameko, who is from Botswana and currently in film studies, agrees Canada is diverse. “[A] variety of cultures and people can be experienced here. I decided to settle myself down at Carleton when I saw the Dunton Tower!”
The Chinese student Tao Ma says he decided to enroll in communications because he was not accepted into journalism. “I got the offer from U of T psychology too [besides Carleton communications], but I don’t think that’s my thing,” Tao says.
Everybody agrees with Abdul Manan, a Pakistani student in commerce, when he says that Canadians are generally friendly people. “People will open the door for you with [a] smile,” Abdul says. “Also, ‘thanks’ can be heard everywhere.”
The students say they have been experiencing quite a lot of culture shock. “Instead of celebrating Thanksgiving in October, we have other holidays such as the mid-autumn festival this month, when we eat Chinese mooncakes,” Ma says.
Abdur Rahim and Abdul are both Muslims. They say they have problems eating Canadian cuisines in which the foods are not all halal, or pork-free.
The way of paying tax in Canada confuses Matshameko the most. “I have no idea about the value of stuff. The 13 per cent tax based on the price is not shown upon the price tags,” Matshameko says.
“And everything is made in China!” Chih adds while giggles fill around the room.
Tao talks about his first day landing in Canada. “My plane was delayed [when I arrived in Canada] at night. So I stayed in the airport for a couple of hours alone, with a few coins in my pockets.”
“The first class was such a disaster – I had no textbook and forgot to bring my pen,” he says. “My cellphone accidentally rang three times, then everybody turned around and looked at me.”
“I found it very important to be active in university. If you are not sociable, you are done,” Chih says.
“And the problem is that the society we have experienced is totally out of the Canadian style.”
“We have to overcome all the language obstacles, cultural differences etc. by ourselves without telling friends and parents back home because they can’t help,” he says.
Everybody responds with “yeah” when Tao addresses this issue. Among the five of them, only Chih lives on-campus. Seeing residence parties with students drinking beers, Chih says it is “too much” for him.
“I’m trying my best to make friends [in residence] in order to be sociable,” he says. As for off-campus living, Abdur says “it is definitely cheaper [than living on-campus]. The U-Pass is also useful.”
So far, the five international students say they have all found their field of interests aside from academics at Carleton. “I have heard that there is a campus radio station called CKCU,” says Matshameko, who says she is interested in communications and marketing. “That’s what I’m planning to join. I wish to run a show there.”
Ma ran as a candidate against 11 other students for the position of CASG Public Affairs representative. Working for student governments back at his schools in China, Ma says he holds confidence in himself.
“I wish to start organizations that would bring international students together. That is to say, to support multiculturalism within Carleton by helping new students from abroad and solve their problems such as loneliness and fear that we are getting through right now,” he says. There are a number of services already available on campus for international students.
The international student services office (ISSO) manager Christine Peachey says her office “takes care of international students and exchange students relating to their status such as study permit, work opportunities on and off campus as well as applications review.”
Several other services such as the I-Start mentor program, confidential counseling and University Health Insurance Plan can also be found through the ISSO. But as helpful as all these campus services are, sometimes finding a fellow international student is the best solution.
“Could you all give me your number?” Ma asks, when everybody takes their cellphone out of their pockets, ready to type in some new contacts.