I’ve been wanting to write this post for a while because our site doesn’t have that many blog posts about the international student experience. In fact, I applied to be a blogger because I wanted to share about my life as an international student from Vietnam at Amherst.
However, I delay writing this post until now because I’ve realized — over the course of two semesters — that being an international student at Amherst isn’t that different from being a domestic student (at least compared to my boarding high school). Back in high school, I felt my identity as an international student very strongly. Most boarding students were international, so living in a school dorm is analogous to coming from overseas. However, at Amherst, 97% of students live on campus. Regardless of where home is for us, we all live in the same place. Thus, I’m not reminded daily that I’m an international student as much as when I was in high school.
My favorite part about being international at Amherst is belonging to a wonderful community of international students! We have an active group chat and spaces (CISE and International Theme Community) dedicated to us. This year, the new International Student Association (ISA) organizes many cool events in celebration of our international identity, and I love showing up to all of them! Well, I know that these spaces and events cannot replace home for many of us, but their presence has been very comforting. When I miss home, I have places and people to turn to. I didn’t have something like that in high school, so I’m incredibly grateful.
As my first year is coming to an end and another school year will soon begin, I would also like to highlight Pre-O! It’s 5-6 days of pre-orientation exclusively for international students. My Pre-O experience was so good that I ended up liking it so much more than my actual Orientation experience. In fact, Pre-O remains one of my favorite times of the year at Amherst. Many of my best friends at Amherst are from Pre-O, and I hope to come back as a student leader during this time to create an unforgettable pre-orientation experience for my international underclassmen!
Also, do you know that Amherst has an annual international food celebration, a.k.a. City Streets Festival? It took place last month on campus and, OMG, the food was so good! I was surprised by how authentic their banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich) tasted. It’s not an understatement to say that it was one of the best Vietnamese dishes I’ve had in the United States.
At the end of the day, while being an international student in the U.S. is not easy, I’m slowly finding my second home here at Amherst. I’m grateful for how diverse our community is compared to other schools my friends are attending, and I hope many more international students will know about Amherst. Thank you, Amherst, for making it feel so much like home here.