SASKATOON – Over 2,500 new students are beginning their post-secondary education at the University of Saskatchewan this month, with dozens of them not only adjusting to a new class schedule, but a new life.
Bassey Bassey, a native of Nigera, reminisced on his first days in Canada.
A doctorate student in Chemistry, Bassey splits his time between academics and advising new international graduate students on adjusting to life in the prairie city that is foreign to them.
“Things might not work out the way they want,” says Bassey who is a student assistant with the U of S International Student and Study Abroad Centre (ISSAC) and came to Canada in 2008.
“But one thing is sure; they can make it if they persist, if they don’t give up.”
“Often we are [an international student’s] first point of contact and we do encourage students to come here,” said Gingi Sheppard, the ISSAC acting manager.
“We offer different types of services depending on what their needs are.”
The centre has released a guide book containing 89 pages of information for new students.
The material ranges anywhere from the addresses of banks near campus to the contact information of Saskatoon’s indoor ice skating rinks.
Despite the guide, Sheppard made it clear that the centre does not apply a specific protocol to every new international student they meet.
She stated that every student has different needs and a “one-stop approach” would not make sense.
For a student from a warm climate like Bassey, winter may be the hardest adjustment to make, while for another, like Chinese native Todd Liang, the language barrier could prove most difficult.
“Snow, you can always take a bath or have people drive you around,” said Liang, an undergraduate student from China’s east coast.
“But when you talk to people, man, you got to know what they talk about.”
Liang is a member of the university’s Chinese Students’ and Scholars’ Association, a group that has over 300 members according to its president Harry Xia.
The group hosts events for the Chinese student body and encourages them to practice their English, said Xia, who also noted the harsh reality of living in a city thousands of miles away from home.
“I know some students still struggle in the lonely part so we hope we can get out quickly, but we still work on it,” said Xia, who studies economics.
International students are not limited to the ISAAC and on-campus associations.
Ayesha Baig, Coordinator of the Newcomer Information Centre, says her group can offer additional services that the U of S may not be able to provide.
“If a person might be looking for an ethno-cultural association or a place of worship or something within the community we would certainly be able to provide them with that information,” said Baig, who’s downtown office is filled with brochure material targeted at foreign newcomers.
However, students by nature will spend a majority of their time on-campus and according to the University, adapting to a new campus, let alone country, is not a one-way street.
“A lot of times Canadians, we expect that people will come to us if they want to be friends or if they’re looking for a social outlet, said Sheppard.
“I really like for our students and our staff to recognize that it’s actually our job as hosts to sort of embrace these students and to reach out to them and make them feel more comfortable.”
? Shaw Media, 2013
联系客服
