By Olivia Eiken | Staff Writer
Home looks different for everyone, whether it be a physical place or a loving group of friends. This fall, 860 students representing 87 countries are calling the Baylor community theirs.
Making Waco feel like home can be a difficult transition, especially when it’s 5,000 miles away from family and any kind of familiarity. Despite the inherent challenge, Mendoza, Argentina, student Cami Benedetti and Madrid student Sergio Rodriguez found their new sense of home through the warmth and devotion of Baylor students and faculty.
Rodriguez is studying computer science at Baylor for the full academic year, while Benedetti is studying nutrition and is only here for the fall semester. They are both technically considered seniors by Baylor’s standards, although their classification is defined differently in their home countries.
“I am in two different curriculums in my home country,” Benedetti said. “I am considered a third-year in one and a fifth-year in the other. We do not have freshmen or seniors.”
Every international student has a different motivation to study abroad. For Benedetti, attending university in America helped fulfill a major personal goal.
“I really wanted to improve my English,” Benedetti said. “I also chose to come to Baylor because it’s a big school, and I knew I would meet a lot of people that spoke Spanish like me in Texas.”
The decision to stay in America for an entire year was relatively easy for Rodriguez.
“At my university, almost everybody studies in another country in their fourth year,” Rodriguez said. “Almost all of my friends from university are in different parts of the world.”
Rodriguez said the hardest part of transitioning to university in America is having to do homework.
“Back home, you study all semester and take the final,” Rodriguez said. “That’s it.”
Benedetti said she has had a similar experience regarding homework.
“I don’t understand having homework,” Benedetti said. “It’s a very American thing.”
However, they both said they are enjoying their time at Baylor and that their friends have defined what “home” truly means, drastically helping them beat homesickness.
“This is my community,” Benedetti said. “This is my home.”
Benedetti said she encourages any student considering whether or not to study abroad to take the leap.
“Just do it,” Benedetti said. “It’s a new experience. You’re going to meet new people, and you’re going to have the chance to meet the new ‘you.’ It seems very scary, but you can absolutely do it.”