By Giselle Lee | Staff Writer
Ask any international student what their dream travel destination in the U.S. is, and they will most likely say New York. For some students, this dream became a reality over spring break.
The International Student and Scholar Services team took international students to New York this spring break. The annual program, launched last year, consisted of visits to famous New York landmarks, such as the Statue of Liberty and Times Square, as well as cultural or historical activities around the city, including a tour of the United Nations Headquarters. Students were also given free time during afternoons to explore on their own.
Katie Klingstedt, coordinator of International Programs for the International Student and Scholar Services team in the Center for Global Engagement, said she hoped the trip would give international students a chance to “experience a bigger picture” of American culture beyond Waco.
“We’re called a nation of immigrants, and we can definitely see that in Waco, but especially for our students from African or Asian countries, it’s not as apparent how immigrant populations shaped American culture,” Klingstedt said. “It feels really important when we go to other places.”
Klingstedt also said the students’ interactions with the city enhanced their trip experience and the conversations they had.
“The different cultures amongst our group impact what we notice, what we see and what we understand,” Klingstedt said. “It’s interesting having a lot of different people from different backgrounds exploring a city that has a lot of different stories you could tell.”
Yume Ogawa, a senior exchange student from Japan, said she enjoyed visiting many famous places in New York. However, she said she was more impressed by the “everyday experiences” unique to the city, including walking through different neighborhoods with fellow students and sampling local food.
“I was surprised by how different New York felt in terms of building height, street size and the overall atmosphere of the city,” Ogawa said. “Being surrounded by cutting-edge trends also gave me a lot of inspiration.”
Ogawa said the International Student and Scholar Services team’s itinerary helped her check off her “bucket list” items in New York.
“We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and visited Strand Bookstore, which is known as one of the largest bookstores in the world,” Ogawa said. “At the bookstore, I bought the English version of ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People,’ a book that has felt like a life guide to me ever since I first read the Japanese translation when I was 14 years old.”
Graduate student Bryan Cordova, a South Korea-born Peruvian, said he was surprised by some aspects of the trip, most notably the tour around the United Nations Headquarters.
“Initially, I was thinking of not going because I already had a rough idea of what it is,” Cordova said. “However, our host made it sound really good and that made me be interested in asking a lot of questions.”
Cordova said the group shared similar feelings about visiting the city, which he described as a “dream come true.”
“I can’t believe I’m here in New York, where I used to see the movies,” Cordova said. “I’m a fan of Spider-Man. We all had our own reasons, but we all shared the same emotion, the same vibe, the same attitude, the same joy.”
Klingstedt said New York is a “cultural landscape of the whole world” and hoped that the trip does more for the international students than just “live up to the hype” of movies and TV shows that depict the city.
“I really hope that students can see themselves in America in like a really tangible way,” Klingstedt said. “New York is such an American icon. I hope that our international students can see themselves represented in New York and that it helps them feel like welcome and represented in the U.S. as a whole.”
The International Student and Scholar Services team organizes numerous programs for international students throughout the remainder of the semester, most notably a trip to the NASA Houston Space Center April 18. Registration will be announced in the BU World Weekly Newsletter and will open in early April, with limited spots available.
