It was not quite hard to contact my friend Philip through Skype. Since we often Skype during weekdays, he expected the conversation to be ordinary and somewhat tedious. Before I explained about this English interview project, there was a moment of silence. He weirdly stared at me and said “what do you want?...”
Since I did not want to waste his time due to his busy schedule I began directly to explain about this project, “Hey Philip, I am starting a project on my English 101 course and the professor wants me to interview people pertained to the topic I choose an write an auto-ethnography. It was quite awkward for me because I rarely had any serious or deep conversation about sensitive topics such as international students’ struggles in the States. I, indeed, felt nervous and did not know how to start. However, thankfully, he was more than willing to discuss about the topic because he was going through such a difficult time at college. “The project you are doing sounds great to me! I would definitely want to help you! Just tell me what you need brother.” He sounds excited and his eyes were glittering with joyfulness and happiness.
“So how has your day been lately? I was playing with my pen while answering his answer. “I think my school year is going fine. I am quite busy all the time and it is only my first semester of college.” There was a little bit of disappointment behind his smiling face that I could catch. He then asked me, “Why did you choose this topic?” with no hesitation I replied,
“I decided to write about difficulties of international students’ lives because college is stressful and courses are really hard. And learning the new materials in second language is quite challenging and stressful…” He could not wait until I finished to explain because he was so eager to tell his own story.
“I think you are focusing on a really good point. Before I came here, I thought studying abroad is a cool thing and my ultimate dream, however, I missed thinking the most important matter: international students encounter struggles all the time.”
“Hey I totally understand what you mean. Personally, it was such a struggle for me too when I first got here. I was stuck at Chicago O’Hare airport because of disapproval of my I-20 in the airport system. I waited for 20 hours to officially get into the U.S. I could not even talked to my relatives in the States because the immigration department at the airport forbidden me to use cellphone. I could not ever feel unwelcomed. Where are all the nice, smiling American people? They were only mad and hostile securities supervising me for doing nothing.” I realized the more I shared about my horrible experience in the States, the more emotional Philip gets. I could feel the empathy created between me and Philip that connected us from Atlanta to New York City.
“You know Kevin, I used to study in Canada because my aunt lives in Toronto. I thought she could at least take care of me if I went to high school in Toronto. However, the reality was quite different from my expectation. She could not even take care of her own things. At that time, since she recently immigrated, she was busy taking care of unfamiliar and complicated documents for Canadian government. I literally had no one to take care me when I was sick and not fitting well in Canadian high school. Now I am in New York. I feel worse; everyone seems to be busy. Everyone is in a hurry everyday and they are, indeed, very hostile and sometimes even shout to you angrily, demanding you to get out of their ways. The skyscrapers are meticulous, beautiful, and fascinating, but I cannot appreciate these wonderful creatures because I feel empty inside. I really miss my friends and family back home in Seoul, Korea.”
Philip smiled bitterly after a moment of silence. Then, he started again. “Since technology has been developed massively, the gap between my family in Korea and me in NYC has been diminished. However, I think it is upsetting and depressing that I cannot confess about my difficulties or negative happenings in my life to my family. I am almost forced to lie because I do not want to make my family worry about me.” His voice trembled and he looked down to organize himself. I definitely did remember the days when I first called my family and could not tell any bad happenings at the airport. “Hey Phil I got your back. If you need someone to talk to just please contact me anytime. I will be your friend, counselor, and mentor to the best I can.”
I could see a smirk on his face after our deep conversation about the subject. “Hey Kevin, it was a pleasure to talk to you today and be able to contribute to your project. I will see you later in Korea during winter break. Bye!”
“Me too Philip. Thanks for participating and sacrificing your time for me!”
Since I did not want to waste his time due to his busy schedule I began directly to explain about this project, “Hey Philip, I am starting a project on my English 101 course and the professor wants me to interview people pertained to the topic I choose an write an auto-ethnography. It was quite awkward for me because I rarely had any serious or deep conversation about sensitive topics such as international students’ struggles in the States. I, indeed, felt nervous and did not know how to start. However, thankfully, he was more than willing to discuss about the topic because he was going through such a difficult time at college. “The project you are doing sounds great to me! I would definitely want to help you! Just tell me what you need brother.” He sounds excited and his eyes were glittering with joyfulness and happiness.
“So how has your day been lately? I was playing with my pen while answering his answer. “I think my school year is going fine. I am quite busy all the time and it is only my first semester of college.” There was a little bit of disappointment behind his smiling face that I could catch. He then asked me, “Why did you choose this topic?” with no hesitation I replied,
“I decided to write about difficulties of international students’ lives because college is stressful and courses are really hard. And learning the new materials in second language is quite challenging and stressful…” He could not wait until I finished to explain because he was so eager to tell his own story.
“I think you are focusing on a really good point. Before I came here, I thought studying abroad is a cool thing and my ultimate dream, however, I missed thinking the most important matter: international students encounter struggles all the time.”
“Hey I totally understand what you mean. Personally, it was such a struggle for me too when I first got here. I was stuck at Chicago O’Hare airport because of disapproval of my I-20 in the airport system. I waited for 20 hours to officially get into the U.S. I could not even talked to my relatives in the States because the immigration department at the airport forbidden me to use cellphone. I could not ever feel unwelcomed. Where are all the nice, smiling American people? They were only mad and hostile securities supervising me for doing nothing.” I realized the more I shared about my horrible experience in the States, the more emotional Philip gets. I could feel the empathy created between me and Philip that connected us from Atlanta to New York City.
“You know Kevin, I used to study in Canada because my aunt lives in Toronto. I thought she could at least take care of me if I went to high school in Toronto. However, the reality was quite different from my expectation. She could not even take care of her own things. At that time, since she recently immigrated, she was busy taking care of unfamiliar and complicated documents for Canadian government. I literally had no one to take care me when I was sick and not fitting well in Canadian high school. Now I am in New York. I feel worse; everyone seems to be busy. Everyone is in a hurry everyday and they are, indeed, very hostile and sometimes even shout to you angrily, demanding you to get out of their ways. The skyscrapers are meticulous, beautiful, and fascinating, but I cannot appreciate these wonderful creatures because I feel empty inside. I really miss my friends and family back home in Seoul, Korea.”
Philip smiled bitterly after a moment of silence. Then, he started again. “Since technology has been developed massively, the gap between my family in Korea and me in NYC has been diminished. However, I think it is upsetting and depressing that I cannot confess about my difficulties or negative happenings in my life to my family. I am almost forced to lie because I do not want to make my family worry about me.” His voice trembled and he looked down to organize himself. I definitely did remember the days when I first called my family and could not tell any bad happenings at the airport. “Hey Phil I got your back. If you need someone to talk to just please contact me anytime. I will be your friend, counselor, and mentor to the best I can.”
I could see a smirk on his face after our deep conversation about the subject. “Hey Kevin, it was a pleasure to talk to you today and be able to contribute to your project. I will see you later in Korea during winter break. Bye!”
“Me too Philip. Thanks for participating and sacrificing your time for me!”