By Julia Conterelli
Student Life Editor
What are international students supposed to do on Spring Break, or any other holiday?
The dorms close on March 4 till March 13, and any students who remain inside of what is supposed to be their “home away from home” will be charged $50 just for being inside of the Halls after noon on the 4th, and each day thereafter. That would be $600 for the entire time.
Each international student has a different monetary situation. Some can afford to stay in a hotel, but what about the ones who aren’t that fortunate? Where are they supposed to go? What are they supposed to eat, since the cafeteria is also closed?
The good part is, Spring Break doesn’t deal with the pressure of being a holiday away from home like Christmas does. Christmas break involves time with family and that’s when International Students get really lost. If they don’t go back home they have to find another family here who would accept and foster them in their celebrations.
Spring Break is more about interacting with friends than with family, but do you want to hear a little surprise? College students are broke! Now imagine International college students, normally the currency from their country is worth much less than the dollar, which puts International students in an even worse financial bind.
“Last semester I had to stay here for a day on Thanksgiving break, and I got charged 50 dollars, which in my currency in Brazil is worth 210 reais,” said Barbara Arroio, Brazilian International student. “I don’t think that is fear! When I moved here I already paid so much to be able to live in the dorms, so why can’t I stay in the dorms, you know?”
Where are they supposed to go? And does anybody even care? Being away from home is hard and many obstacles like this will show up in their way. But let’s not forget who we are talking about. We are talking about students that overcame the average back at their home. They stepped up to live by themselves in a different country and, many times, they didn’t even know the language to begin with. Overcoming the difficulty of learning a language is hard and adapting to the United States culture is even harder. So I guess dealing with the fact that they don’t know where to sleep or eat for a week won’t be as bad as it sounds, because they will figure it out. International Students have to find their own way with so much, the dorms being closed is just one of the many obstacles that they face at TJC.
