They say that “all work and no play make Jack a dull boy”. As young people, we always believe we are fearless and can virtually achieve everything and anything. In as much as this phrase is true, it does have its shortcomings. Coming into a new environment, we have dreams of making new friends and expanding our social circle, but sometimes it is not as easy as we thought it would be. I can attest to this because there are so many constraints in making friends in a new country especially at a university level. I was fortunate enough when I landed in Canada to start off at a small college, so making friends and how to be social as an international student at Simon Fraser University was quite easy for me. We had smaller classes, so we had more opportunities to talk in class. This is not the same for international students who attend a huge university, like Simon Fraser University, because it is the opposite of almost everything in a college. It takes a while to actually realize this but the moment you do there is always a smart way to expand your social circle. Knowledge is power, and I hope I can show this to my fellow readers.
After transferring to the university, I was quick to realize there are some things I probably should have done to have expanded my social circle, but didn’t. I was comfortable because I felt I had more than enough friends from college and didn’t need any more. However, to my great surprise I was wrong and after my first semester I came to realize this. Listed below are a few key points I was naïve to and should have paid more attention to in order to have made things easier for myself. I hope readers find them helpful.
- Never be afraid to say hi to people: We tend to make assumptions about strangers and avoid making contact with them. Even domestic students want to make friends, so, in a manner of speaking, we are actually all in the same boat. On the bus, in the class, during activities, there are always chances to smile and say hi to another person
- Don’t hide yourself inside – go out: I was doing this when I came to Canada because I thought there were actually no reasons to leave the house. I had internet to watch movies all day, video games I could play, so what else was out there for me? This is so wrong. There are lots of benefits in going out to see friends. You can explore new places; get to know your environment, benefit from physical and mental exercise and so much more. Don’t be shy to invite friends to go for a coffee (it’s a North American tradition).
- Read your school emails: It is so easy to think that all school emails are academic and always informing us of the things we already know about. However, this may not be true. An example is that the International Student Services department at my University always host activities for students to get involved and socialize, promoting these events through e-mail. These would be amazing opportunities missed if the email is not read. Students can easily connect and share stories of how things are currently going with them through e-mail. Pay close attention and always keep an eye out for these emails.
If there is one thing I would like you to take from this post, it would be to visit your International Office or a similar service at your university because they always have valuable information to help students, mainly international students. They provide many services specially for you, so why not take advantage of their programs!