The first fall semester at college is often an eye-opening experience for most, but especially for international students. It\u2019s a time of excitement for those who live abroad and now get to experience something very unique – the American fall in Cortland. Rohat Kilic and Damian Schmitz, two German students from the sports university of Cologne, have now gotten a taste of Cortland\u2019s true colors of fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For many international students, one of the first things that grabs their attention is the fall scenery. \u201cThe leaves, the trees We’ve never seen anything like it,\u201d said Rohat and Damian with their mouth wide open. Coming from a place where fall doesn\u2019t bring colorful changes because of the small portion of forest in Germany, they were amazed by the reds, oranges, and yellows on campus. For someone like them, it\u2019s like stepping into a postcard, while many of us hardly notice it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But adjusting to life in the U.S. isn\u2019t all about pretty landscapes and looking at trees. For Rohat, the biggest issue has been the notorious Bistro food. \u201cEverything tastes weird,\u201d he said, laughing. \u201cSometimes I just miss home-cooked meals.\u201d While the two cafeterias have options (Bistro and Neubig), they are not always what international students are used to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Academically, it\u2019s been a bit of a shock for Damian. He was surprised by how much students are expected to participate in class. \u201cIn my country, we don\u2019t speak up as much in class,\u201d he explained. \u201cHere, if you don\u2019t raise your hand, the professors ask you to.\u201d It was a challenge but Damian eventually got used to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite the challenges, there have been positive surprises, too. Rohat said he\u2019s been pleasantly surprised by how friendly people are. \u201cIt\u2019s easy to feel lost when you\u2019re so far from home, but people have been so helpful\u2014whether it\u2019s with school or just figuring out where to buy stuff,\u201d he said. That sense of community is something many didn\u2019t expect but appreciate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Homesickness is something they all mentioned. Both Rohat and Damian miss their family a lot, and even though they can video chat, it\u2019s not the same. \u201cHolidays like Thanksgiving are hard because everyone else goes home, but we can\u2019t,\u201d they said. Luckily, SUNY Cortland\u2019s international office organizes events to help students feel less isolated during those times, such as a small Friendsgiving gathering for any student who decides to stay on campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite the homesickness and cultural differences, most students say their first fall in America has been a time of growth. They\u2019ve had to adapt quickly and learn new ways of doing things, which hasn\u2019t always been easy. \u201cIt\u2019s been hard, but it\u2019s worth it. I\u2019m learning more about myself and the world,\u201d Damian shared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the semester continues and they settle in, they\u2019re realizing that these challenges are just part of the experience. The changing leaves are a reminder that this is a time of transition\u2014for them and their new lives at SUNY Cortland.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The first fall semester at college is often an eye-opening experience for most, but especially for international students. It\u2019s a time of excitement for those who live abroad and now get to experience something very unique – the American fall in Cortland. Rohat Kilic and Damian Schmitz, two German students from the sports university of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":362,"featured_media":398,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6554","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-opinions","8":"entry"},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2022\/09\/01-DSC02620.jpeg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2022\/09\/01-DSC02620.jpeg","author_info":{"display_name":"Axel Norbro","author_link":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/author\/axel-norbro\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/362"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6554\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}