Finding Community Abroad: International Students Navigate Life at PLNU

With 50 international students from 23 different countries, Point Loma Nazarene University is home to a community of students from places around the world including Germany, Egypt, the Philippines, Hungary, Costa Rica and Brazil, all striving to adapt to life far from home.

International students say they face challenges such as cultural differences, homesickness and navigating student visas. With help from OMISS (office of multicultural and international student services) and UNITE (uniting nationals & internationals through education), they are finding community and support, according to Amber Nakamura, OMISS assistant director.

OMISS offers guidance on visa regulations, health insurance, opening bank accounts and mobile phone plans. The office also facilitates UNITE, a group where international students gather twice a month to connect and build community. 

Nakamura plays a vital role in helping international students navigate their lives in the United States. She said that international students need support in understanding their student visas.

Taylor Bradley, a first-year journalism major, is finding adjusting to life in San Diego to be a significant cultural shift. Though originally from the U.S., Bradley spent much of her life growing up in Costa Rica before returning for college. 

“It has definitely been an adjustment moving here to San Diego,” she said. “The town I grew up in is a really small, sleepy surf town in the jungle, so life there is slow and simple. At first it was a little overwhelming being surrounded by a totally different atmosphere where there’s consumerism and commercialism, factors of American culture in your face.” 

Bradley said she faces challenges beyond cultural adaptation. She said she misses her family and the warm weather back home, but has since adjusted in just a few short weeks.

“While change can be very uncomfortable, I just remind myself it’s a good, exciting, fun change,” Bradley said. “I felt so ready for this next chapter, and I am really grateful to be here at PLNU.”

Isabella Piccolo, a third-year media communication major from Brazil, had a similar experience to Bradley.

“The first three months were the hardest,” she said. “I experienced a lot of culture shock. I felt that I didn’t belong here, that I was different from everyone and that I couldn’t fit anywhere. I didn’t understand the jokes, slang and I was embarrassed of my accent.” 

Piccolo coped with her homesickness by maintaining daily contact with her family and friends back in Brazil, as well as forming close bonds with other Brazilian students at PLNU, she said. 

Ábel Balogh, a fourth-year business administration major from Hungary, remembers his struggles when he first arrived at PLNU. 

“It was really difficult; I did not speak English a lot,” he said. “My family was not here, I was completely alone.”

Balogh said that acclimating to San Diego’s coastal lifestyle was something he had to get used to. 

“The major cultural shock for me was the beach town vibe,” he said. “A lot of surfers and beach activities, which we do not have at all in Hungary.”

Balogh said he found comfort in the international communities on campus and that PLNU has helped him adjust.

“There is an international club [UNITE] where I used to go in my freshman year a lot, and that was good because they all were international students, and we all felt the same,” Balogh said.

Piccolo said maintaining connections to her home culture of Brazil while integrating it into life at PLNU was important.

“I always try to include some aspects of my culture among my American friends,” she said. “That’s what makes me who I am. I love exchanging cultures, and I believe it’s what brings us closer.”

She said that her professors and faculty members have made the transition smoother.

“I’m so thankful for my advisors and professors,” she said. “Without them, I wouldn’t have survived freshman year.”

Nakamura said that PLNU international students benefit from getting involved in the campus community. With access to faculty, staff and other educational support systems, students are encouraged to engage in the university’s diverse array of activities, from the associated student body (ASB) to various campus programs such as Team Barnabas and MOSAIC

“This [involvement] gives our international students the chance to join with a really hospitable community,” Nakamura said.

The challenges international students face are not without reward. Balogh, now in his final undergraduate year, reflects on the personal growth that has come with studying abroad in the U.S. 

“Every hard time has made me stronger,” he said. “I feel like I could be anywhere in the world now and figure it out.”

His advice to future international students is to be brave and take the first step.

“Be adventurous,” he said. “It’s difficult sometimes, but you get so much more knowledge and perspective from seeing how people live in different parts of the world.”