before school as a day student: you wake up, shower, eat a breakfast of your choice, say goodbye to your parents, and get to school by various modes of transportation. Now consider the morning of a dorm student: wake up, greet your roommate, shower, eat a cafeteria breakfast, and walk across campus to the first period of the day. There is no awakening from your own bed, no munching on a homemade breakfast, and no saying goodbye to parents. Many international students, like senior Denis Mahame, miss out on this comfortable hominess by living on dorm.

“The hardest thing about living on dorm is being away from home,” said Mahame.

But aside from the hardships of living on dorm, many students enjoy it.

“Living on dorm is convenient. You don’t have to worry about missing the bus or being late,” said senior Jerry Yung.

Why is it that our international students fly hundreds of miles away from their homes, friends, and families to live and learn at SSFS? What makes the difference between going to high school in America and going to high school in their native countries? While there are several different answers to these questions, there is one that is homogenous among international students: an American high school like Sandy Spring Friends School provides new and better educational opportunities. For those students whose parents chose to send them here, SSFS was a refreshing alternative.

“My mom decided to send me here because she thought that education in China is bad. They force students to take classes they don’t want to,” said Junior Kai Ting. “In China, you have to take all courses, you have no choices. Here in America, you have lots of choices,” added Yung.

These choices consist of a diverse schedule of classes and a course load that can be manipulated by each student. In Addition to these choices, there is also the factor of a more laid back atmosphere.

“Students in China are too stressed. Here, classes are smaller and teachers pay more attention to you,” said Yung.

Junior Jin-Woo Choi agrees with the fact that things are more relaxed here. “In Korea, things are really strict. You have to call teachers sir or ma’am. It’s like the military,” said Choi.

While many international students enjoy the differences in academic environments, there is one difference that is often unenjoyable: the difference in culture. Some students, especially those who are still in the process of learning English, often find it hard to integrate into American culture.

“At first, I felt like I was abandoned coming here by myself. It was kind of hard for me because I didn’t really speak English as a freshman,” Choi said.

When international students face this obstacle, they tend to stay in groups divided by their ethnicities.

“Sometimes it is hard to connect with them. I don’t always understand what they are talking about; the topics are unrelated to me,” Yung said on the topic of mixing with day students.

Aside from the language barrier, some international students feel like they are separated because they are limited to staying on dorm. Choi, who has overcome his language barrier since his arrival as a freshman said, “We’re really kind of isolated. A lot of rules limit our actions, we need more privileges. I only get to hang out with day students when they are able to pick me up.”

Mahame, on the other hand, has a different opinion on the separation. “I feel like it is up to the students to integrate themselves,” he said.