Ideas

With increasing budget constraints at colleges and universities, foreign student advisers across the country are increasingly turning to community organizations and local volunteers to fulfill their program objectives

Indeed, foreign student advisers are often too overworked and understaffed to meet the needs of the students they serve. They don’t have adequate time to recruit, train, and supervise volunteers. It’s here that Chi Alpha International Student Ministries can help.

Although services vary across the country, here are examples of the types of programs and activities sponsored by Chi Alpha International Student Ministries:

-Airport pickup and temporary housing for new students

-Friendship Partner programs, which match international students with American host families and singles

-Sightseeing trips

-International dinners and other social activities for international students and their families

-Conversational English partners and groups

-Classes in shopping, cooking, and orientation to American life for international spouses

-Conferences and retreats for internationals during Christmas and other school breaks

-Forums for exchange of ideas and perspectives on social, religious, and cultural issues

Connecting with students through established programs:

• use the web
• pay attention to fliers
• contact the international student office; offer to help them out.
• see if the international student office has a conversation partner program
• If your Chi Alpha group has an established outreach to international students, volunteer to help
• If there are local churches in the area with a large international population, see if they have any international students attending.
• If you need to work, try applying for a student job within your university’s international student office

Where to connect with internationals
• some schools have an international dorm
• other schools mix internationals into the general student population
• Check out local restaurants and coffee shops
• Find out what clubs and activities are available for international students on campus
• Look around
How to establish relationship:
• do some research: what percentage of your school is international? what region of the world are most of the international students from?
• stay up on current events
• initiate contact;
• be persistent
• be clear; exchange contact information
• ask good questions
• be willing to share about yourself
• Be patient; building relationships take time
• Have fun together! Do things you both enjoy.
• Try something new: select different foods one or both of you have never tried and cook together
• Be a friend—they are not a project.
• Go off campus
• If possible, invite them to your home over a holiday
• Some may need help setting up banking, going grocery shopping, or doing other tasks.
• Introduce them to your circle of friends
• If you have a car, offer them a ride (ie. Grocery store, airport, etc)
• Learn a few phrases in other languages to help connect with international students
• For those who have trouble with written English, offer to help proofread their papers

Some websites worth checking out:

• CIA world fact book http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factboook/
• Craigslist: classifieds
http://raleigh.craigslist.org/about/cities.html
• AOL city guide: events and such
http://cityguide.aol.com/main.adp

for the resources you need to put your ideas to action, check out the student resources, the leader resources, or exchange ideas in the forum...