Skip to main content Skip to main navigation Skip to page-level navigation Go to the Disability Resource Centre Website Go to the DRC Booking Accommodation Portal Go to the Inclusive Technology Lab Website
The University of British Columbia
UBC - A Place of Mind
The University of British Columbia Okanagan campus
UBC Okanagan News
  • Research
  • People
    • Student Profile
    • Faculty Profile
    • Alumni Spotlight
  • Campus Life
    • Campus News
    • Student Life
    • Teaching & Learning
  • Community Engagement
  • About the Collection
    • Stories for Media
  • UBCO Events
  • Search All Stories
Home / 2011 / August / 24 / Helping international students feel at home in new surroundings
Student Life

Helping international students feel at home in new surroundings

August 24, 2011

When Adi Prabowo came to the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus three years ago, things were challenging for the native of Indonesia, but International Programs and Services helped him through.

When Adi Prabowo came to the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus three years ago, things were challenging for the native of Indonesia, but International Programs and Services helped him through.

UBC’s Centre for International Programs and Services eases culture shock

Adi Prabowo can’t say enough about the helping hand he got from UBC’s International Programs (IPS) and Services.

When the then 18-year-old came to the Okanagan campus three years ago from his native Indonesia, life was intimidating, but thanks largely to the IPS, Prabowo quickly began feeling at home in his new student life.

“The language was a big thing and the culture was a big jump for me,” says Prabowo who is now in his third year at UBC majoring in psychology and political science. Coming from a predominantly Muslim country, the lifestyle of his new home was an eye opener.

Prabowo also found Canadians tend to do things on their own, whereas Indonesians are more community oriented. All in all, it was a challenging time for the international student.

The biggest challenge, however, was finding a network of friends and adjusting to being away from the familiarity of home. Helping students find friends and adjust to their new world is where IPS and its manager, Teresa Flanagan come in.

“She’s just there all the time,” he says. “She helped me through a lot, everyone there (IPS) did.”

The centre helps international students with health care, academic and campus orientation and a variety of other things a new student will need. But the care being offered goes well beyond filling out forms and finding their way to class, including assistance in dealing with the culture shock so common to those living in a new country.

“Over the years we’ve found that student response, and time frame, to their new life varies,” says Flanagan.

“We look at the whole student here, and do our best to meet each one where they’re at,” she says, adding many international students come to her for help in November. “Generally, that’s about when the anxiety hits – mid-terms are over, homesickness really sets in, and the longer term adjustments begin.”

Students are encouraged to seek out other international students, visit the spiritual centre to practice their religious beliefs and attend alcohol-free events. Students are also advised to contact loved ones at home, which the IPS helps them with.

Last year, the campus was home to 500 international students from 75 countries, with students from 88 countries to date represented in this new school year. Helping them adjust to their new surroundings is Prabowo, who spends the week of Jumpstart orientation events working with international students. This will be his third year with the program and the bond he shares with the new international students is instant because he knows exactly what they are going through.

“It’s really exciting to see all of these students coming in and raring to go,” he says, adding the impact of a new country and culture takes a few days to realize.

When asked if he could offer one piece of advice to new students it would be to “always say ‘Hi’ to the person sitting next to you in your first class.”

Prabowo pointed out all of the students in the class are new to campus, so there is a common bond already being shared.

— 30 —

Media Contact

Darren Handschuh
Assistant Communications Coordinator
University Relations

The University of British Columbia
Okanagan campus
Tel: 250-807-8463
E-mail: darren.handschuh@ubc.ca

Content type: Media Release
More content from: Uncategorized

Trending Stories

  • UBC Okanagan student residence receives Passive House certification
  • Every dog can have its day, even online
  • Research with Altitude
  • New research suggests ways to get men to open ...
  • Old DNA provides new insights for national park’s salmon ...
All Stories
Contact Media Relations

About UBC Okanagan

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning founded in partnership with local Indigenous peoples, the Syilx Okanagan Nation, in whose traditional, ancestral and unceded territory the campus resides. The most established and influential global rankings all consistently place UBC in the top five per cent of universities in the world, and among the top three Canadian universities.

The Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world in British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. For more visit ok.ubc.ca.

Discover more about UBC Okanagan

Find a Program Admissions Book a Tour UBCO Facts
UBC Okanagan Campus News, University Relations

Innovation Precinct Annexation 1 (IA1)
3505 Spectrum Court
Kelowna, BC Canada V1V 2Z1

We respectfully acknowledge the Syilx Okanagan Nation and their peoples, in whose traditional, ancestral, unceded territory UBC Okanagan is situated.

 

Search all stories

Subscribe to receive news by email

Visit UBC's Vancouver news room

Global and Admin Messages

News

Okanagan Campus

UBC Okanagan News
Okanagan Campus
3333 University Way
Kelowna, BC Canada V1V 1V7
Find us on
  
Back to top
The University of British Columbia
  • Emergency Procedures |
  • Terms of Use |
  • Copyright |
  • Accessibility