by Kristi Vargas | Mar 4, 2019 | Official Blog
As an international student, you’ve had to adjust to time differences, cultural differences and long distance relationships with loved ones. But perhaps the most painful and unexpected, is the “experience distance” you may feel. Experiencing a lot of new and different...
by Kristi Vargas | Feb 25, 2019 | Official Blog
“Faux pas” is a term borrowed from French that literally means “false step.” A faux pas is an embarrassing or tactless act or remark in a social situation. It is SO EASY to make awkward mistakes when living in a new culture. Here are a few faux pas that international...
by Kristi Vargas | Feb 18, 2019 | Official Blog
First I want to say I’m proud of you. You have ventured to America to further your education and learned a new culture far away from home. You are adapting new values and hopefully understanding more about yourself. However, as you learn more about yourself I’m sure...
by Kristi Vargas | Feb 11, 2019 | Official Blog
I was all dressed up with nowhere to go for most of my adolescence. I went to prom by myself, hitting my teenage understanding of rock bottom, when I pumped my own gas in my floor-length gown. I had a longing for someone I had never met, his existence like a mirage,...
by Kristi Vargas | Feb 4, 2019 | Official Blog
Red is the color of my memory about the Spring Festival because it summarizes my feelings of the old times in my home city of Beijing. Beijing is an ancient city, the roots of many families have been grounded there for generations. If you ask “Beijingers” why they...
by Kristi Vargas | Jan 28, 2019 | Official Blog
Living within another culture has unique demands when it comes to communication. It is not simply a matter of being able to speak another language, it is also a matter of understanding how and why people communicate the way they do. In 2014, Erin Meyer wrote a book...
