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     Fei Gu, a doctoral student in education from Shanghai, China, knew a little bit about fishing and cooking, but he had never tried either of them before. He just knew that he liked the fresh fish dishes his mom cooked at home every weekend.

     Then he flew halfway around the world to attend school at the University of Kansas. He had no idea that before long, he would not only be an avid fisherman, but he would learn to cook them as well.

This is the biggest carp Fei Gu has hooked.

     Gu came to Lawrence in August 2006. He shared a two-bedroom apartment in Jayhawk Towers with three other international students. He was used to the convenient public transportation system in Shanghai and felt free to go anywhere he liked. But in Lawrence, Gu didn’t get to see downtown until his second semester. He also tried to learn basic cooking to avoid to eat pizza every day.

     The University of Kansas can be a strange experience for international students. During the fall 2007 enrollment, KU welcomed more than 1,600 international students from 112 countries. According to an International Student & Scholar Services (ISSS) report, this is 44 more than the same time last year.

     “It is wonderful,” said Joe D. Potts, director of ISSS. “But we have room for more. We like our campus more diversified.” Diversity is a reality in the world and in our American society too, he said.

     Daphne Johnston, associate director of ISSS agrees. “Since the 1920s, the University has enrolled international students from around the world,” she said. According to the international student guide, “KU has a long history of warmly welcoming international students to campus. We appreciate your presence, and we have a lot to offer you.”

     Today, the world is changing, and so is the student body in KU. The makeup of the international student body changes every year. KU holds students from more countries than ever before, Johnston said.

     In 2006, California was the leading host state for international students, followed by New York and Texas. Kansas ranked 26th, said the 2006 Open Doors report, published by the Institute of International Education, the leading not-for-profit educational and cultural exchange organization in the United States.

     According to the report from the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, international students and their dependents contribute nearly $13 billion to the U.S. economy each academic year. They bring unique social, cultural and academic perspectives and valuable insights to U.S. campuses. The benefits international students provide to American students and institutions are invaluable.

     “The more international students the American students see, the better,” Potts said. “An international campus is a good thing. It is a better feeling, not simply American.” International students benefit as well, he said. Most international students were born and raised in one culture. Here they study and live in a multi-cultural environment. That is a different experience compared with the life in their home countries. Potts said it was good for them to experience American culture and other cultures as well.

International students, with national flags
in hand, gathered at Kansas Union.

     “How good you feel when you see people from different places, some from the United Kingdom, some from Japan, etc., come and play together.” said Katelyn McGill, orientation coordinator in ISSS, who recalled a bowling and Ping-pong party this past spring.

     “The entire world collides here. It is amazing,” McGill said. “Sometimes, you don’t need to speak too much. Rules can speak there.” Sometimes, she said game plays the role of language, and people can teach each other very well without speaking.

     International student associations organize a variety of parties every Friday. “I joined the international party every Friday night,” said Jamil Muhammad Muktar Shagari, a freshmen from Nigeria. He also said he loved to talk with people from different countries. “I can always learn something strange to me,” he said. “ Wow, that is something I never heard of before.”

     Many students, especially those from larger groups, such as Asia, like to interact with other students from their own countries. “Being active in an international group is better than nothing,” Potts said. “ I can’t force them to come out, but I want to.”

     International students are also challenged by hard times.

     Undergraduates account for about 40 percent of international students at KU, according to an ISSS report. They are younger, they are homesick, and they miss their loved ones in their home country. It takes time to adjust to life here. McGill said the food often is a problem, because most of food here is mass produced to accommodate Americans’ taste and custom. Transportation is another problem. The public transportation system in Lawrence is not always convenient. Students say it’s not easy to reach those grocery stores if you don’t have a car.

     “I didn’t cook at home, but I do here,” said Soleak Seang, a Cambodian graduate student in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications. He came to KU right after his graduation from college. “If I want to go to library at night, I can’t because there is no bus, and I don’t have a car.”

     Gu is a bit luckier. “I have my first car now, “ he said. “Lawrence helped me realize my dream.” Now he can drive to fishing anytime he likes instead of having his friend drop him at Clinton Lake at night and pick him up in the next morning.

     Gu’s professors and friends invite him go fishing. After three hours’ sitting beside the lake, he found it is not that boring. He chats with friends and remembers how excited he felt when he hooked the first fish. The most important thing is he can eat fresh fish caught and cooked by himself.

     He thinks that is great.