Nov 21, 2010
On November 16, UTSA’s Global Business Club hosted their first International
Roadrunner Mixer and Social, as a kick off for UTSA’s 2011 Buddy Program. With great
food and fun conversation in tow, local San Antonio students, met with and spent time
with students from all around the world.
According to Buddy Program Handbook, the club “ is a innovative joint venture between
BGC and UTSA’s Office of International Programs that pairs incoming international
students with buddies from GBC who are familiar with the university and community.
The Buddy Program supports International Roadrunners during their transition to campus
life by contributing time and resources to ease the adjustment phase of a new
environment.”
Buddy Program Director Jonathan Khan led a fun icebreaker, where students were asked
to position themselves around the room according to their home country. An
overwhelming majority of students were from Mexico; the second largest group was from
Asian countries, while only three students were from Europe.
International students volunteered to speak to the group about the differences between
their home country and San Antonio.
An Ecuadorian student’s story was the most enlightening, “there are mountains
everywhere and we have a lot of natural resources. Also the altitude is really different.
You can feel it when you get off the plane and a lot of people get sick.”
Yuichi Sakai, a Japanese student, discussed the differences in eating habits, jokingly
telling the group that, “here, you can have hamburgers and pizza whenever you want. I
never ate hamburgers and pizza, but now I eat it all the time, which is why I’m fat.”
After the icebreakers, students mingled around the room, getting to know each other and
learn about different cultures.
Acelya Konur, a 24 psychology major from Izmir, Turkey, has been in San Antonio for
10 months.
She chose San Antonio for financial reasons, because it is “cheaper than the North.”
She came to the States with 6 family friends, and they chose UTSA because it was the
only school that accepted the entire group.
When comparing San Antonio to Turkey, Konur says that not only is the weather the
same, but that the Mexican culture “is close to Turkish culture.”
Konur was very happy to discover however, that in the states the cars are significantly
cheaper and more affordable, compared to Turkey.
Yuichi Sakai, an International Business major from Japan, has spent his last 4 years in
San Antonio. He found his way to Texas through a study abroad company, who matched
his grades and interests with UTSA.
While he had options at other schools in the world, he chose the states because, “the US
has a better education.”
After spending a month in Monterrey, México, Sakai also became conversational in
Spanish. After this semester, he will go back to Japan to look for a job. Once he has, he
will finish one summer class, and then return to Japan to work.
Our most enlightening conversation took place with the GBC’s Operations Director,
Alain Yake. Originally from the Ivory Coast, 25-year-old Yake is now a double major of
Marketing and International Management.
When asked why he chose the states (he was also offered the opportunity to study in
France and England), he explained that the opportunities in US universities are better:
“My parents already knew what I would do because I loved the American spirit.”
There is a definite difference in the sense of family for Yake. Where Americans are
noticeably individualistic, “people back home are more about family.”
Yake also discussed the state of his country (“it used to be the leader in West Africa, but
because of political trouble has fallen”), and Western media’s biased coverage of the
continent (as only a third world, starving nation).
When asked what he would like people to know about his country, his message was
blissfully simple, “in Africa, we love to have fun.”
With the great turnout of the GBC’s first International Mixer, it is clear that the Buddy
Program will be a huge success.
The University of Texas at San Antonio. October 2010. Digital Media
Production.
Nadia Barlow, Tara Caballero, AshleyGragg, Mayllyn Luz