In the first few weeks of college, freshmen suffer from cases of homesickness. For many of these students, care packages, phone calls, and visits from loved ones back home can act as remedies and ease the difficulty of switching to this new environment. I assume most freshmen have experienced this to some degree. Without taking anything away from those struggling to adjust, I ask you to please imagine this scenario:

What if your home was thousands of miles away? What if you were in an unfamiliar, foreign country, half a world away from family and friends?

These hypothetical situations are everyday realities for many students, including Erica, a fellow first-year student and classmate in my West and the World history course. We happened to sit next to each other on the first day and introduced ourselves. In an attempt to make small talk, I asked her where she was from, fully expecting to hear one of the usual locations: Cincinnati, St. Louis, Chicago, etc. She has actually come to UD from Singapore.

We struck up a simple conversation outside of class, and my cultural ignorance immediately came to light. I hinted to her in a subtle manner that I was impressed with her English speaking ability. It turns out that she learned English as her first language in Singapore as many children do. I realized that was not nearly all I didn't know. In just a short talk I learned a lot about Singapore's location, population, religious tendencies and other information, but most importantly, I made a friend.

As a result of efficient, long-distance travel, a truly global economy and the World Wide Web, our generation will inherit a world that is smaller than ever before. We will have unprecedented interaction with other cultures in distant regions of the world.

This should come as no surprise with the increasing number of foreign exchange and study abroad programs offered on high school and college campuses throughout the United States. The University of Dayton alone will send students to places ranging from Argentina to Romania to Italy this summer.

I urge myself and other students to branch out and befriend students studying at UD from abroad even if it's different from the norm. This is important for several reasons.

First, it will be helpful and interesting to learn from and discuss ideas with someone who has a vastly different worldview than our own.

Secondly, students from abroad are similar to other Flyers in their desire to introduce themselves, make friends and fully feel that community atmosphere which sets the University of Dayton apart from many other learning institutions.

Lastly, at a minimum you will have made a friend to greet on the sidewalk or chat with in a classroom, and that's always a positive.