Moving to a foreign country is often accompanied by immense change and self-reflection. Trinity international students
represent 10% of the student population and hail from countries as far-flung as Costa Rica, Kazakhstan and México. These students have unique perspectives on the culture of Texas.
Mark Shklovskiy, first-year cellular and molecular biology major from Almaty, Kazakhstan, explained that his perception of Texas after living here differs a lot from what he saw on TV. Before, he most associated Texas with an episode from Tom and Jerry, “Texas Tom.” However, Shklovskiy acknowledged that what he saw is a lot different from what he has experienced.
“I don’t see that every person wears high heel boots, like the cowboys. I expected that people would be like this,” Shklovskiy said.
Shklovskiy enjoys America, explaining that people are friendly and willing to get to know you. He still feels like an international student, but that feeling is starting to fade. Regardless, some challenges remain.
“The language barrier is sometimes a bit hardening, but now it is almost gone,” Shklovskiy said.
Shklovskiy believes that cultural exchange is mutually beneficial and hopes to feel that exchange of cultures in his interactions with others.
“Texas is quite a big state, with quite a lot of people with different perspectives. I can view the world from their perspectives, and they can view from mine,” Shklovskiy said.
Similarly, Valeria Sanabria, first-year psychology and neuroscience double-major from San José, Costa Rica, has faced a “culture shock” with language. She explained that she has even started thinking and dreaming in English.
“One time I was with my friends, and one of my friends is learning Spanish, so she was like, ‘Okay, I want you to speak Spanish to me,’ and I couldn’t,” Sanabria said.
In addition, Sanabria explained she was amused by Texan slang. She recounted how a speaker in her international student orientation class presented common phrases in Texas.
“Some of them are really weird that I am not going to attempt to say, like the ‘y’all’ or ‘howdy’ — which is pretty funny. But I like it, so there is no problem with that,” Sanabria said.
Moreover, Sanabria explained Costa Rican food is close to her heart and brings her comfort. Sanabria revealed she believes the food here is also “really good,” but she prefers Costa Rican food.
Sanabria explained she knows Texas well, as she has been visiting for a long time. Further, she mentioned her brother, who goes to Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, has influenced her perspective of Texas, as he would show her the secrets of the city. Sanabria believes the cultural heritage and large mixed population of the state is welcoming.
“Something that comes to mind is the saying that ‘everything is bigger in Texas,’ that’s something that, in Costa Rica, you would not see,” Sanabria said.
Christian Araujo Medina, senior international business major, is participating in an exchange program between Trinity and the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education. While Araujo is attending school in Monterrey, he is originally from Mérida, México, in the Yucatan region. He commented that he has heard a lot of people in Texas complain about the driving, and he believes a major difference between Texas and México is the attitude and organization of drivers.
“In México, there is this unwritten law, it’s something that you learn from driving, that sometimes you just got to push through. If you see the space and do not cut in — you’ll never be able to get to where you want,” Araujo said.
Furthermore, Araujo believes that Texans are proud of their identity. He explained he heard that Texans’ passion for their city and state make them different from other state residents.
“You are able to find people that are passionate about the place that they grew up in, and I think that is something that probably defines Texas in general. They are proud to be different and proud to have a mixture of different cultures,” Araujo said.
