The Perks of Dating an International Student

Last Updated on September 29, 2023

College makes certain things possible that absolutely blow my mind. Things like being able to date students who come from other parts of the world. You see, it all started during the first week of classes when I casually said hello to a guy on campus. When he said hi back, I noticed he spoke with a slight accent. It turns out he’s an international student who recently came here from Spain. We started talking and hit things off pretty well. We have gone on a number of dates since then and have spent a good amount of time together.

China Town

Despite coming from another country, this guy’s English is outstanding. I’m constantly amazed by his vocabulary and ability to communicate with ease. I haven’t had any problems understanding him at all and he says that he has no trouble understanding me either.

Considering he is an international student, he is only enrolled at our university for one academic year. When we went on our first few dates and I saw how things were going, I took a step back and asked myself if I was foolish for even considering possibly becoming emotionally invested in someone who wouldn’t be around for more than a year’s time. Then I stopped to remind myself that it may even be more foolish to ignore the opportunity to love and care about someone, even if some aspects of the relationship could be time-limited.

I’m so quick to keep my guard up to avoid problems later on down the road but sometimes I wonder if that same barrier prevents me from experiencing things in the first place.

I ultimately decided I’d continue to see this international student just to see where things go. Honestly, so many things are possible in one year’s time and everything else is stuff that can be figured out later. Plus, being able to bond with a guy from another country is such a unique opportunity. I’m still amazed that ‘this’ happened in the first place. What are the chances?

San Genarro Festival

Our personalities are quite similar and we are both psychology majors taking similar classes. I enjoy spending time with him because he reminds me of how amazing and different things are that I’d normally pay no attention to. I’m made aware of what’s strange about American culture and reminded of which things I should appreciate. It’s pretty cool being able to see my home through the eyes of an international student. On the opposite end, I’d like to think it’s nice for him to be able to have a close friend who is more familiar with the area.

Just yesterday, we went to New York City together to visit Chinatown and Little Italy. We (unintentionally) attended the San Gennaro Festival in Little Italy where we saw a procession, ate lots of good food, and contributed to the incredibly crowded street of people. In China Town, I found a decent tea shop where I will most likely go to restock on my Dragonwell green tea when I eventually run out.

Times Square

Confession: Neither of us realized a festival was taking place while we were actually in Little Italy and we were both very confused why there were so many people there. I assumed Little Italy was just really popular but I later found out once I got home that it was because we attended during the San Genarro Festival. Hahaha. I guess that explains the random procession going down the street.

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