Only in
America B Y CHR ISTI MA Y S
International students share what life was like as a new student at UMHB. In China, it’s pretty much unheard of to go barefoot outside. It’s considered taboo, unsanitary, and even rude. Even indoors, most Chinese people swap their shoes at the entrance to don a pair of slippers. So when Chinese student XueQi “Vidia” Lu came to U M H B, one hot summer afternoon, she saw some students outside walking around barefoot. She was intrigued. “It was really funny to me because I had never seen someone walk without shoes in China,” she said. She wanted to try it! So, she slipped off her shoes and sauntered out onto the blacktop. Even though it was the middle of a hot Texas afternoon and the asphalt was scorching, Vidia says it was worth it. It’s one of many new things she’s experienced the last four years as an international student,
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UMHB LIFE | S U M M E R
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graduating this May with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. Each year, as many as 100 students from every corner of the world come to U M H B to study. Like Vidia, many of them cherish the memories they make here.
BUILDING BRIDGES
Coming to the U S for her college education was never on Vidia’s radar while growing up in China. That changed one day when two U S professors visited her high school. She was fascinated to learn that students can change majors after enrolling in college—something that is fairly difficult to do at a Chinese university. “I wanted to find the best major for me— something that I loved, and that would help me find a job after graduating,” she said.
