LOUISIANA La. — While many students at University of Louisiana face about a 30-minute drive from home to attend classes, for about 700 students, the trip to campus means leaving behind life as they know it an ocean away.

“It’s a different life being far away from our parents and family,” said freshman Racha Boukadi, of Tunisia. “But we need to get used to it because it’s our future.”

On average about 700 students from more than 60 different countries make a new home in Lafayette each semester.

Sunnel Hooda, who is pursuing a master’s degree in telecommunications, said the transition can be difficult.

“It was a huge cultural shock,” Hooda said. “The clothes they wear. The kind of talking they do. It’s slow.”

But Hooda said eventually, you learn to adapt.

“Now I’m at the stage where I don’t even notice the cultural differences,” Hooda said. “It crosses the lines.”

The transition is made a little easier through the university’s Office of International Affairs. The office’s mission isn’t only to make sure students’ immigration papers are in order, but to help them connect with their new community.

But that hasn’t always been easy. The office has a Friendship program that pairs students with locals to give them a feel of Acadiana life, but in the past few years participation has waned.

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Marsha Sills
msills@theadvertiser.com