She contends that foreign students, especially those from countries with troubled relations with the West, can become America's best "ambassadors" when they return home. Many are from elite or middle-class families, and since they are on student visas they are required to return to their home country upon completion of their American study program. This, she says, gives us a prime opportunity for influence. Students from many countries that are hostile to America come here with nothing more than a caricature of American people and our culture. Ms. Mangu-Ward writes:
Aida Sykes, a rising senior at Yale and a native of Tanzania, says that she came to U.S. with an impression of American culture heavily influenced by television sitcoms. "I am not really going to learn anything from these people," she thought. "I will teach them that there are more people in this world besides them." She remains unimpressed by American foreign policy, but she has changed her mind about one thing. Says Ms. Sykes: "Americans are human, so to speak."Well, that's a start!
The article is particularly relevant to those of us in Austin, given that we have a good percentage of the 600,000 foreign students here in Austin universities.
Ms. Mangu-Ward wants us to look for ways to expose international students to American culture beyond the cardboard caricatures they came with, but I have an additional motivation for highlighting her article. We believers also need to look for ways to expose international students to real Christianity. Many students who come with little understanding of American culture are from countries with little religious freedom. Their two-to-six years on a student visa may be their only real chance to interact with Christians and explore Christianity.
Let’s not waste that chance. Pray for ways to build personal friendships with international students, and help us look for ways to connect Hillcrest with service opportunities to these students.
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