Making New Friends, Keeping Old Ones at ‘Ole Miss’

Making New Friends, Keeping Old Ones at ‘Ole Miss’

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story is part of a series about international student life at colleges and universities across the U.S. Please join us over the next several weeks as we bring you stories about these amazing individuals and the American higher education system as a whole.

There are many reasons why a student might choose to study at any of the thousands of universities across the U.S.

Price, size and the types of programs a school offers are just a few of the things students consider.

But some young people make their choice because they feel a strong connection to a particular college.

Jiwon Lee was born in Daejeon, South Korea. Right after she was born, her family moved to the U.S. so her father could complete his doctoral degree, or Ph.D, at the University of Mississippi.

The University of Mississippi, also known as “Ole Miss,” was founded in 1844. Located in Oxford², Mississippi, the school has a long history and many famous alumni.

Noble Prize-winning author William Faulkner briefly³ attended Ole Miss in 1919 and lived in Oxford for many years.The school is now home to almost 21,000 students. Over 8,500 are international.

Lee’s family returned to South Korea after five years, but Lee and her mother came back to Oxford in 2010. Lee was 15 years old at the time and enrolled⁴ in the local high school.

Lee learned⁵ to speak with the accent of a person from the southern part of the U.S. She even uses the southern slang⁶ term “y’all,” which southerners use to refer to anyone they are speaking to.

Yet, some of her classmates were not always the most welcoming, she says.

"Some people would look at me and be like … ‘She’s from some other country.’ Typically they’d say, ‘Are you from China or Japan?’ … But I’m from Korea. I’m Korean. I’m proud to be a Korean.

"I wish they could know more about my country.”

Lee quickly found comfort in her passion: music.

Lee began learning⁷ to play the piano at three years old, the violin at four and the flute⁸ at five. Her mother was also once a professional opera singer.

So it was only natural for her to join her high school band. From there she was introduced to the band director at Ole Miss. Lee then chose to get her undergraduate⁹ degree in musical performance at Ole Miss in 2014.

"It’s just been a very important part of my life, being very important … So I was thinking, ‘Hey! Why not be one of the Ole Miss family as a student?’"

Linda Bardha from Tirana, Albania also had some difficulty when she began studying at Ole Miss in 2013. Like Lee, Bardha attended high school in Oxford, but only for one year.

Bardha was part of the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study, or YES, program through the U.S. Department of State in 2010. The program sends high school students from countries with a majority Muslim population to study in the U.S. for one year.

While part of the YES program, Bardha lived with a host family: Robert and Carol Dorsey. Bardha and the Dorseys liked each other very much. The Dorseys even agreed to host her for the next four years after she earned a full scholarship for her undergraduate studies.

But when Bardha began taking classes for her degree in computer science, she soon learned she was one of few women in her program. The men in her classes had little interest in welcoming another female¹⁰ student.

She also found life without her family nearby was much more work than she expected.

"Coming all the way over here, and just taking responsibilities and, 'Here is your life, go and live it' ... It’s kind of hard in the beginning."

It took some time, but Bardha eventually found her place. She says she loves the freedom of the U.S. university system. In a liberal¹¹ arts program like the one at Ole Miss, students can choose to take whatever classes they want. The classes do not always need to directly relate to her major.

Bardha also found a job in the Office of Global Engagement¹², where she helps other international students build a community.

Bardha’s host family now hosts a young woman from Serbia and another young woman from Ukraine, as well. On weekend nights they enjoy going to the bars and restaurants in the center of Oxford, also called The Square.

But Bardha says that being so far from her friends in Albania causes problems.

"Friendship is something really important for me. But I’ve realized that by coming here, I’m kind of losing the ties and the friendships that I have back home."

Lee says she feels the same way about her friends back in South Korea. When she visited her hometown two years ago, her friends told her she acted different. They told her she was acting¹³ more American than Korean.

But Lee also has found many friends and lots of excitement being involved in several of the Ole Miss bands, including the Ole Miss Wind Ensemble¹⁴ and Opera Orchestra¹⁵.

She says she has never experienced¹⁶ anything like playing for thousands of American football fans in the marching band, known as the “Pride of the South!”

Both Lee and Bardha want to continue their education after completing their degrees at Ole Miss. But they do not know where.

Lee says she wants to become a music teacher. Bardha is getting a minor¹⁷ degree in digital media and is now an intern¹ at Voice of America in Washington, D.C.

Her friends in Albania ask her to come back and change the country. Bardha says she could never stay too far from her family and her home for long.

Words in This Story

particular – adj. used to indicate that one specific person or thing is being referred to and no others

doctoral degree – n. the highest degree that is given by a university

alumni – n. someone who was a student at a particular school, college, or university

author – n. a person who has written something

enroll(ed) – v. to enter someone as a member of or participant in something

accent – n. a way of pronouncing words that occurs among the people in a particular region¹⁸ or country

slang – n. words that are not considered part of the standard vocabulary of a language and that are used very informally in speech especially by a particular group of people

comfort – n. a state or feeling of being less worried, upset or frightened during a time of trouble or emotional¹⁹ pain

passion – n. something that you enjoy or love doing very much

piano – n. a large musical instrument with a keyboard that you play by pressing black and white keys and that produces sound when small hammers inside the piano hit steel wires

violin – n. a musical instrument that has four strings²⁰ and that you usually hold against your shoulder under your chin and play with a bow

flute – n. a musical instrument that is shaped like a thin pipe and that is played by blowing across a hole near one end

opera – n. a kind of performance in which actors sing all or most of the words of a play with music performed by an orchestra

band – n. a usually small group of musicians who play popular music together

introduce(ed) – v. to make someone known to someone else by name

undergraduate degree – n. a degree that is given to a student by a college or university usually after four years of study

host family – n. a family which provides housing²¹ to students, usually for a fee

scholarship – n. an amount of money that is given by a school or an organization to a student to help pay for the student's education

liberal arts – n. areas of study such as history, language, and literature, that are intended to give you general knowledge rather than to develop specific skills needed for a profession

marching band – n. a group of musicians who play instruments while walking together in the regular and organized way of soldiers at a parade or sports event

minor degree – n. a second subject studied by a college or university student in addition to a main subject

intern – n. a student or recent graduate who works for a period of time at a job in order to get experience

1 intern   

v.拘禁，软禁；n.实习生

参考例句：

• I worked as an intern in that firm last summer.去年夏天我在那家商行实习。
• The intern bandaged the cut as the nurse looked on.这位实习生在护士的照看下给病人包扎伤口。

2 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

3 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

4 enrolled   

adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起，他们就一直努力学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

6 slang   

n.俚语，行话；vt.使用俚语，辱骂；vi.辱骂

参考例句：

• The phrase is labelled as slang in the dictionary.这个短语在这本字典里被注为俚语。
• Slang often goes in and out of fashion quickly.俚语往往很快风行起来又很快不再风行了。

7 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

8 flute   

n.长笛；v.吹笛

参考例句：

• He took out his flute, and blew at it.他拿出笛子吹了起来。
• There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。

9 undergraduate   

n.大学生，大学肆业生

参考例句：

• Mr. Stone spent his undergraduate days in Columbia University,majoring in economics.斯通先生在哥伦比亚大学度过了他四年的大学生活，主修经济学。
• During this time,they are called undergraduate students.在此期间，他们被称为大学本科生。

10 female   

adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子

参考例句：

• We only employ female workers.我们只雇用女工。
• The animal in the picture was a female elephant.照片上的动物是头母象。

11 liberal   

adj.心胸宽阔的；自由(主义)的；慷慨的

参考例句：

• He has a liberal attitude to divorce and remarriage.他对离婚和再婚看得很开。
• This country adopts a liberal foreign policy.该国采用的是开放的外交政策。

12 engagement   

n.订婚，婚约，约定，约会

参考例句：

• I can't see you on Monday because I have a previous engagement.星期一我不能见你，因为我有约在先。
• It was my mother's very own engagement ring.这正是我母亲自己的订婚戒指。

13 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

14 ensemble   

n.合奏(唱)组；全套服装；整体，总效果

参考例句：

• We should consider the buildings as an ensemble.我们应把那些建筑物视作一个整体。
• It is ensemble music for up to about ten players,with one player to a part.它是最多十人演奏的合奏音乐，每人担任一部分。

15 orchestra   

n.管弦乐队；vt.命令，定购

参考例句：

• He plays the violin in an orchestra.他在管弦乐队中演奏小提琴。
• I was tempted to stay and hear this superb orchestra rehearse.我真想留下来听这支高超的管弦乐队排练。

16 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

17 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

18 region   

n.地区，地带，区域；范围，幅度

参考例句：

• The students went to study the geology of that region.学生们去研究那个地区的地质情况。
• It is unusual to see snow in this region.这个地区难得见到雪。

19 emotional   

adj.令人动情的；易动感情的；感情(上)的

参考例句：

• Emotional people don't stop to calculate.感情容易冲动的人做事往往不加考虑。
• This is an emotional scene in the play.这是剧中动人的一幕。

20 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

21 housing   

n.房屋，住宅；住房建筑；外壳，外罩

参考例句：

• Do you think our housing sales will turn around during this year?你认为今年我们的住宅销路会好转吗？
• The housing sales have been turning down since the summer.入夏以来，房屋的销售量日趋减少。