For many students, summer is the moment when they set aside time for family. Some of them might go on vacation while others may visit siblings at home.
However, for some of those students, family is too far to make going home a reality.
For many international student-athletes at San Jose State, living away from home can be a challenging experience.
Darae Chung, a psychology freshman and member of the women’s golf team, said it’s difficult being far away from her home country, New Zealand.
“I think it’s more because I miss my parents more than I miss New Zealand as a country,” Chung said. “I think it’s the people you miss back home that make you homesick.”
Out of the eight golfers on the team, five are from outside of the United States.
Chung said a main topic of conversation among her and her teammates is the initial culture shock of coming to America.
“It's especially tough when you're having a bad day or you need some advice, you need some guidance,” Chung said.
She said the 19 hour time difference can often cause problems when trying to talk to her family almost 7,000 miles away.
Math junior Louisa Carlbom, one of Chung’s teammates, said she wanted to continue playing golf at a collegiate level away from Sweden, her home country.
“I started reaching out to different coaches, and then one time, I played this really good tournament and our co-chair at San Jose State reached out to me,” Carlbom said.
Similar to Chung, Carlbom said the time difference can create difficulties when attempting to call back home.
“Sometimes if I do play badly or if I play really good, the first thing I want to do is to call [my dad] and tell him about it, and sometimes that is not possible,” Carlbom said.
She said her first semester was a tough adjustment.
She said watching her fellow classmates go home on the weekends while not having the same opportunity can be very hard for her.
“Sometimes I call my mom when I struggle and she’s like, ‘It’s only a flight, like really it’s only a flight if something comes up,’ ” Carlbom said.
Chung said the pressures of being away from her parents affects her the most on the field.
“Back at home it was so easy for me to just turn to them and ask them for advice and [they] would help me get through the tough times or even the good times,” Chung said. “Sometimes you don’t have to say anything when you’re with your parents, they already know how you feel.”
Chung, who has been playing golf for nine years, said seeing photos from her family makes her feel like she’s missing out.
She said she misses the little things, such as her mom while cooking her favorite food or her dad while taking the dog for a walk.
Carlbom also said missing out on family milestones is difficult for her.
“My mom’s birthday is coming up and it is a little tough missing out, but I feel like that goes both ways,” Carlbom said.”When I do go home I feel like I’m missing out here and when I’m here, I’m missing out from home. But I think that’s just a part of it, like, you’re going to miss out.”
Marko Radanovic, a psychology sophomore and men’s water polo player from Montenegro, said finding a job is a challenge international students face.
“When you’re an international student and then you try to apply for work, you’re limited there because we can only work on campus for a maximum of 20 hours,” Radanovic said. “When you’re applying for internships, a lot of companies basically tell you that if you need a sponsorship for the visa then you’re not considered as an applicant.”
For Radanovic however, there is often not enough time to reflect on his family back home.
“I’m very busy during the day and don’t have much time to actually sit and think a lot about my emotions or actually feel something like that, basically [I’m] just ‘Go and go,’ ” Radanovic said.
