Before everyone leaves for Thanksgiving, I would like to say thanks for being so nice to us foreigners this quarter. For the most part we’ve felt welcomed and are super happy to be here and are adjusting well. But I’d like to leave everyone with a few laughs, so here is a list of things all  international students have heard at one point or another and felt annoyed about. If you want to win a place in our hearts, avoid the following:

On Thanksgiving:

“Aren’t you excited to go home for Thanksgiving?”

“You’re not going home? How come?”

“That really sucks that you’re staying on campus.”

“Oh my God, I’m super excited to see all my family and friends! They’re planning something super special for me and it’s going to be great. I miss them so much and I’m seeing them so soon. OMG! Yay! Can’t wait!”

On our English:

“Oh! No wonder you have an accent!”

“Wait, but you speak English so well.”

“Hahaha you say that so funny!”

“(Insert regional slang we’ve never heard before and won’t understand.)”

“Do you understand everything I say?”

On homesickness:

“Oh my God, I’m so homesick. I haven’t seen my parents in two weeks!”

“Yeah, I had my mom wash my laundry for me this weekend.”

“I just got a package from my mom!”

“I’m thinking I’ll make the trip home soon. It’s a three-hour drive, so I’m still deciding.”

“Aw, this must be really hard for you.”

On being here:

“Like, why America?”

“How did you even hear about Northwestern in (insert place we came from)?”

“I would never go that far for college.”

“Wait, so you came from (place we came from) to Northwestern? That’s so random.”

Fellow international students, please comment with your own favorites!

— Sofia Rada