<p>As an international transfer do you think I will have a hard time making friends? I'm quite a social person and has never had problem making friends and my English is good - its not like people would have to listen to me stutter trying to find words. I speak fluently and almost have an american accent. </p>
<p>But I'm afraid since I'm a transfer and international people will already have formed social groups and they will just make nice with me but not really be interested in long lasting relationships? What is the usual deal for internationals and friends? would you mind being friends with one?</p>
<p>I’m only here for 1 year, but I’ve made a good number of friends, from freshmen to seniors. </p>
<p>Most of them I might not see ever again after May - unless they come to Europe, and I’ve no idea when I’ll next be in America - but I think people will enjoy friendships while they last, even if it seems like it’ll only last a year.</p>
<p>Yeah, I’m gonna be in college, complete get my bachelor, go on to master (and maybe doctor). My plan really is to go to college and then stay in America so I want to form real friendships you know. But it is reassuring none the less that you have managed to make good friends despite your international and transfer status! Thank you :)</p>
<p>“they will just make nice with me but not really be interested in long lasting relationships”</p>
<p>You pretty much summed it up yourself in this sentence. It’s my observation that in general, Americans are nice to internationals and try to make them feel welcomed, but when it comes to forming long lasting relations, they usually aren’t interested. This is a large part of why internationals end up hanging out with internationals, locals with locals.</p>
<p>Oh and it may seem like a trivial reason, but if you have an American accent (or don’t have an accent as they would say here), then that could make a world of difference. In that case people usually assume that you grew up in the states and treat you more like they would treat any other American (I fit in this category for the most part). It’s only if you have an accent and are very obviously international that Americans feel the need to act differently towards you and make you feel “welcomed” and try to act inquisitive about your culture etc.</p>
<p>It’s similar where I live: the international students are very popular, because they are different and interesting (and in a few unfortunate cases, because they are accustomed to less restrictive alcohol laws in their homelands…), but they tend to be close friends mainly with other international students.</p>
<p>I guess I would be one of the cases were we are accustomed to less restrictive alcohol laws? …legal age is 18 and most start drinking at 14/15/16.
Where do you live/go go to college?</p>
<p>I go to North Georgia College and State University, soon to be The University of North Georgia (long story with much hard feelings involved…). The legal drinking age here is 21, and while many people start drinking younger than that they generally take precautions to avoid getting caught. Some of the internationals, on the other hand, are already used to getting wasted at parties before they even get here, which, combined with a lack of familiarity with how American law enforcement works, can lead to trouble.</p>