![\"Sarah](\"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/02\/32-Sarah-122-RETOUCHED-ANTHONY-DEPRIMO-890x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nSarah Almuhaish<\/h2>\n\nHome Country: Saudi Arabia<\/h3>\n\n\n
In Saudi Arabia, it is customary to burn oud, or agarwood, in a censer at celebratory events such as weddings, during Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr, and to welcome guests into your home, says Sarah Almuhaish. Other types of incense are also regularly burned in censers, so that their fumes can freshen clothes and a person\u2019s hair. \u201cPeople in my country spend a lot of money on perfume\u2014a lot,\u201d she explains. \u201cIt\u2019s part of our culture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Almuhaish, who received a scholarship from the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission to pursue her M.S. in information systems at Monmouth, says she had to overcome \u201cculture shock, weather shock, everything shock\u201d upon arriving in the U.S. from Al-Hasa, the oasis town in Saudi Arabia\u2019s Eastern Province that she calls home. She is settled in fine now\u2014she recently got her driver\u2019s license and bought a car\u2014but still thinks of home often <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe sense of smell is important to memory,\u201d says Almuhaish. \u201cAnd any time I smell these perfumes, I remember my family, my home, the parties we would have, and all the people I left over there. I have pictures on my phone, but it\u2019s not the same. These scents take me home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n After earning her bachelor\u2019s in computer science from Punjab Technical University, Ridhima Mehra worked as an IT consultant in Chandigarh, India, for four years before deciding to pursue an M.B.A. to advance her career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She says she had heard of Monmouth through a friend of a friend, and when she took a closer look at the University, she liked what she saw: a competitive business program, evening classes, and scholarship and assistantship opportunities that would make getting her degree more affordable. One semester into her studies, she\u2019s happy with her decision. \u201cMy professors are really interactive, the classes are challenging, and my grad assistantship [in the Leon Hess Business School] is going well,\u201d says Mehra, who also landed a part-time marketing job with Monmouth\u2019s Athletics Department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn my culture, whenever we start a new task, or a new job, or even a new day, we worship Lord Ganesha,\u201d says Mehra. \u201cWe ask him to shower his blessings on us so that whatever we are about to initiate turns out to be a positive.\u201d Coming to Monmouth \u201cwas a new beginning for my life,\u201d she says. \u201cI brought the Lord Ganesha idol so that every day I will have his blessings with me, and whatever I\u2019m doing I\u2019ll be successful in it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a reason Zainab Audu projects a regal air: She is descended from royalty. Her paternal grandfather, now deceased, abdicated his seat as Onu of Ajakouta (an area within Kogi State) because he feared for his safety. He advised his son to stay away too if ever asked to rule. \u201cMy father is a medical doctor in Lagos\u2014he\u2019s not going to go be a king,\u201d Audu says with a laugh, as if it\u2019s all very normal. So while the royal bloodline lives on, don\u2019t expect anyone from Audu\u2019s family to assume the throne, she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A student in the M.S. in information systems program, Audu says the fabrics that make up her dress represent her parents\u2019 lineage. The patterned part is Ankara, typically worn by the Yoruba people of Oyo State (mom\u2019s side). The solid part is Itauba, typically worn by the Igala and Ebira peoples of Kogi (dad\u2019s side). \u201cBack home when you wear this, no one cares,\u201d says Audu. \u201cBut it\u2019s the first thing Americans see and ask about, and it gives me a chance to talk about home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Being recruited to swim for Monmouth University made it possible for Dylan Barkhuizen to pursue his dream of attending college in the U.S. It also meant leaving behind everything he holds dear: family, friends, his African Bulldog Sven, and his home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Barkhuizen admits the first two weeks of living on his own \u201chalfway across the world\u201d were rough. \u201cHomesickness hit me so hard,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was hard to grasp that I was so far away from home.\u201d Daily phone calls with mom helped while he settled in and got to know his professors and teammates. Now that it\u2019s behind him, he says the process made him appreciate his family even more. \u201cI never knew how much I loved my parents until homesickness hit me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When he left for Monmouth, Barkhuizen packed a South African flag to hang in his residence hall as a reminder of the people and places he\u2019d left behind. \u201cIt brings back a lot of memories of growing up,\u201d he says. \u201cSouth Africa is such a beautiful country, and I\u2019m so proud of it. Looking at the flag just makes me happy. It\u2019s a small thing, but it makes a massive impact knowing that I\u2019ve got something from home to remind me of where I came from.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her teammates call her \u201cLil Meg,\u201d so it\u2019s perhaps fitting that the object Megan De Lange brought to remind her of home\u2014\u201clucky beans\u201d\u2014are themselves diminutive. But you\u2019d be foolish to underestimate the strength of either De Lange or her beans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n De Lange says the beans are the seeds of coral trees that are native to South Africa. (In fact, the trees from which they come, E. lysistemon<\/em>, are often referred to as \u201cLucky Bean Trees.\u201d) The beans are supposed to keep you safe and give you luck, says De Lange, adding, \u201cI keep one with me all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A sophomore majoring in biology with a concentration in molecular cell physiology, De Lange says her beans come from trees that grow outside her grandmother\u2019s holiday home in Plettenberg Bay. \u201cI go there every December, and I\u2019ll gather some when I visit. I brought a bunch back and gave them to all the girls on the team.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last fall, De Lange started all 20 games for the Hawks field hockey team, which captured the MAAC championship. Like we said, don\u2019t underestimate the power of De Lange and her lucky beans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The leather bracelet on Alicia South\u2019s wrist reads, \u201cJamaica One Love.\u201d She bought it two years ago at a craft market in Kingston, just before coming to Monmouth to pursue her M.B.A. \u201cIt\u2019s a typical Jamaican greeting,\u201d she says. \u201cEvery now and again I\u2019ll look at it and smile.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n South had just finished her last exam\u2014ever<\/em>\u2014prior to her photo-shoot. Hence the big smile. That\u2019s not to say she won\u2019t miss Monmouth. She says she \u201cfound a family away from home\u201d through Monmouth\u2019s Global Education office. She served as president of the International Club for a year and, last fall, mentored two first-year international students. \u201cIt felt good to facilitate someone else\u2019s transition and make them feel comfortable here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Born and raised in Jamaica, South says her experiences at Monmouth changed the trajectory of her life, and she is contemplating staying in America. To do so, she\u2019ll need to find full-time employment before her VISA runs out. So recruiters take note: If you\u2019re seeking an energetic, newly minted M.B.A. grad with experience in international banking and finance\u2014and an infectious smile to boot\u2014look no further. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A few months before leaving for Monmouth on a tennis scholarship, Sergio Martinez was walking through a market in Mexico City with his grandfather, Javier Jimenez, when a silver bill clip engraved with the Mayan calendar caught his eye. \u201cI said, \u2018Hey, Grandpa, can you buy this for me? I want to have it with me to put my bills in it like you do,\u2019\u201d recalls Martinez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jimenez has been an influential presence in Martinez\u2019s life. \u201cI look up to him a lot,\u201d says Martinez about his grandfather, who still lives next door to the Martinez home in the city of Orizaba. \u201cHe built his own construction company from the ground up. He\u2019s a hard worker\u2014a laborer who works with his hands but has a soft side too. He\u2019s a very caring person and has always been supportive of me and my tennis.\u201d And, adds Martinez, his grandfather always<\/em> carries a bill clip wherever he goes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, so too does Martinez. \u201cIt makes me think of the Mayan culture, which has a very strong presence where I come from. And it also makes me think of my family, and my grandfather especially.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSports are very big in my family,\u201d says Georgia Garden Bachop. Her father, Stephen, was a star rugby player and coach; her mother, the late Sue Garden Bachop, was a four-sport star and one of the first women to coach a men\u2019s rugby team in New Zealand; and her brothers, Jackson and Connor, both play professional rugby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At Monmouth, Georgia has made a name for herself in a different sport: field hockey. While etching her name across the program\u2019s record books, she helped lead the Hawks to two MAAC Tournament Championships (2016 and 2018). Last fall, as a senior, she was named the MAAC Player and Offensive Player of the Year and the conference\u2019s All-Championship Team MVP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Georgia was born in southern New Zealand, lived in England for four years, and then moved to Wellington, so homesickness \u201cisn\u2019t something that happens to me,\u201d she says. \u201cHome is where the people that you love are, and I love my team and the friends that I\u2019ve made here so much.\u201d Nevertheless, the photo of her parents serves as a reminder of sorts. \u201cIt was taken just after they found out my dad was named to the national rugby team,\u201d says Georgia. \u201cThey were successful in their sports and helped set things up for me, so I just want to follow in their footsteps and make my family proud.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The pieces in Aneesha Moyya\u2019s jewelry collection come from across India, and each item has its own story. But together they remind Moyya primarily of her late grandmother, Sukanya, who accompanied her on countless shopping expeditions to acquire them. \u201cShe had great taste,\u201d says Moyya with a smile. \u201cI have an emotional connection to so many of these pieces because of her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A self-described introvert, Moyya says leaving her home in Hyderabad meant taking a big step outside her comfort zone. However, doing so has given her a newfound sense of empowerment. \u201cI\u2019m close to my family. My parents always helped me in all of my decisions,\u201d she says. \u201cBut when you start doing things on your own, you realize, \u2018I can do that. I don\u2019t need to depend on anyone else.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Moyya says it had long been her dream to study for her master\u2019s in information systems in the U.S. \u201cI enjoy every day here,\u201d she says, adding that her grandmother would be particularly proud. \u201cShe wanted me to go, so I think she would be really happy I\u2019m here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou know the clich\u00e9 about kids taking apart toys to see how they work? I was all about that when I was little,\u201d says Hamza Zafar. He says that love of tinkering and technology led to his interest in the software and IT fields. After earning his bachelor\u2019s degree in Pakistan, the Lahore native wanted to continue his studies in America. \u201cIt\u2019s a driving ground for innovation\u2014the perfect sandbox if you have an idea,\u201d he says. \u201cYou\u2019ve got the tools you need at your disposal, and there is a community here that will help you make your dream a reality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n After considering the University of Michigan and Penn State, he chose Monmouth\u2019s M.S. in software engineering program because the people here were \u201cfriendly and inviting,\u201d he says. \u201cThe other universities I talked with, their emails sounded robotic\u2014like auto replies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Coming to Monmouth marked Zafar\u2019s first trip outside of Pakistan. Despite that, he says he didn\u2019t plan to bring any memento of home because he doesn\u2019t get homesick. But when his friends came to see him off, they brought him a present: the book Choti Choti Khushiyan<\/em>. \u201cThe title loosely translates to small pieces of happiness,\u201d says Zafar. Each page features a simple line drawing and a few words that highlight the little things Pakistani people enjoy in their daily lives. \u201cThese things are unique to, and ingrained in, our culture,\u201d says Zafar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One page shows an illustration of two people and the words \u201cMain aur tum\u201d (\u201cme and you\u201d). Zafar\u2019s friends changed the text to read \u201cus\u201d and then drew themselves onto the page and signed it. When they showed it to him, they gave him a hug. \u201cThat almost made me tear up, which is a really big thing for me,\u201d Zafar says with a laugh. \u201cI\u2019m not a sentimental guy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The photo book Josephine Van Der Hoop\u2019s mother made for her is filled with scenes from her family\u2019s first visit to Monmouth. \u201cIt\u2019s nice because I can look at it whenever I want to and be reminded of them being here,\u201d says the junior business management major. A midfielder on the Hawks field hockey team, Van Der Hoop says Monmouth\u2019s size, location, and beautiful campus helped seal the deal when she was being recruited by colleges. \u201cI\u2019ve loved it here since my first semester,\u201d says Van Der Hoop. \u201cI went home [to Rotterdam] after my first semester with a big smile on my face and told my parents, \u2018I\u2019m never leaving there.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" International students share the mementos that remind them of home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":5138,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"image_focus":"","hide_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features"],"thumbnail":"![\"Ridhima](\"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/02\/32-Ridhima-50-ANTHONY-DEPRIMO-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\nRidhima Mehra<\/h2>\n\n
Home Country: India<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"Zainab](\"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/02\/32-Zainab-060-ANTHONY-DEPRIMO-753x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nZainab Audu<\/h2>\n\n
Home Country: Nigeria<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"Dylan](\"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/02\/32-Dylan-158-ANTHONY-DEPRIMO-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\nDylan Barkhuizen<\/h2>\n\n
Home Country: South Africa<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"Megan](\"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/02\/32-Meg-13-ANTHONY-DEPRIMO-683x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nMegan De Lange<\/h2>\n\n
Home Country: South Africa<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"Alicia](\"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/02\/32-Alicia-78-ANTHONY-DEPRIMO-677x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nAlicia South<\/h2>\n\n
Home Country: Jamaica<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"Sergio](\"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/02\/32-Sergio-103-ANTHONY-DEPRIMO-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\nSergio Martinez<\/h2>\n\n
Home Country: Mexico<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"Georgia](\"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/02\/32-Georgia-24-ANTHONY-DEPRIMO-683x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nGeorgia Garden Bachop<\/h2>\n\n
Home Country: New Zealand<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"Aneesha](\"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/02\/32-Aneesha-074-RETOUCHED-ANTHONY-DEPRIMO-683x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nAneesha Moyya<\/h2>\n\n
Home Country: India<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"Hamza](\"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/02\/32-Hamza-01-ANTHONY-DEPRIMO-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\nHamza Zafar<\/h2>\n\n
Home Country: Pakistan<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"Josephine](\"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/02\/32-Josephine-48-ANTHONY-DEPRIMO-683x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nJosephine Van Der Hoop<\/h2>\n\n
Home Country: Netherlands<\/h3>\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/02\/32-Sarah-122-RETOUCHED-ANTHONY-DEPRIMO-261x300.jpg\")
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