As a Hult student, you’re surrounded by diversity from day one. And I have to admit, my life has become so much more exciting since making international friends.

Speaking from my own experience of living in San Francisco for almost three years, here are a few things I have learned by having culturally diverse friendships.

Learning new languages

Having being surrounded by diverse friends from different parts of the world, I can now speak a few languages. My friends used to teach me how to tell jokes and sometimes even flirt in their languages.

It was hilarious when I pronounced things incorrectly and the words I said had an entirely different meaning!

Developing the desire to travel—even more

Cultures are fascinating, and I can’t wait to experience them all.

The world has become so much more beautiful in my imagination after listening to stories from my friends.

“The world has become so much more beautiful in my imagination after listening to my friends.”

Discovering delicious food

My roommates were all from different parts of the world, so every weekend I tried something new from their native cuisine. Thanks to the diversity in San Francisco, we could find every type of food in the city.

My friends and I usually went out once a week, and every time, one person would take the group to try their traditional food.

I remember my Peruvian friend took me to Limon Rotisserie and ordered arroz con mariscos for me—a traditional rice dish. It was amazing. Without having international friends, I would never have got to try this.

We’ve even gotten complimentary dessert from restaurant owners because they are fascinated by the fact that we’re a group of friends from all over the world.

“Without having international friends, I would never have got to try this.”

Overcoming my shyness and becoming more confident

I have learned that being shy gave me nothing but boredom. At first, I was scared of making conversation with new people at school. As Hult students are from all over the world, I was afraid that my friends might misunderstand me or get offended if something I said was inappropriate in their culture.

However, everyone was really nice and friendly. I realized that I was just over thinking it and exaggerating this new change in my life.

We got to know each other by working together on school projects and we bonded over eating out every weekend. I remember during lunch breaks, we used to sit down together, share our stories, and talk about our cultures for hours.

Because I was always experiencing new cultures, I enjoyed my time at Hult so much more. I’ve also become more culturally educated and more confident to travel the world on my own. I’ve learned that if I had continued being shy, I would have missed an amazing chance to learn about the world.

“If I had continued being shy, I would have missed an amazing chance to learn about the world.”

Here’s some advice if you are still shy after reading this: pay attention to your friends’ stories first. If you find them interesting, do some research on your own and get back to your friends later to discuss. I’m sure that you will no longer be shy as you and your friends will now have a common topic to talk about.

This will help you bond with your friends over time and your experience at Hult will be much more exciting.

Already an accepted student?

Ready to join the global generation?