As dorms close and most University of Alabama students vacate Tuscaloosa, former foster care and international students find themselves facing few options.
Alicia Browne, director of UA housing administration, said unless a student lives in a dorm or residential community that remains open during the break, they will have to make separate arrangements.
“If they are living in a building that closes, they may find friends to stay with on or off campus,” Browne said. “I’ve found that many international students take advantage of the time to travel.”
Katrina Zarr Wright, a retired worker for the Alabama Department of Human Resources, said some foster care students have the option of returning to their foster or birth parents, but most spend the break in a group home.
For international students, getting to their home is what poses the largest problem over long breaks. Hanan Aljawi, a junior majoring in accounting, is an exchange student originally from Saudi Arabia. Her country’s embassy granted her a scholarship to study in the U.S. that only allows her one plane ticket home each year.
“I can go home, but our embassy gives us a ticket only every nine months, and I took it last summer,” Aljawi said. “I can’t go home for break.”
However, since Aljawi does not live on campus, the dilemma of making arrangements for Christmas break is not particularly pressing. Aljawi said she plans to travel to places like Chicago or Orlando during the break.
“I’d prefer to travel here since we don’t have any attractions during the holiday season in Saudi Arabia,” Aljawi said. “I’ve always wanted to meet some families to know what kind of traditions they go over during the holidays.”
Kawther Alaoi also received a scholarship from the Saudi Arabian embassy to attend college in the U.S. Alaoi said their holiday options are limited, and it is more ideal to use their plane ticket during the longer summer break.
“I don’t want to take [the trip home] because it’s just three weeks, and it’s not enough,” Alaoi said. “It’s a sixteen-hour flight between here and Saudi Arabia.”
While Aljawi and Alaoi have the option of a paid trip home, other international students are not so lucky. Yifeng Yang, a first-year Chinese international student in UA’s English Language Institute, said it is likely he will not make a trip home until next summer. Yang said his parents will be responsible for covering the cost of his flight.
“The airplane is expensive, and Christmas break is too short,” Yang said. “The flight is around 12 hours. I will stay here, maybe travel to Miami.”
