Does anyone else feel like it's difficult to make friends outside your social/cultural circle?
I've been thinking this over a lot lately. So many international students I know are super talented and work their butt off, yet there's this unseen barrier between them and their American peers.
Connecting with people beyond your culture is really tough. You tend to stick with folks from back home. Making real friends and branching out professionally seems difficult and kind of fake at times. No one tells you about the unspoken rules , like how Americans truly bond or how trust is built here. There's also that ambiguous "let's grab coffee sometime."
I personally dealt with this when I came to the US. Wondering if others relate or if it’s just me?
What's been the biggest challenge for you, as an international student, whether socially or professionally?