It's a long way from Taiwan to Cal State Long Beach

Most Cal State Long Beach students have a certain amount of anxiety when they first arrive on campus from another local school.

Each year several students from overseas also come to CSULB, like 22-year-old college senior Hun Yi-Chang from Taiwan. She left her family behind to study abroad for her Bachelor's degree. To Chang, CSULB was a totally unfamiliar, foreign school.

Four years ago, Chang arrived at Los Angeles International Airport with her passport, student visa and three pieces of luggage. To the18-year-old traveler, the international arrivals lobby was so big; it was her first time traveling. Chang was so scared to move that the only thing she did was to sit on her luggage and wait for her aunt.

In her 18 years, she had never left her country, her hometown, not even her parents. She had been her mother's little baby.

"You are a big girl, now," said Chang's father at her high school graduation, "Have you ever thought about your future?"

Her father's voice was still in her head at the airport. It was a dream for her.

"I was so scared," said Chang with her shy smile. "I was almost going to cry. Everybody's face was so unfamiliar to me. I tried to stand up on a chair to look for my aunt's face."

Today, Chang no longer lives with her aunt. She lives alone in Long Beach.

"I have had to do everything by myself since I came to America," said Chang with a mature voice. "I am a graduating senior. I am going to get my bachelor's degree this May and my whole family will be coming for my graduation."

As a business major, Chang not only got her degree, but also learned how to take care of herself, and face her own problems.

"I am so proud of myself," Chang said. "I didn't know if I could make it all by myself. But studying abroad is the best choice I have ever made."

The International Education Center of CSULB has a partylike meeting every fall semester that provides information and advice to all foreign students.

According to Chang, every foreign student must pay at least $10,000 each year, summer and winter sessions are not included. There are more than 1,000 foreign students at CSULB from more than 20 different countries worldwide. Most of them are business or economic majors.

They all have at least one thing in common. They all left their homes and families behind and came overseas to build a better life. For more information, students can call the International Education Center at 985-4160.