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| hope college > admissions > international students |
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What Students Say Dorian Bako  Dorian
Bako didn't know exactly what to expect when he came to Hope College from
his home in Tirana, Albania."My only experience with American culture before meeting any American people came from movies, documentaries, news stories --- TV shows," he said. "When I came to Hope, I met a whole bunch of American people in a very short amount of time. I was a question-asking machine, wanting to know how everything here works." Meeting people was easy for Dorian as well, despite the language barrier. "Right away I met some friends and adjusted to the flow of things. When you study a language, you study the formal way of talking, so it took a little while to catch on to usual conversation and slang, but I got into it quickly," he said. Dorian's formal study of English was being put to use long before socializing at Hope College. He worked as a translator for Grand Rapids-based Bethany Christian Services, which manages a network of orphanages in Albania in cooperation with the national government. "I translated the documents and conversations that went between the two parties," he said. "I also helped adoptive parents communicate with the Albanian children they were coming to see, which was a great experience." His work with Bethany led one of the directors of the program to recommend Hope College to Dorian, a recommendation that he was glad to take advantage of. "Education at the university level in my county isn't as good as it is here," he said. "The relationship between professors and students is much friendlier." Dorian also appreciates the variety of people and cultures that the United States has to offer. "Usually when you go into a country you come in contact with one culture. Here, you have everybody in one place. It's the first time that I've seen such a variety of people and cultures." He feels that the variety, in combination with the chance to study in a foreign country and live by his own means, has given him a stronger understanding his own identity. "Being here has certainly developed my individual spirit and given me a sense of my own independence." Dorian sees his time at Hope College as an opportunity to build his intellect and expand his mind, so that in the future he can play a part in revitalizing Albania, a nation that is moving to contend in the world economy. "A lot of people in my generation have moved out of the country to get their college education, and I hope that we can come back to repair and rebuild it."
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