Making American friends as an international student in college

Disclaimer: I’m not trying to discriminate or anything, but I’m only sharing my opinion and experiences.

In this post, I want to share something that I’ve experienced as an international student studying in the United States. I have noticed that most international students tend to hangout with other international students. Although there are a few exceptions, the majority of international students rarely make friends with Americans. So I’m writing this post to share how I was able to make friends with Americans.

When I was about to go into college, I knew that I didn’t want to only be friends with international students. I wanted to improve my English, and I wanted to learn more about American culture. Luckily, there is only one other international student from Indonesia in my college, so I had to get out of my comfort zone. No one around me understood Indonesian so all I could speak was English, and I noticed that there is a difference in friendship culture of Americans compared to Indonesia, although I can’t really pinpoint what.

One of the ways how I made friends was through Facebook. I joined the group for my class and introduced myself on a post. Some people commented on it so I got to become friends with them. I also commented on a few people’s post who seems to have similar interests with mine.

During the first week of college there was an activities fair where all the clubs attend and promote their club and events. I signed up for a bunch of clubs in order to get their emails. And I went to several club events, where I ended up making a bunch of friends with similar interests as mine. Funnily, these friends ended up introducing me to other friends, who also introduced me to more friends and so on. I think this was easier for me because my college is smaller, and I’m also staying at the dorm.

Due to the circumstances, I guess I ended up naturally making friends with Americans, and also international students from other countries. I guess it was a great experience to be able to adapt outside of my comfort zone. Although I still consider it as my comfort zone since we have similar interests and are similar in many ways. I’m hoping to make more of different kinds of friends this upcoming semester.

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Different ways to use toner

This time I want to share the different ways I use my naturie Hattomugi Skin Conditioner since it comes in a 500mL bottle. I got it for $15.29 from Amazon, which I think is a pretty great value.

1. Applying with palms

I would pour some of the toner onto my palm and pat it on to my face, repeating this step several times. Usually, this is what I would do when my skin is feeling a little tight, it helps increase the moisture levels of my skin.

2. Wiping the face with a cotton

Another way I apply this toner is by pouring it onto a cotton pad and gently wiping my face with it. This method is what I use to slightly exfoliate my face in the morning as part of my makeup prep. It still maintains the moisture levels of my skin but it also helps increase the adherence of my base makeup.

3. Using cotton as a mask

I also use this toner as a mask by drenching several cotton pads and sticking them on my face. I would leave it on for about 5 minutes before moving on with my skincare. I consider this as a simpler way of rapidly increasing moisture levels faster before wearing makeup. I don’t usually do this at night because I have more time to apply a sheet mask.

I realized later on that there is alcohol in this product, and that some of the other ingredients are also bad for your skin from this video. However, I don’t think it’s a very bad toner as it is still quite moisturizing for my skin. And I found out later on that this could also be applied on the body. I haven’t exactly tried that out, since I’m running out of it but I would recommend it for you guys as a toner for the body. I don’t think that I would purchase it again though, since I want to try other toners that may have better ingredients.

 

 

Favorite Skincare Youtube Channels!

This week I’m here to share my favorite skincare-related youtube channels to you guys.

1. UNA

All of her videos are related to beauty, more specifically skincare. She gives a lot of lifestyle tips that relates to beauty including food and massage tips. I love her videos because they are so practical and useful. Plus, her skin is always clear.

2. Liah Yoo

She is someone that I really look up to and I really love all her videos. She has oily skin, but I still watch her videos because she does a lot of research before creating her video. So her videos are full of information that breaks down what an ingredient is, or what the product is. I recommend checking her channel if you want to know more about different types of sunscreens and exfoliators. She also recently launched the brand “Krave Beauty“, which I think is really cool.

3. Hanbyul

She is actually a fashion youtuber, but she had suffered from acne and made several videos about skincare for dehydrated acne prone skin. I love watching her skincare videos and skincare haul videos. I love the way she talks in her videos and I recommend watching some of her videos. Recently she collaborated with COSRX for this Hydrogel Hanbyul Pad and a lot of people love it. I haven’t actually tried this myself but I would definitely upload a review once I have!

4. Daisy

My favorite videos from her would be her product recommendations. She has sensitive and combination skin, which is similar to mine. I can trust her recommendations because she tries the products thoroughly and is honest in her reviews. I also like learning from her skincare videos.

I hope you guys check these youtube channels out if you want to learn more about skincare and skincare products. And don’t worry because all of them provides English subs!