Ashley Dawson, The Daily Iowan
Pen pals – the epitome of childhood cultural friendships. Children all over the world wrote letters to send to other countries for domestic kids to read and reply to. In grade school and high school, kids are introduced to foreign exchange students.
At the University of Iowa, however, students are introduced to international programs such as Friends Without Borders, and the less-known program, Global Buddies.
The Global Buddy program is an organization designed to pair first-year domestic students with international first-year or transfer J-1 students from other countries. J-1 students are international students who are issued a short-term visa, whether it’s for work or school.