Food is life. Food is culture. Food is home. It’s not until we’re away from home that we realize how important food is to our well-being. But not just any food. The food we know. Being in a foreign country brings a great deal of excitement when it comes to trying new foods and discovering the culture behind them. But it’s not long until we may start to miss the foods we know and love. Food has the power to cure us, and longing for your favorite treats can actually make some homesick.

Steve Liu (M.B.A, accounting ’02, M.Ac. accounting ‘04) and four other alumni - Yichen Wang (B.B.A. finance, B.S. mathematics ‘14) Jinn Li (M.S. actuarial science ‘12), Joy Chen (B.B.A. finance ‘14) and Ruihao Min (B.B.A. marketing and economics ‘13) - are trying to bring the Hawkeye spirit back to China with the newly-founded Beijing IOWA Club.

UI graduate Dong Mao (B.A. accounting and finance ’13) recognized the need for a Shanghai IOWA Club when he attended a Big Ten alumni event earlier this year. He found that many other Big Ten schools had dynamic alumni networks that strengthened alumni connections. “I thought it would be a great idea if Iowa alumni in Shanghai could form their own community and help each other,” the Zhengzhou, China, native said. And so, Mao set his sights on making a Shanghai IOWA Club a reality.

Starting this year, international students will go through campus tours as part of their Orientation, and domestic students will volunteer as tour guides.

The number of international students and scholars at the University of Iowa has risen every year for the last decade, and there are more than 4,500 international students on campus, according to a recent report by the UI International Student and Scholars Services.In the past, because of logistical challenges, international students have faced the disadvantage of not being able to participate in campus tours as many domestic students do during their summer Orientation.

Iowa City is a place of milestones for Wu Hao and Wu Ximeng. For the two University of Iowa graduates, the town is where they became enamored of the UI community, pursued their education, found love, and, later, returned to marry.

More robust orientations planned as signs point to a softening of international enrollments

International programs experts credit the United States’ top quality higher education system, in part, for the rise in global applications. And Downing Thomas, associate provost and dean of UI International Programs, said students who come to Iowa from abroad gain valuable exposure to the U.S. educational system, culture and post-graduation opportunities.

Chinese students at the University of Iowa continue to try making do in a system that isn’t tailored to them, from the admissions process to academics and life on campus, despite moves by the university and others over the past several years to make life more pleasant for them in the United States.

Do you want to try cooking Korean food? Learn about Korean culture while making Korean food at one of several cooking classes offered by the King Sejong Institute at the University of Iowa.

Iowa State University's student government is pushing back against a proposal to raise tuition $1,500 per year for international students. The proposal comes as Iowa State and the University of Iowa are enrolling record numbers of international students.

For University of Iowa students who stay on campus over Thanksgiving, it can be difficult to celebrate the holidays. So, for the second time since 2013, UI held a Harvest Dinner open to students, faculty and staff at the Old Brick community center at 26 East Market St. The Center for Diversity and Enrichment, Provost’s Office and International Student and Scholar Services sponsored the event.