ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the types of face-to-face and digital connections international students make and why they make them. It describes how similarity of experiences means that international students are drawn to one another, especially in off-campus environments such as where they live and where they work. The chapter notes that ideas of community and a sense of belonging bond international students together, thus creating parallel societies. In other words, international students are drawn to one another despite differences in nationality because their common experiences as transient migrants are so significant. This chapter highlights the role that religious affiliations like Christianity play in determining international student connections. Christian organisations are often made up almost exclusively of international students, thus creating even stronger bonds. This chapter notes that while digital communication facilitates initial connections, resulting in communities of need formed via social media, these social media communities can be fleeting once needs are met (e.g. new international students in need of information prior to arrival in destination countries and cities).
