ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the international student as a figure who is both everywhere and nowhere. It argues that international students are not just ephemeral actors who enter a country to study. The students also have complex relationships with the communities in the places they are part of and vice versa. In Australia, international students are a common sight in cities, towns, and neighbourhoods home to universities, private colleges, post-secondary institutions, language schools, and sometimes high schools. They not only study and live in and around where their institutions are located but also work in local cafes, eateries, retail shops, and shopfronts, and increasingly as food delivery riders and rideshare drivers. However, despite international students being a common sight, this chapter suggests that these students are misunderstood by the Australian community they are firmly embedded in.
