For many students at Simpson, fall break means time spent at home with family, but for international students, it can look very different.

Simpson students come from overseas to participate in athletics for the Storm. Senior baseball player, Tijmen Nagel, spent the weekend with some friends from his former school, as well as some other activities.

“I’m going to get a tattoo, and then I’m going to my buddy at Grandview. He was my old teammate at Indian Hills,” Nagel said. “Then on Friday night, I’ll go to my girlfriend’s and spend the weekend there.”

Nagel came to the United States from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to play baseball at Indian Hills Community College. He is now continuing his baseball career at Simpson after spending some time in the States.

Other international student-athletes, like sophomore volleyball player Cristina Rodenas, have no problem staying busy as the team is in the middle of their season. Rodenas said she also spends time working for admissions during the school year, and between work and volleyball, Rodenas has her whole weekend booked.

“We’re traveling for volleyball, and we won’t be back until Saturday night. So that was basically gonna be pretty much my break,” Rodenas said. 

Fall break can also be beneficial for international students, aside from having time off from class. Students can use the extra time to immerse themselves in American culture by going home with friends.

“If I were to stay here, like not do anything for volleyball, I would probably go home with my roommates or with my friends, so I guess that’s a really good opportunity for me to learn more about the American culture,” Rodenas said. 

However, the students who stay on campus may find some difficulties with their food situation. Students staying on campus, like Nagel, wanting to eat at Pfeifer Dining Hall are using flex dollars to pay for their food.

“You have to pay for Pfeifer with your flex right now, which, for me, is ridiculous because there are at least 50 international students that are just going to ruin their flex on food when they already pay to get food here,” Nagel said.

Rodenas said it would be beneficial for the school to open up more dining options in general for students spending fall break on campus.

“I would love if they open more food options. That would be really, really good,” Rodenas said.

In the end, these international students said they feel supported by the school. A big part of this is because of Director of International Education John Cardamone.

Cardamone supports students in many different ways, but over fall break, he assists students with transportation logistics.

“He helps with making sure people go to places and have a way to go to places. I’m pretty sure he’s going to drive some international students to Walmart and stuff to get food,” Nagel said. 

While the international students are far away from home, they find fun ways to spend their over fall break on campus.