| Sumario: |
International students are believed to contribute signifcantly in education and
research as they bring a rich variety of perspectives, experiences, and languages.
International students are frequently categorized into one homogenous group;
however, this categorization dishonours their complex intersectional diversity and
background that provides cultural capital. There is a need to understand the many
manifestations of the complex and intersectional diversity in the backgrounds of
international students. These students have many diferent reasons to immigrate to
developed countries and undertake a rigorous academic program, including pursuing
high academic goals, gaining personal knowledge, developing research skills, and
widening employment opportunities. Using a duoethnographic dialogical approach,
this article focuses on the experiences of two female international PhD students, one
from Nigeria and the other from Costa Rica as they embark on a journey of shared
self-discoveries on their mobility to Canada. Our paper takes a broad perspective
on the processes behind mobility coming from diferent cultures and nationalities
that meet in Canada. Some of our fndings include the impact of background when
transitioning to a new country, the role of refective dialogue when questioning the
source of our cultural assumptions and ethical judgments. In addition, we fnd that
duoethnography has a strong efect to re-story our own narratives and perspectives.
Finally, this dialogue allows us to broaden how we come to understand and extract
meaning from our experiences as international students.
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