The summer sun has finally made an appearance, which means the start of a much-needed break for WSU international students.

The summer is a time when international students can travel in the U.S. without having to be enrolled in classes, senior SJ Al Arimi said.

Al Arimi is an international student from Oman who is double majoring in finance and management with a minor in politics.

“I feel like the first few years of them being here, [international students] take advantage of that, of roaming around the country more here in the United States,” Al Arimi said. “After you are a junior or a senior [and] you’ve done all the exploring in the United States, you pretty much just go back home and travel from there to different places.”

Although a majority of international students go back home, there are many students who stay in Pullman, Al Arimi said.

“This town tends to be a dead zone,” she said. “But, I think most of [the international students], they’re trying to make the best out of it, like they will gather a lot.”

The international students have picnics and outings to California, Spokane and Seattle to make the summer exciting, Al Arimi said.

“People get together and have huge feasts like all the time, every day. A lot of potluck-ing, if that’s a word,” she said. “They will do a lot of that and a lot of visiting, maybe go to Snake River just for picnics and stuff like that.”

As for Al Arimi, she said she hopes to find a graduate school that suits her this summer. She is looking at universities in New York, Texas and Arizona to find a good master of business administration or finance program.

“[I’m] just going around to discover places,” she said.

Al Arimi said she plans to relax this summer break, but she also wishes there was more local excitement.

“I … wish there was more activities going on in Pullman,” she said. “I’m not trying to be like negative about anything but I feel like they tend to forget about the students who are here.”

She said she remembers that in the past, Pullman set up a water slide behind Bryan Hall for summertime fun, and she would like to see more activities similar to that during break.