Making a Home Away From Home as Sooners

Situated some 720 or so miles south of Norman, is Monterrey, Mexico, the hometown of hurdler Georgina Tamez-Reyna. Tamez is one of eight international student-athletes on the University of Oklahoma track and field team. As the oldest of the team's international student-athletes on the women's team, Tamez has grown accustomed to many of the ways of the United States and of its landlocked state that she now calls home.

“I just love football games and the environment,” Tamez said. “Everything is just great.”

For Tamez, this was not always so. As the middle child of three, her track talent and curiosity pushed her into a unique journey away from her close-knit family.

“I sent a video of my skills to a lot of U.S. schools and told them that I knew English,” said Tamez. “My dad and brother wanted me to try and see what happened if I came here. They just want the best for me.

“I'm really close to them and I miss them all the time,” Tamez continued. “We talk every day. I use FaceTime with them every night. I can't live without them.”

Aside from the separation from her family, Tamez initially struggled with some insecurity when she arrived. Despite attending Prepa Tec, a bilingual preparatory school, she was apprehensive to speak English with Americans.

“Speaking was the hardest thing because I was scared of people making fun of me,” Tamez said. “I was afraid of the stereotypes that some people might have had. I wanted them see how we, who grew up in Mexico, are actually and encourage them not to judge.”

Her fears were quickly put to rest.

“Everyone here is nice,” Tamez said. “I think the U.S. is an amazing country. It has a better level in athletics so that's why I chose to come here. I wanted to combine both school and athletics and be successful in both.”

While Tamez, a human relations major, says that she fell in love with OU, being away from her native land still has a few drawbacks.

“The food is so good at home, I miss it,” Tamez said emphatically.

When she came to Oklahoma, the culinary offerings of her new residence perplexed her.

“When you go to a restaurant, they have every type of food, but when you think about America, there is no American food,” Tamez explained. “You think about fast food. Everything is so diverse.”

The Sooner coaching staff reflects an international flavor as Kevin Tyler, assistant coach for sprints, relays and hurdles, hails from Vancouver, B.C. His connection to other Canadian coaches helped bring in freshman sprinter Leya Buchanan.

Buchanan found the transition a bit easier, but still struggled with the language, despite coming from Ontario, an English-speaking province of Canada.

“Canada and the U.S. are very similar,” Buchanan said. “I would just say that it's kind of hard to understand some people. The slang in adolescence and young adults is very different. Some words I say, they don't understand and the words they say, I don't get it.”

Buchanan, who also participated in Canada's national sport, hockey, was urged into track by her mother at the age of 12. Her parents were both collegiate track athletes in England.

“She thought I'd be fast because she used to do track. Since then, I just kept on doing track,” said Buchanan. “I really thought I could go further in track than hockey.”

While Buchanan, who is currently ranked No. 20 in the west in the 100-meter dash with a season-best 11.46, said that track is not as popular in Canada, she is proud of her country's achievements.

“It's not as competitive as the states because it's not as big,” Buchanan said. “Still, we have a good crop of Canadian athletes who can compete with those from the U.S.”

Buchanan still cheers for the Canadian Olympic team and also the Jamaican team, to celebrate her father's heritage. As the youngest of four, being away from her family has been difficult.

“My mom actually really, really misses me and talks to me every single day,” Buchanan said. “We're extremely close. My mom's my best friend.”

Even though home is in her heart, Buchanan has found a way to live with and enjoy a phenomenon she says is unique to the U.S. - the national pride and interest in collegiate sports.

“I really like how they're big on their sports, like at the football and basketball games,” she said. “You don't see that in Canada. They're not big on university sports.”

Like Canadians, Buchanan is big on winter and has discovered a liking to many of America's fried foods, like loaded fries, which is very similar to a favorite from home.

“Poutine is my favorite,” said Buchanan, criminology major. “It's French fries covered with gravy and cheese. It's a popular dish in Canada.

“And it sounds funny, but I really miss the cold,” she added.

While Oklahoma winters will be suitable for now, Buchanan plans on moving to New York one day to be closer to family and enjoy the northeast winters. Until then, she is used to the warmer days in Norman and American attitudes.

“Americans have a different attitude than Canadians, but not in a bad way,” Buchanan said. “They're more straightforward, so that's different for me.”

And while there were differences for Buchanan to learn about and get used to, she found a kindred spirit when Ama Pipi, who hails from London, England, arrived on the Norman campus in January.

“I relate to Leya so easily because her mom's British as well so it was easy to talk to her,” said Pipi, also a freshman sprinter. “The Americans are like 'what did you say Ama, I didn't get that.'”

Pipi, of Nigerian decent, is the second youngest of four. Her move from her family proved to be emotional for the sprinter and for a time, unnerving.

“At the airport, my mom actually cried, which is pretty emotional,” Pipi recalled. “I talk to them all the time on Skype and stuff.

“It was kind of a shock when I got on the plane. I was like 'this is actually real, I'm actually leaving my home.' But I was pretty excited about being in America,” she added.

While Pipi, who has proved to be a very versatile sprinter, said she was prepared to speed things up on the track, she did not know life outside of track would slow down dramatically once she came to OU.

“It's a bit boring compared to London because there are not a lot of things to do,” said Pipi, a musical theatre major. “That's not a bad thing because it keeps you focused on things you're meant to be doing which are practice and education. I don't mind at all actually, less distractions.”

And according to the London native, a higher level of focus is necessary to compete.

“The standard of competition is crazy,” said Pipi. “I could be in London and you could have five girls running a decent time in a big competition. Here, everyone is running fast, every single person, and it just motivates me to be at that level.”

The fan support of collegiate athletics is also very different for her as there is no broad support for university sports in England.

“The whole college thing -- where all around campus it's 'O-U-O-U', there's banners, there's people who support OU for no reason -- I find that different,” Pipi said. “In London, there's a college but there's no banners, there's nothing. Everything here seems exaggerated and I find that strange.”

Being a 12-hour flight away from family has worked for her.

“I feel like being here by myself has helped me mature as a person. I've had to do a lot of things that my mom used to do,” said Pipi, who still has moments of homesickness. “My mom's cooking, I miss it so much. My parents are Nigerian so we eat jollof rice [a traditional dish of rice, tomatoes, spices, and various meats and vegetables].”

For Pipi, establishing herself has not taken as long as expected.

“It hasn't been as bad as I thought it'd be,” Pipi admitted. “Everyone is kind and polite and it's peaceful, so I like it. Hopefully, it keeps getting better and better.”

Though these Sooner student-athletes are hundreds and, in Pipi's case, thousands, 4,642 miles in fact, from everything they know, they have become familiar faces in the Sooner track and field program. They are integral contributors to the team's success. And that is something to write home about, however you describe it.

By: Akilah Laster, Athletics Communications Graduate Assistant

Editor's Note: A look at the Sooner men who hail from another country upcoming.