The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry, framed by theories of intercultural competence, sociocultural awareness, and national culture dimensions, was to understand how former American residence hall assistants (RAs) in one institution in the northwestern United States developed intercultural friendships with international students. The study sample included ten former RAs who supervised international students as they lived in dormitories on a private language school campus in the northwestern United States. The research question guiding the study pertained to explorations of the participants' development of intercultural relationships with international students in a dormitory setting, as told through their stories. Data were collected through semi-structured, open-ended interviews, along with analytic notes, and transcribed for analysis. Two levels of thematic analysis were used; initial coding with descriptive and In Vivo codes followed by secondary pattern codes identified through a mapping technique. Results detail participants' recollections involving their language negotiation, dormitory life exchanges, intercultural understanding, and friendship formation with the international students. The retelling of the general story contains contrasts and similarities representing the participants' stories. Findings include descriptions of the participants': (1) contextualized interactions; (2) intercultural navigation; and (3) relational connectedness with the international students. The study's implications apply to residence hall directors, English language educators, and intercultural curriculum coordinators regarding host-country students' sociocultural awareness and connectedness in a local-global context. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]