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On the fairway, you might hear a sampling of British slang.

The spring breeze also carries a pinch of Hawaiian colloquialisms across the smooth greens.

Unprintable Swedish words fly occasionally, perhaps in the extreme rough or from a sand trap.

This linguistic stew is all part of a round of 18 holes with the University of New Mexico women's golf team.

"It's sort of like our own language," said Lobos freshman Britney Choy, one of several golfers who ventured thousands of miles from her home and culture to compete for UNM.

Choy is a Hawaiian of Korean descent. She often shares a scorecard in a fivesome with two Swedish players - one from Peru, another from England - and two other Americans, both from the Southwest.

Despite their diverse backgrounds, two prevalent threads have bonded these global Lobos: humor and the goal of winning a national championship in 2008.

"They are like sisters, and they do have their moments," said UNM assistant coach Jill Trujillo. "The No. 1 thing is that they have respect for people and celebrate and enjoy each other's differences. That's what should make the world go round, right?"

In the absence of head coach Jackie Booth, who has missed much of the spring season recovering from a foot operation, Trujillo has taken the wheel of the 15th-ranked Lobos' collective golf cart.

The former UNM golfer's (1986-90) influence is obvious. All the current players gave her a glowing review. Trujillo also seems to be the headliner in a group that laughs easy and often.

During a recent informal practice round, Trujillo played in a foursome that included Sweden-born Py Bengtsson, Jodi Ewart of England and Morgan Grantham from Arizona.

After stowing their clubs, Trujillo couldn't help but tease Ewart, who was driving one of the group's two carts.

"Do you enjoy parking on the tee box, Jodi?" Trujillo asked, playfully. She smiled and rolled her eyes.

"English drivers."

Said Grantham: "We all laugh with each other and at each other."

They all get it, but among the most targeted are Bengtsson and her roommate and fellow Swede, Mikaela Backstedt.

They both made an immediate impact last season as freshmen.

Backstedt earned a shelf full of honors last year after setting the UNM scoring record. The honorable mention All-American averaged 73.4 strokes per round, tied for first at the 2006 Mountain West Conference Championships and became the first freshman in Lobos history to win a tournament title: the New Mexico State Intercollegiate.

Bengtsson, who was part of Swedish National school championship team, also made the MWC All-Conference team.

That success hasn't done much to buy the sophomores a pardon from teammates' razzing.

"All the time," a grinning Backstedt said when asked how much she and Bengtsson are teased. "Especially when we can't pronounce things."

The most common verbal banana peels: J's and Y's.

"I can do it if I don't think about it," said Backstedt, who, like her roommate, often mixes up the letters' sounds.

When she does overthink it, Yale becomes Jale.

Jacuzzi becomes Yacuzzi.

But all this ribbing hasn't always been easy for everyone.

When she first arrived from Peru, UNM junior Giselle Claux often took offense to many of the jokes.

She didn't understand why people in America didn't greet each other in the traditional Peruvian fashion: two pecks on the cheeks.

"I thought, `Are they rude or what?' " she said.

It was hard for Claux, an only child, to be so far from her parents.

Coming from what she called a "very conservative" country, she had to adjust to a more liberal American college campus.

Just like she did on the golf course, Claux grew quickly. She adapted.

Growing up in soccer-crazed South America, Claux played golf for one year as a small child then took nearly a decade off, choosing to play field hockey. At 15, she picked up her clubs again and became a Division I level player in three years.

Claux landed in the Duke City in part because of friend and former Lobos golfer Claudia Ferrini, who finished among the top 25 at the 2001 NCAA National Championships. Claux knew Ferrini enjoyed her experience at UNM and sought a similar opportunity.

The once-strange community helped Claux become comfortable. People have approached her in stores and wished her well simply because of the UNM golf apparel she sports.

"The community supports us," she said. "In South America, it's soccer, soccer, soccer.

"If there is 12 pages in a sports section, 11 and a half is about soccer. I mean, they write about it if a (soccer) player breaks a nail. Here they do more of everything."

Now that she's accustomed to life in Albuquerque, Claux says going home to Lima is an adjustment.

Many other Lobos have traveled - or, in the case of the younger players, are traveling - similar paths. After getting off the plane, they have faced varying obstacles.

Backstedt isn't a fan of most American food - too greasy and too sweet.

Choy felt like a "total minority" because of the small number of Asians in Albuquerque compared with Hawaii.

Ewart misses the small comforts of home, like the meals her mother made and English television. In both cases it's nothing specific, "just everything," she says.

For most, the Lobos team chemistry has eased the international speed bumps.

"We just bonded," said Ewart, while eating lunch with Choy. "It's not really that we're all from somewhere else. We're all weird."

American pop culture has snagged a few of these UNM transplants.

Since coming to New Mexico, Ewart, perhaps the most consistent UNM golfer this season, has grown into a fan of the sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond."

Backstedt and Bengtsson have enjoyed a favorite American pastime: watching sports. They have cheered for fellow Lobos at soccer, football and basketball games.

"Sports are a lot bigger here," Bengtsson said.

From a participant standpoint, they are also approached differently in the United States.

"Here they focus on results," Bengtsson said. "(At home) it's more about becoming better. It's not about now, but what you can be in five years. I think it's good (here). It puts more pressure on you. That helps you."

A bit of self-imposed pressure might be building for the Lobos come next year.

For the first time since 1987, the UNM women will host the NCAA Championships. In talking with the Lobos, the anticipation is palpable.

"It will be a huge advantage for us," said junior Alexandra Phelps, who won a state title for Eldorado in 2004.

But it might not just be the buzz building.

"They are finally starting to realize how good they can be," Trujillo said. "We have a national championship team here."

Even if they aren't NCAA caliber yet, Trujillo and Co. should have a year to develop. UNM's roster has no seniors.

"We're going to know every inch of that course," Trujillo said.

Not only will the Lobos have a home course advantage, but they are one of the school's few teams that doesn't have the word pipe affixed to their national title dreams.

UNM women's golf has played in 12 NCAA Championships, all since 1982. The Lobos have finished among the top 10 five times, including sixth in 1985.

To qualify for the national championship tournament, UNM has to finish among the top 12 in its 21-team regional.

If this group of Lobos reaches the top, its shared on-course language will grow by at least one word they can all understand: champions.