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APARTMENT GUIDE
Pillow to Class in minutes
939 Indiana Need 12 KU football fans & you! 13 bedroom, 6 full baths, 4 Laundry rooms, One block from
stadium. Large entertainment rooms for games. Decks, Off-street parking,
1612 Tennesse
7 BR Two blocks from campus, 3 baths,2 Kitchens,Spacious main living area, Large back deck,W/D Off-street parking
$3 a gallon why drive?
Second Wind MANAGEMENT
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Featuring
Washer/dryer
Dishwasher
Microwave
Fireplace
Walk-in closets
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Patios
3801 Clinton Parkway (785) 841-7849 www.lorimartownhomes.com
WORLDWIDE RESIDENTS WELCOMED
Housing helps students handle culture shock
BY ISADORA RANGEL
Irangel@kansan.com
Whether living on or off campus, many foreign students look for international community.
According to the Department of Student Housing, the biggest concentration of internationals on campus is in McCollum Hall and the Jayhawker Towers. Both don't close over the breaks, and students don't have to move out if they can't go back to their home countries.
For most international students, finding a place to live and adjusting is easier when they can share their space and experiences with others who are in the same situation as they are.
In Tower A of Jayhawker Towers, six Japanese girls gather to watch the Jayhawks play Texas on a Monday night. Back in Japan they were not best friends — actually they didn't know each other before coming to the United States.
Some prefer American roommates to practice their English. Yuka Honzawa, Tochigi, Japan, freshman, lives in McCollum with American
girls. Although she is not as comfortable with them as she is with her Japanese and Asian friends who live in the Towers, she doesn't want to move out to keep up with her conversation skills.
In the Towers, especially in Tower A, it is not hard to notice some foreign language being spoken in the hallways. A lot of foreign students choose to live there because of the bigger rooms and the fact that there is a kitchen where they can cook their traditional food. Kana Shibuya, Kanagawa, Japan, exchange student, shares her apartment with another Japanese girl and was impressed with the size of her room, which is bigger than the one she has back home.
For most international students finding a place to live and adjusting is easier when they can share their space and experience with others who are in the same situation as they are.
Scholarship Halls are also appealing to foreigners for their convenience. They are cheaper than other residence halls and close to campus. Also, since there is food available at any time,
it saves students a drive to the grocery store, especially because most of them don't have a car.
When Oscar Lopez, Piura, Peru, sophomore, chose to apply for Pearson Scholarship Hall, he took into consideration the fact that there were six other Peruvians who lived there. Being able to speak Spanish with his countrymen made it easier for him to deal with his culture shock and adjustment to American traditions. Lopez said that the Peruvians formed their own group. For example, at dinner time it is natural for them to sit at the same table and to start speaking Spanish, even when there are Americans around.
Feeling part of a group carries a lot of weight for international students, especially when it is formed by other foreigners. Stouffer Place, a family housing complex for graduate students, who are mainly foreigners, has a strong community. The Stouffer Neighborhood Association organizes meetings and barbecues to integrate residents. Hang Le, Hanoi, Vietnam, graduate student, has been living
there with her 5-year-old daughter for a semester. Besides finding it more affordable than living off campus, Le said she can share her frustrations and complaints about adapting to America with her neighbors.
Students who move off campus very often end up forming a community. For example, on a Sunday night in the Sunrise Terrace complex, Bolivians, Uruguayans and Mexicans get together for poker night. The host is Javier de Palacios, Santa Cruz, Bolivia, senior, who lives with other two countrymen. Palacios said he has had good experiences living with Americans before. But moving in with other Latinos is very natural for Latin Americans because they share the same cultural habits, even though he has met people who prefer to live with Americans to practice their English.
FEBRUARY 28, 2008
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN