Talking Stick - January 2012 - 41

“A kid who lives on a farm in Kansas doesn’t have the same world view as someone who grew up in Switzerland,” McCartney says. Strictly speaking, he explains, there’s a geographical difference; you can easily drive 100 miles in Kansas and there’s simply more farmland, yet if you drive 100 miles in Switzerland, you’ve driven to an entirely different country. In spite of different cultural attitudes, what bonds these students in international housing programs is the incentive to learn and explore. Students who study abroad tend already to be naturally more inquisitive about other cultures and customs. “The people who live there are more naturally curious about others and other cultures, because they are open to going [and] learning about other people and other lands,” McCartney says.

families for the four-day American holiday in November. I-House Chicago also helps international students make the transition from on-campus to offcampus housing. Students can choose to live in the I-House for an academic term of 11 weeks or for an entire year. Once students feel comfortable with their transition to the university itself, they can decide if they would like to remain in the I-House or venture into off-campus housing with other students. J. Diane Porter-Roberts, associate director of housing for student learning and engagement and director of the Student Personnel in Higher Education Graduate Program at the University of Florida, understands the vast number of challenges that international students face when moving to a new country, difficulties that staff and students can easily take for granted. First and foremost, she suggests working with the international center on campus and making sure that preparations are made for the arrival of international students on campus: “Make sure your incoming students are well versed on how to get to the right place, for checkin in the residence hall, from the airport, bus station, etc. Be prepared for non-traditional aged students, and be willing to accommodate them with similar aged domestic students.” Judicial policies must also be addressed. Adhering to a new drinking age and smoking policy tends to be one of the biggest changes for international students, according to Porter-Roberts. In addition, many of them have a hard time adapting to a communal bathroom. Every change can affect students differently, but the key is to be adaptive and

International Houses: Not Just for International Students
Engaging international students with the larger campus population and the community around them can be a challenge for the housing staff, but incorporating domestic students into the house creates a different one: establishing relationships among students of similar ages. To ensure a balanced blend of both types of students, the international house should strive to have an equal number of international and domestic residents, according to McCartney. Isolating international students in one residence essentially defeats the entire purpose of engagement with the native culture and their traditions. This is usually not a problem for most institutions that are still developing and expanding their international exchange programs. Though Residencias UDEM is only five years old, approximately 10 percent of its students are from other countries. Having a designated international hall on campus, like Weaver Hall at the University of Florida, can improve the ratio of domestic to international students; the hall has approximately 75 international and 100 domestic students, bringing their percentage closer to the ratio that McCartney suggests. However, the larger I-Houses in cities like Philadelphia and New York cater to multiple surrounding colleges and have a percentage of international students that is closer to 60 percent. Domestic students not only help international residents adjust to a foreign culture and policies, but also benefit from developing a more comprehensive world view. The majority of domestic students who lived in Weaver Hall noted that their favorite part of living there was learning about different cultures and lifestyles, and others appreciated the tolerance that comes with learning to live with another person with such diverse traditions. In addition, the experience encourages domestic students to study abroad and to keep broadening their horizons, often visiting the international students they met during their I-House experience.
january + february 2012

Helping Students Adjust to a New Country
One of the main goals of international housing is to provide an environment focused on helping students adjust to a new country with an entirely different way of living. “Part of what makes the experience special is learning more about the host country, the political system, [and] the social structure,” McCartney says. The International House at the University of Chicago in Illinois provides performing arts events – such as acappella performances and world music festivals – for the students as well as the greater Chicago community. To integrate the international students even more with the local community, the I-House has set up the Thanksgiving Homestay Program, which arranges for students to stay with local

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Talking Stick - January 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Talking Stick - January 2012