American students encourage international roommates
Hailey Kercheval
Issue date: 5/2/08 Section: News
For some people, the prospect of moving to another country to live with complete strangers and study at a foreign institution is unnerving at best. Murray State is a temporary home to hundreds of international students every year, but only a small percentage of Murray State students choose to room with an international student every semester. Those who do usually receive a great cultural lesson and sometimes a great friend out of the experience.
Brett Taylor, sophomore from Dresden, Tenn., met her international roommate Elsa Chan, graduate student from Taipei, Taiwan, through a mutual friend.
"We were introduced by a friend of ours, and spoke a couple of times after that," Taylor said. "Come to find out, we were both looking for a roommate for the following year, so we decided it would be fun to room together."
Taylor said she knew a little about Taiwanese culture before rooming with Chan, but learned more through her intercultural communication class. Chan, an organizational communication student as well, actually spoke to the class on one occasion, she said.
"The emphasis on having an international roommate is to learn to get along with someone of a different background," Chan said. "The great thing about having an international student for a roommate is that you focus more on discovering their personality and then their culture."
Taylor and Chan both agree that rooming with someone from a different culture is a great learning experience for American students as well.
"I think American students learn more about their own culture by having an international roommate," Chan said. "You may take everyday things for granted until you have to explain them to an international student."
Bill McKibben, international student adviser, said Murray State's Institute for International Studies has always wanted to pair international students with American students.
"The problem lies in the fact that there are not as many American students requesting international roommates as there are international students requesting American roommates," he said.
Brett Taylor, sophomore from Dresden, Tenn., met her international roommate Elsa Chan, graduate student from Taipei, Taiwan, through a mutual friend.
"We were introduced by a friend of ours, and spoke a couple of times after that," Taylor said. "Come to find out, we were both looking for a roommate for the following year, so we decided it would be fun to room together."
Taylor said she knew a little about Taiwanese culture before rooming with Chan, but learned more through her intercultural communication class. Chan, an organizational communication student as well, actually spoke to the class on one occasion, she said.
"The emphasis on having an international roommate is to learn to get along with someone of a different background," Chan said. "The great thing about having an international student for a roommate is that you focus more on discovering their personality and then their culture."
Taylor and Chan both agree that rooming with someone from a different culture is a great learning experience for American students as well.
"I think American students learn more about their own culture by having an international roommate," Chan said. "You may take everyday things for granted until you have to explain them to an international student."
Bill McKibben, international student adviser, said Murray State's Institute for International Studies has always wanted to pair international students with American students.
"The problem lies in the fact that there are not as many American students requesting international roommates as there are international students requesting American roommates," he said.
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Lemonade Diet
posted 7/18/08 @ 5:20 AM CST
The culture that you are from causes you to look at things a certain way. When you experience another culture you can see how others view it. Just like you have 2 eyes and 2 ears, by seeing things from 2 different views you have a much broader way of looking at things and you are more open minded and flexible. (Continued…)
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