Wednesday, April 4, 2007
A typical jaunt from the Kansas Union to Anschutz Library means dodging buses, veering in and out of students and wondering if the weather will drastically change at any given second.
One great thing about zig-zagging through campus, however, is the guarantee that the ears will hear an abundance of foreign languages, often spoken by exchange students.
International students come from more than 400 different countries to study at the University of Kansas.
Having left their families, friends and customs behind, each exchange student arrives in Lawrence knowing it will need to adapt significantly to its new surroundings.
Keeping their traditions alive in Kansas takes a little bit of extra work. Some substitute a beloved food item for one at Hy-Vee or celebrate a holiday that doesn’t exist in the U.S. with new friends.
Pauline Jeannin, Besançon, France, graduate student, has adapted to her new environment easily since arriving at the University last August. She said misses the food from her native country the most.
“Where I come from, it’s very cold in winter, so we eat a lot of cheese and potatoes,” she said.
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I think about the cherry blossom trees when spring comes. I like the idea that the Japanese culture loves to see and enjoy cherry blossoms every year.
-Yuki Takahashi, Tokyo sophomore
Finding good French cheeses is a hard task, Jeannin said. She asks her family to send her care packages when The Laughing Cow brand cheese doesn’t suffice.
“French people are crazy about cheese,” Jeannin said. “My dad eats comté after both lunch and dinner. Comté is cheese made from raw cow milk, which is illegal in the U.S. because the milk is not pasteurized.”
Yuki Takahashi, Tokyo sophomore, said she missed the cherry blossom trees.
“I think about the cherry blossom trees when spring comes,” she said. “I like the idea that the Japanese culture loves to see and enjoy cherry blossoms every year.”
To bring her culture from her home country to others, Takahashi participates in many Japanese traditions here in Lawrence. One of those traditions was Sunday’s Japan festival, in which Takahashi joined some of her peers for a rakugo performance. A traditional rakugo performance similar to an American stand-up comedy show.
Many international students use their hometown news sources to keep up with what’s going on while they’re away from home.
Portia Owusu, London junior, keeps up to date with her native country by reading and watching the BBC.
Daniel Cunha, Porot, Portugal, doctoral student, said there weren’t many people speaking his native language.
“I like to help teach my friends a few words in Portuguese,” he said.
Cunha also enjoys finding places that serve his favorite traditional codfish dish, known as bacalhau. He said he also enjoyed showing people how to make traditional Portuguese meals.
For international students, keeping their cultures alive in a place so distant from their ‘norm’ has become routine. They not only find ways to improvise a meal foreign to Kansas, but they also find ways to make themselves feel at home.
— Edited by Ryan Schneider
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Comments
Foreign students bring culture to campus
"International students come from more than 400 different countries to study at the University of Kansas."
This made my day! You don't even know the correct number of countries in the world, how come you wrote the article about International students? And more surprisingly, the editors printed it! Rock chawk jayhawk!
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