'Overseaing' friendships

Graduate student Jaume Padilla from Barcelona, Spain, lingered around the Leo R. Dowling International Center, eating and chatting with various people as he waited for fellow graduate student Brian Kovak to arrive. Padilla and Kovak had only met twice before. \nBut as soon as Kovak strolled in the doors of the International Center, the two acquaintances promptly began talking like old friends. Their hands burst with energy in flashes of excitement, their heads nodded together in moments of enlightenment, and their shoulders shrugged in instances of indecision. \nThrough the efforts of the International Center, global friendships in a rural southern Indiana town, like Padilla and Kovak's, no longer seem impossible. \nAssistant Director of International Services Bruno Isidro said the International Center hosts a variety of programs open to both American and International students in the hopes of fostering world-wide friendships and cultural understanding. \nKovak and Padilla came to IU from distinct continents and diverse cultures. Kovak grew up in New York, while Padilla lived in Spain. Yet they both wandered into the Leo R. Dowling International Center at the same time on the same day searching for the same program. \nThey discovered a striking similarity within each other. And the two were matched then and there as partners in the conversation program. \nThe basic idea of the program, Isidro said, is to offer Americans the opportunity to improve their ability in a foreign language and vice versa.\nThus far, Isidro said the program has worked amazingly well.\n"Sometimes we have over 100 students that get matched up," he said.\nKovak and Padilla said they like the program for a range of reasons. Kovak said he enjoys looking at life from a different perspective. Padilla said Europeans often carry a negative impression of Americans, and so he thought it would be important to meet people from the U.S. himself. Both said they enjoy the multiple educational and social benefits of the program. \nRight then, Kovak invited Padilla to a Super Bowl party. \nBut Padilla couldn't comprehend the meaning of "Super Bowl."\n"It's very American, the World Cup of American football," Kovak said.\nThe explanation of "Super Bowl" infatuated the two for over 10 minutes. Padilla asked Kovak countless questions. And Kovak attempted to answer them. \nPadilla rested his hands on the bottom of his chin like an ancient Greek statue pondering the perplexing meaning of an unknown word as Kovak pulled out a dictionary and found the precise Spanish word for "bowl."\nKovak took Spanish for five years in high school and a recent refresher course last semester. However, Padilla only started learning English six months ago.\n"Using it in real life is very different than using it in the classroom," Kovak said. "More often, we'll know we're saying something wrong but not know how to correct it," Kovak said, agreeing.\nIn addition to the conversation partners program, the International Center provides a sports work-out partner program, weekly conversation clubs, large Friday afternoon social receptions, English tutorials and trips to nearby cities, such as Chicago or St. Louis.\nThe center advertises the sports work-out program but does not actually coordinate the partnership as it does in the conversation program. \n"Many international students go to the SRSC and HPER to play sports and would like partners but don't know so many people," Isidro said. "There are people out there who have similar interests but don't know this."\nSome programs, such as the English tutoring services on Saturdays at noon require no pre-registration. Isidro said American volunteers willing to help international students learn English are welcome to stop by the center.