International students seek break housing

For the seventh year in a row, graduate student Brian Min spent his Thanksgiving break on a college campus, away from home.

Min is from South Korea and is studying higher education and student affairs at IU. He and other international students stayed in IU housing over the break.

While most residence halls were closed during the break, Ashton Stempel remained open for students to live temporarily.

Even though Eigenmann was among the closed dorms, Min stayed there since he is employed at the residence hall as a housing supervisor.

“It was interesting,” Min said. “I was alone. I slept a lot.”  

Over last year’s Thanksgiving break, 76 of the 96 students who stayed in University housing were international students.

Students who chose to stay in temporary university housing over break had to pay a fee of $100. Since Min is employed as a housing supervisor, he did not have to pay the fee.
 
In accordance with their housing contracts, residents of Willkie, Mason Hall, Union Street Center and Hillcrest were permitted to stay in their rooms over the break if they notified their respective center desks prior to break.

Residents of campus apartments such as Evermann, Tulip Tree and University Apartments were also allowed to stay in their rooms, according to a Residential Programs and Services newsletter.

Housing assistant Sary Silvhiany said Tulip Tree has a large concentration of international students because it is a convenient location with easy access to campus.

“There is a lot of variation with undergrads and graduates,” Silvhiany said. “There are lots of international students.”

Junior Yingqian Zhang lives with a few American roommates in Tulip Tree. Zhang is from China and is studying management at IU.

While she misses her family, she is accustomed to staying in America over school breaks.

“It’s a brand new life here,” Zhang said. “I’m not that shy to speak English. Finding American roommates helped with that.”

Even though Thanksgiving is not celebrated in China, Zhang participated in the American tradition of Black Friday by going to College Mall. She also visited other areas of Indiana during the break.

“In China, we celebrate small holidays by eating hot pots and playing games,” Zhang said.

Zhang said she will not return home for winter break, but she will use her free time to travel to other parts of the United States.

Even though Residential Programs and Services closed their dining halls Thursday and Friday, a group of international students celebrated the holiday with a Thanksgiving feast.

Indonesian graduate students and their families residing in Tulip Tree organized a Thanksgiving dinner with other Indonesian students from around the state.

This event was informal, since RPS did not plan any holiday events or activities for students living in IU apartments, Silvhiany said.

“I observed that many students living in the apartments traveled over the break,” Silvhiany said.

This is Min’s seventh year studying in America. He is getting used to life away from his home country, he said.

“This is not uncommon for me,” Min said. “I wish I could see my family and friends more often, but you can’t always get what you want.”

Follow reporter Hannah Alani on Twitter @hannahalani.