International Friends

The dorm which I live in is named the International Cultural Building and rightly so. To my best estimations there are over five hundred foreign students here from Spain, Italy, England, Russia, and many more. I must say one of the best parts about looking the way I do is that I can pass for about any of these countries. For example, my friend from Canada who I met in the lobby the other day said that he had no idea I was American and could swear that I was Italian. Some of the Italians think I am Russian, the Russians think I am Spanish, and the Spanish do not usually care enough to differentiate anyone. The only people who can tell that I am American are the Brits, but I have been working on a muffled British/Irish accent when speaking Chinese so hopefully with some time I can pass as being from England. I have also noticed different habits from each of the countries. My group of friend is essentially the UN consisting of a few Canadians, some Brits, a Russian, and a bunch of Italians. The problem with having an international group of friends is that everyone’s weekend habits are different. For instance, the Canadians and Brits like to go out early and hang out at bars whereas the Italians like to go to clubs with loud techno music. The Russians enjoy clubs with places to sit and drink and the Spanish do not even go out until 11:30 pm because they take their siestas during the day which allows them to go out all night.

Having such different interests and schedules makes hanging out on the weekends difficult, but when we are all able to get together it is quite a good time. It is also funny hearing people with different accents speak Chinese. As I said before, I have been practicing different accents with my Chinese and right now I am working on a Russian accent as well. It actually sounds much better than my British accent because I have already convinced many taxi drivers I was from Russia.

I have enjoyed having such a diverse group of friends because not only am I experiencing Chinese culture, but I am also part of a world culture in my dorm. Sometimes I feel like an international traveller just from walking to the lobby for a late night snack.
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Jordan J. Foley傅力波