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President Jon Whitmore, his wife Jennifer, and several other people watch a live performance during the International House's Pancake Breakfast on Sunday.

International House takes SJSU around the world in two blocks

By: Ralph Warner

Posted: 4/6/09

For students looking to experience various cultures from around the world without leaving the comfort of the SJSU community, the International House has been a convenient haven for more than 30 years.

Located just east of campus on 11th Street, the I-House was founded in 1978 when it was donated by Alan and Phyllis Simpkins.

Leann Cherkasky Makhni said SJSU was the first California State University campus to have an international house.

"We're really fortunate that it's been established," said Cherkasky Makhni, who has been the director of the I-House for 18 years. "Since I've been here we've had students from over 90 countries living at the (I-House)."

The I-House is currently home to 72 residents from 29 different countries including Armenia, Italy, India, Brazil and Denmark, according to the I-House Web site.

Kristen Pendleton, the community operations manager for the I-House, said the goal of staff members is to make residents from different backgrounds comfortable and establish a family atmosphere. Coffee nights are social gatherings held every Tuesday at 9 that are open to residents and guests to promote discussion and cultural exchange.

"We also have themed dinners," Pendleton said. "We had a really nice Indian one a few weeks ago where all the Indian students made dinner and did music and entertainment. It was fantastic."

Arash Motamedi, a software engineering graduate student from Iran who said he previously lived in Campus Village Building B, said moving into the I-House has given him the chance to share his cultural traditions while learning from others.

"The cool thing is that when you have people from more than 30 different countries, it's a good opportunity to represent your own culture, but at the same time absorb the culture of others in the house," said Motamedi, who is also a former president of the I-House student council. "For example, I have been trying to do my own share. I have cooked Persian food sometimes for people and I have also enjoyed the food of those from different countries."

Despite having opportunities to learn about one another's culture at the I-House, Resident Adviser Nkemka Egbuho, a junior biochemistry major who has lived in the I-House for three years, said cultural understanding is essential in maintaining that bond.

"Some of the issues that may come up are because of cultural misinterpretations," Egbuho said. "But we just try to make it as welcoming as possible for everyone through events such as the cultural workshops. In this house it doesn't really matter what color you are or what background you have, we can all come together as a family."

Pendleton said the I-House has various activities to encourage residents to share and absorb aspects of each others' culture.

"We do quest cultural workshops for residents in the house so we'll pick a topic and bring everyone together to discuss the topic and learn more in depth about each other," Pendleton said.

The I-House hosted its annual Pancake Breakfast to begin International Week which is held from April 5 through April 10. At the breakfast on Sunday, residents dressed in traditional garments of their culture, cooked and served for the guests and provided entertainment by performing various talents such as dancing and singing.

"This was a wonderful day leading into a wonderful week," Cherkasky Makhni said. "I'm excited and I think it was a big success. I think it brings all of the community together."

Motamedi said recognizing those differences and respecting one another has caused him to discover more about his own culture and others such as his French roommate last year and his American roommate this year.

"You learn more about their viewpoint of the world through just simple conversation," he said. "One difference I noticed between my own culture, being back home in Iran and here in America, is the emphasis on family back home as opposed to individualism and independence here in America."

Mirjam Roelink, a senior business major from the Netherlands, said that the differences she noticed were sometimes quite simple such as the food.

"In the Netherlands, we had a lot of fresh grown food from farmland," said Roelink, an I-House resident since January. "I was surprised because back home, the milk we had we could only keep for a day or two but over here, it could be kept for weeks."

Pendleton, who has worked at the I-House for two years, said American residents in the I-House are gaining cultural exposure not typically offered in the college experience.

"A lot of people don't know that Americans live here too," she said. "I think for those really lucky American students, they just get an amazing experience, almost like they're traveling around the world despite living here so that's a nice resource for them."

Americans make up 18 of the 72 residents at the I-House this semester.

"It's like I get to go and travel all over the world without leaving the comfort of my own home," said Egbuho, who is a resident adviser from Los Angeles but has two Nigerian parents.

In order for international students and American students to get accepted into the house, they must go through an application process which includes five essay questions, such as why they want to live in a culturally diverse setting.

Pendleton said when reviewing applications, they look for students who are open to diversity and want to learn more about others while sharing their own culture with fellow residents.

"We have a separate application process than the on-campus dorms," Pendleton said. "We try to find out what each applicant can bring to the atmosphere and spend a lot of time thinking who would fit in well here."

Once residents are accepted their applications are reviewed once again to see which students would be the most compatible roommates while still being able to maintain diversity. There are 36 rooms in the I-House, most of which hold two residents. Pendleton said that due to the number of rooms there is a limit of 72 residents per semester. The I-House features a TV room, office, computer room, party room, laundry facilities and study room which remains open 24 hours.

Students pay a semester rent of $3,100 for the room and are offered meal plans ranging from $1,740 to $1,950 for the semester, totaling $4,840 to $5,050 for room and board. The I-House relies on funding from residential fees and private donations rather than state funding. Pendleton said that for now, this has spared the I-House from many of the budget cuts which have affected the CSU system.

"We are worried about a year and a half from now because they're going to have 4,500 fewer students coming next year and first priority will go to people in the local county," she said. "We really depend on people coming from farther away but we've just been very fortunate so far."

President Jon Whitmore said that although the university would like to continue to have the same amount of international students at SJSU, the economic crisis may change that.

"It would be our goal to kind of continue the same proportion of international students at this university that we have had before," Whitmore said. "The financial problem is a global one. So it's very likely that some students from a foreign country, who might have been able to get the money to
gether to come here in the past, there may be fewer of them just because their economy is down. In some cases, worse than the negative economy we have here."

James Greathead, a senior marketing major from Australia, said he enjoys living in the I-House.

"I feel like I should learn another language," Greathead said. "If I were living in Europe, I'd practically have to."

Pendleton said she believes the I-House is an essential part of the campus community.

"I think it makes SJSU special compared to some of the other CSUs because some do not have International Houses," Pendleton said. "I think it gives a nice gathering place because even residents who we don't have room for, they can come socialize on nights like coffee nights and experience the variety of different cultures."