Into America

8:50 in the morning two male students walk by, one of them has bob-cut length hair tied back in a bun, and a scraggly beard that's short and neatly kept.  The other student, tall and lean with long dirty blonde hair that falls just at his shoulders. At a distance they look like any ordinary students, but when they got closer you couldn't understand their conversation, they speak Dutch.  These are two of six Foreign Exchange students that live in the Trinity house.  Denmark, France, and Germany are where this semester's students are from, the two of three Danish students, Silas, and Jakob are on their way to their 9:00 classes.  They part ways, Silas heading down the hall and Jakob sits near the front of his Political Ideology class, where he sits and takes out his notebook for the class.   As the professor began to get ready for class, multitudes of students pour through the narrow doorway, filling the classroom like water filling a glass.  There are only 4 small basement-like windows towards the top of the wall on the left, allowing very little natural light and making it hard to zone out into the outside world.  The other students having quiet side conversations with each other as Jakob waits for todays lesson to begin.  Jakob, well versed in todays lesson, answered all questions asked and vigorously took notes.  When asked to pair up he seemed uncomfortable at the moment but quickly found his partner and explained all aspects of Liberalism v. Liberal to his partner.  As class ended he packed up and headed over to Roongo's Lounge for some breakfast.

Figure 1: Trinity House

"The classes here aren't as difficult as the classes I take in Denmark, but sometimes the translation of words get me into trouble." Jakob explains.

  Jakob often finds some trouble with written assignments, where he will run into a question, or word that he might confuse with other words.  English isn't a primary language for the students that live in Trinity.  Trinity is a brick house right on Iron St, near the ice cream shop with the giant, faded, wooden cow in front. It is very large with, 6 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, and a small coatroom (Figure 1).  A long narrow stairwell is the first thing you run into when you walk in the door.  The building is 3 floors, although the 3rd floor is inaccessible with 2 locks to keep people out.  It smelled spicy from the food Silas had recently prepared.  Its very simple with few posters on the wall, one, an orange tinted Buda, and the other has some political figures on it.  Their small back yard has approximately a 5x5 patio and further into the yard a barbeque with a small tan tent over it, providing shade.  Curious I asked, "Do you plan on having a lot of barbeques when it gets warmer out?"  He laughed and said with a smile, "That's the plan, lots of barbeques, and lots of parties." When sitting at what can be assumed is a dining table you see a child's game called Looping Louie.  The object of the game is to bounce the plane over your chickens, the person who has the most chickens in the end wins.  The game is only sold in Germany so its interesting that Lukas had brought it to school.  Lukas is a German exchange student, he recently turned 23.  He is tall and thin, with dark hair and normally keeps a scruff going, he also wears square glasses (Figure 2). I played Looping Louie once, it is a lot of fun, and it got very competitive, stay the hell away from my chickens.

Figure 2: 4 of 6 eschange students, Lukas, Jakob, Silas, Julian

For Jakob, this is one of many visits to America, and this time he can use it as a tool to further his education.  As a business major he can make connections in the area that may help him to pursue a good career in that field, and can give him an edge on other applicants.  Being apart of the Foreign Exchange program is a way to expand his education beyond the boarders of his country. There are many differences between our classrooms here and the classrooms in Denmark. For example they all speak Danish.  In most of the classes here, aside from the General Education classes (Gen Eds), our classrooms are in fact classrooms. The teachers have 20-30 students each class and are able to get to know students individually and on a personal level, as compared to the lecture halls of Denmark.  Denmark's professors mainly focus on lecturing to 200+ students, so they aren't worried about addressing each student's issues with the lessons. 
As Jakob explores the campus he really learns where everything is and can find things that he can enjoy.

"My favorite part about Bloomsburg is the Rec and Scranton Commons.  They have good food, every food, healthy, and unhealthy. When I wake up I go to the Rec, and then I go to the Commons, it gives my day a routine." explains Jakob.

The Recreational Center (The Rec) has many features including but not limited to; a room that has machines that focus on your cardio, a room that has most free weights that focuses on strengthening, a rock wall, racquetball courts, ping pong tables, an indoor track, and three courts on the inside (basketball, tennis, and volleyball).  Being inside the Rec you can feel the heat from the bodies being put to work and smell the sweat dripping off people as they push themselves to work harder.  Jakob often goes to the Rec with his roommates, and they play on a bunch of the different courts.  Speaking what ever language he feels like participating in  French, German, Dutch, Spanish, and English are languages he has acquired a knowledge about over the years.  Jakob often puts in the work that goes hand-in-hand with being in the Rec.

Figure 3: Top: Bangadesh
Bottom: Bangla "Soccer is Life"

When you spend time with Jakob and his roommates its you that feels like the exchange student.  Everybody always speaks in different languages, there are times where you have to remind them to speak English.  One night when we all decided to hang out at our friend Shyer's apartment in JKA I was in a room with Jakob, Lukas, Silas, 2 international students, and 4 or 5 American students.  The apartment was nicely cleaned, 2 bathrooms, 4 bedrooms, and a kitchen that was in the same room as the living room.  It smelled like chips and junk food, and pop music was playing on the T.V.  The international students, Shyer, and Sadman differ from the foreign exchange students because they are here for all four years instead of just one semester.  Shyer and Sadman are from Bangladesh, a country right West of India, their language, Bangla (Figure 3).  Every one was in different places in the apartment.  "Come on guys lets play a game, I believe we still have Jenga laying around here", Shyer announces.  We all gather around the table and everybody was having a good time trying to mess each other up.  When the exchange students started speaking German I yelled "English please!" and everyone stopped and looked at me confused.  Feeling embarrassed by my comment I shrank back into the couch, then everyone started laughing.  "Sorry sometimes I forget who's around" Lukas laughs.  The mood was even lighter than ever and it was my turn, of coarse I pulled the wrong block sending the wooden bricks sprawling across the table and onto the floor.  Spending time with students from different cultures can help you gain a better understanding of other beliefs and ideas.  Receiving the blessing of meeting these wonderful people has helped me gain an idea of how others view the world, but more importantly why.  Making the connections of how others feel, sympathizing to their struggles, and experiences, helps to create an understanding of your own actions and how others might view it.  Gaining this cultural knowledge and understanding can help an individual become a better well rounded person and can change their outlook on life.