Life at ISH Archives - International Student House Washington DC

A Day in the Life at ISH: Quarantine Edition

May 11, 2020 by Rempee Kalia

While we expect the unexpected, the International Student House is living through this challenging time along with the rest of the world. A time where social distancing is vital and washing hands is compulsory. It’s certain that our grand of grandchildren will ask us questions like, “What happened in 2020?”.

I like a good routine. I wake up, have breakfast, enjoy a warm cup of coffee or tea, and proceed to work or go to university for the day. Perhaps joining a museum or embassy meetup nearby, or even visiting a local coffee shop. These were some of the things I made sure I accomplished in an average week. Little did I know that such a routine would need major altering.

Now everything has become “…from home” or virtual, which does have its perks! There are times where I will have a lazy Sunday, but overall, I am a bit more productive and as ambitious as ever before. I am even enlightened to see my fellow ISH friends feel the same.

Sofía, resident scholar from Argentina, practicing yoga in the garden as the weekend comes.

Even in this time, the spirit of ISH still inspires our community of students and interns to continue to do the best in their respective fields. From virtual yoga to working out, residents are taking advantage of this time by enjoying the sunlight in the garden or simply catching up on a healthy lifestyle. I know I have visited my pantry of teas and did a major upgrade (there’s so many flavors!).

The quarantine and lock down in place has also outlined some of the finest spots in the house to study or work from home. Jorrit, Hideyuki, and Sofía have uniquely set up their home offices with their personal tastes. It’s almost as if you were walking through an office building during some hours of the day.

Hideyuki, resident scholar from Japan

Jorrit, resident scholars from the Netherlands

Sofía once again

Not all our days are about working though, we take breaks too! The best breaks are pizza nights. A most appreciative thank you goes to Board members and alumni who generously throw a pizza and cupcake nights (best recipe for a happy resident).

Gerardo, resident scholars from Mexico

Anastasia, resident scholar from the United States/Russia

Quarantine isn’t something we all expected. Some say it’s a time to find yourself and some feel as if it’s a break from reality. I didn’t expect for something like this to freeze the world. A little more than a month ago, I was living the extreme student-intern life. Waking up early and having breakfast with friends before our days began, going to my internship on the Hill, shifting midday into university, and then returning home after a long day to enjoy dinner in the dining hall with the most random (yet joyful) stories. I was busy with a capital B.

Things are a little different now, but that’s where you must make the best of it! While we are hopeful for things to get better, we must enjoy and adapt to these changes. For myself, I have found the time to learn the piano, enjoy relaxing yoga, and catch up on reading! What is something new you’d like to learn?

Yuhan, resident scholar from China

Well, if you don’t believe my perspective, just ask Yuhan. Whenever I go to the garden for a break between my studies, I always ask Yuhan which podcast she is listening to. Her simple routine and my break routine cross paths (at least six feet apart) and we both end up learning about each other’s hobbies.

The reality of it is, quarantine is what you make of it. Things happen in the world, but we must stay optimistic, be thankful of health, and continue to strive towards our goals and ambitions. I’m happy to see my ISH friends at their happy moments with the little things in life. We hope for the world to get better, and while that happens, for ourselves build our own knowledge. Remember that Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once said, “Everything is hard before it is easy”.

Home

March 19, 2020 by Jasmine Zamprogno

When I first decided to come to ISH, I feverishly poured over the student blog, seeking any insight I could into what life on the other side of the world in this old mansion would be like. I was particularly comforted by Katherine’s blog, who spoke in joyful, vivid terms of her time at the house. She recounted one moment where she and her fellow residents were gathered around the piano singing and she felt this moment of pure joy. I had that moment yesterday, under very different circumstances. A handful of us were out in the garden, soaking up the new spring sunshine. Someone suggested music, and then the Beatles and then we were all singing along to ‘Let it Be’. I smiled and laughed and felt at peace. Then reality hit, and I almost cried.

As you’ve probably heard, the world is shutting down. Everyone is retreating to their home countries to ride out the wave. I’ve had to make the heart-breaking decision to do the same. My final days at ISH were supposed to be a celebration in May. Warm weather, my family visiting me, trips to the Mall to marvel at the colours. None of that will happen now, but I don’t want my time blogging to end on a similarly sad note. ISH has been the greatest decision I ever made. Mundane things – breakfast, brushing my teeth, going to the grocery store, studying – have been made into incredible memories because of the people around me. Even now, my fellow residents are the ones holding me together and making me smile. So what will I remember? Not the uncertainty of these last few days. I’ll remember the walks around the neighbourhood, usually to the local dog park to spy on puppies. I’ll remember the smell of Sunday dinner cooking at the house and the jokes we would make week in and week out about the menu options that Sunday (“Could it be salmon today?”) I’ll remember the movie nights, particularly singing along to Mamma Mia or loudly correcting the inaccuracies in National Treasure (“No that’s not where the Washington Monument would be in the background if you drove South-West from the Mall, listen to me, I’m a local.”) I’ll remember mornings working on the front desk, greeting each person as they left for their day and trying to see if I could remember every name and every place they were heading (“School, embassy, non-profit, embassy, World Bank, embassy.”) I’ll remember sitting in the Great Hall, sometimes alone and just soaking in the incredibly rich history of the place we are all so privileged to call home. ISH is an experience I will carry with me for the rest of my life. In these uncertain times I find myself thinking how privileged I was to travel and live abroad and to connect with people from all around the world.

To the ISH staff, I will never forget your generosity and diligent care. To my fellow ISH residents, you never knew how much you made each day for me better than the previous one. You are family. To future ISH residents – I hope when you arrive, the world is a little less chaotic. But if things remain uncertain, know that you are in the best possible place. You are home.

Tales from the Library

February 28, 2020 by Jasmine Zamprogno

I will now interrupt my regular style of blog post (events) to bring you a little snapshot of life at ISH. This month, I am writing about the library – bear with me, I promise this will be as informative and entertaining as my posts about DC events.

The main building of ISH (we have three: Main, Van Slyck and Marpat) houses most of our communal rooms, including the Library. It is my favourite room in the house, and yes that means in my mind it beats out the gorgeous Great Hall, and even the dining hall where you can find good conversation and if you’re lucky, crispy American bacon. So, why the library? Well firstly, it’s the books. I am a book worm, a book nerd, a book fiend, whatever title you like. I love the smell of an old bookstore and could spend hours browsing the shelves down at Kramerbooks and Afterwords or Second Story books. Our library has books stacked to the ceilings and then some. It is a treasure trove of memories of residents who have come before and left a piece of themselves behind. Here is just a selection I found from a quick lap of the room: “For Love of Country: The National Heroes of Barbados”; “Treasures from the Kremlin”; “The Complete Plays of William Shakespeare”; “Facts About Alaska”; “The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy”; and “Rival Views on Market Society.” That’s not to mention the John Grisham novels, encyclopedias and almanacs and the myriad of books in languages other than English. I often go looking for the perfect next bedtime reading book but find myself lost in a sea of choices. Sure, I could pick an easy-going romance but perhaps I should educate myself about macroeconomics in South-East Asia? The library is also the designated movie room. Here we have watched many classics: from Les Miserables and Forrest Gump to using it as an excuse to rediscover our inner child with Hercules and Shrek. On any given day at any given time you will find someone watching sport: American football, basketball, soccer, rugby, the odd boxing match and, of course, the best sport of all - Democratic debates. I am sorely disappointed that I will not be in the House for the Olympics which I am sure will mean the television is never off!

Of course, it’s also a place for a quiet moment. A spot to catch up on your readings, write a blog post, perhaps sneak in a nap on the ridiculously comfortable couches. It’s often the scene of late-night chats over a cup of tea, as residents confide in each other their stresses and failures but also their hopes and dreams. Every day I walk through the library to and from the way from my room and it makes me smile. It occurs to me that while I still have over three months left in the House, I have already begun to miss it.

Portrait of a Day at ISH

February 3, 2020 by Yuan-Bing Mock

It is an incredibly sunny afternoon. In the dead of what is supposed to be winter, we have somehow hit temperatures of 20 degrees Celsius (close to the 70s in Fahrenheit). This positively balmy weather calls for a leisurely walk around the neighborhood, and many ISH residents have heeded the call. But on this day I curl up by the front desk, writing thank you cards for the people who’ve been a part of my Washington journey. Upstairs, some ISH residents are watching the NFL playoffs between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Texans, and we can hear their shouts of despair and excitement, alternatingly, from my perch at the lobby. My phone beside my displays the score. This, if anything, is a sign that ISH has made its mark on me. Not only do I know who is playing in a sports game, I am even slightly invested in the outcome, because of a fellow ISH Resident who is a major Chiefs fan. Occasionally, I look up from my writing to distract my friend at the front desk with random bits of conversation. Later, I manage to coax a fellow ISH resident away from interminable readings for a walk around the city. We wander past the Masonic Temple, admiring its remarkably symmetrical architecture, discussing the political situations in our countries. Somehow the walk takes us all the way past the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and we start to compare notes on what we both know of these institutions. Arriving back at ISH, we plop down in the dining hall and are joined by a couple of other ISH residents. The conversation quickly turns into a discussion of the benefits and disadvantages of current approaches to international development. *** This is how I passed my last Sunday at ISH. It is an ISH tradition that at your last Sunday dinner, you stand up and say your goodbyes. But when the announcement came asking if it was anyone’s last Sunday, with the eyes of half of the room on me, I didn’t think I could do it. So this is my thank you instead. My final Sunday represented what I liked the most about ISH - the quiet, steady feeling of everyone going about their day, but still very much together. Because even as a US strike kills an Iranian General, even as tragic bush fires rage on in Australia, even as passenger planes are shot down from the sky, even as the globe is threatened by a new epidemic, so many of us from all around the world still find a way to come together, coexist, and thrive. Hours after dinner, you can still witness conversations between residents on the effects of colonization in Africa or the best way of getting involved in international development. You may not know anything about sports, but somehow still get sucked into watching the Superbowl. (As I suspect many ISH residents will be this weekend- there will be a watch party in the Great Hall complete with Pizza, and from what I have seen of the poster it looks like it will be a lot of fun). If you’re too bogged down with work or school, there will always be someone to drag you out of your head in order to explore yet another museum, or art exhibit, or performance. It is strange to be leaving behind my identity as an ISH resident, but I am already fully embracing being a part of the ISH Alumni, which I am sure will involve many visits to and from other ISH Alumni. This process has already begun– I recently visited a couple of former ISH Residents in Mexico City, and there are plans for more to visit me in Singapore. So in the meantime, all that is left is a very big thank you to all of the ISH staff, board members, and residents who help to create and preserve the very special melting pot that is ISH.

A Celebration with my Mates

January 28, 2020 by Jasmine Zamprogno

When I heard that it was a tradition at ISH that students would host Cultural Nights, I was determined I would do one for Australia. A more daunting challenge then you think, whilst Australian is a beautiful, diverse, multicultural country, it is difficult to celebrate one thing that makes Australia, well, Australia. We do not have a singular cultural dress or music or food. But that does not mean we do not have a culture to share with the rest of the world, and so, on 26 January I armed myself with a flag, some Vegemite and an inflatable kangaroo, and was ready to show my fellow house mates the best of Australia I could offer (or at least, the best I could find in Washington, DC).

Here’s how it went down.

Food

As the traditional barbeque (a “sausage sizzle”) would not make much sense in the middle of an American winter, I opted for an array of Australian snacks. With mostly sweets to be found at World Market, I let my house mates know that they could feast on chocolate-covered honeycomb bites, ANZAC biscuits, Darrell Lea liquorice and – most importantly – Tim Tams, if they humoured me and tried some Vegemite first.

I am delighted to say everyone rose to the challenge, and all who came to the cultural night tentatively smeared Vegemite on a cracker and nibbled at one end, unsure of whether they were going to like the famed spread or not. In the end, Vegemite received its usual mixed reception, but Tim Tams and Bundaberg Ginger Beer won the day.

Australia treats to try

Music

Earlier in the week I had procrastinated from my assigned readings and curated a play list of Australian classics that would form the background music for my cultural event. The greatest part of this turned out to be the international knowledge of most songs, but not that they were in fact Australian artists. I am happy to confirm that John Farnham, Tones and I, 5 Seconds of Summer, the Veronicas and Keith Urban are indeed all Australian.

Slang

As a little bonus activity, I had a game ready for the residents, ‘Guess the Australian Slang’ with the promise of a small soft toy kangaroo as a prize to the person who guessed the meaning most slang terms. Many put in their best effort, and whilst terms of British origin such as ‘bloke’ (a man) were frequently guessed correctly, more abstract terms (cark it, fair dinkum, uey and yakka) left many scratching their heads. I’ll leave you to take your best guesses!

Imparting some facts and wisdom

Knowledge

Truly though, the greatest part of the cultural night was how open and willing my fellow house mates were to learn about my country, its history, politics, culture and the ongoing bush fire crisis. Residents asked me serious and thought-provoking questions and many asked if my family were safe from the fires.

It is moments like these that remind me what a treasured community ISH is.

Just me, a happy little Vegemite tearing into a packet of Tim Tams