It has been an eventful month at ISH! Residents have been planning many cultural nights to share their country’s food, dance, fashion and traditions with the ISH community. First was Bollywood Night! Delicious Indian food and drinks were served in the Great Hall followed by lots of dancing. A projector was set up to show popular Bollywood music videos and residents from India taught us their moves.

Japan Night was next. The Japanese residents decorated the Great hall beautifully with different “stations” or tables of activities. At one table I experienced a tradition Japanese tea ceremony with a sweet cake and bitter matcha tea. Another had Japanese games including Kendama, a game that involves trying to swing a ball connected by a string to a wooden stick into a cup. There was also a calligraphy station where I learned how to write my name in Japanese. The Japanese residents created a true or false trivia game that I learned a lot of fun facts from. For instance, did you know that many families in Japan make reservations at the fast food restaurant Kentucky Fried Chicken on Christmas Day? At the end of the night several residents performed a Japanese dance called the koi dance using glow-in-the-dark wands.

The day after Japanese night my Master’s program at Georgetown had an International Student Night. Students cooked food from their cultural backgrounds and dressed in national outfits followed by a talent show. I wore my traditional Ethiopian dress and my roommate, Manuela wore a dirndl that she got while she was living in Germany. Here’s a photo of me and Karin, one of the organizers of Japan Night and a fellow Georgetown MSFS student.

The final event of the month was Latin Night. Manuela, who is originally from Colombia, was part of the planning team along with residents from Brazil, Peru and Mexico. The Great Hall was decorated with pictures from beautiful places across Latin America as well as Colombian, Brazilian and Mexican flags. Music in Spanish and Portuguese kept things lively all night. The same morning as the event I got my Brazilian visa for the internship I will be doing at the U.S. consulate in Sao Paulo this summer. I wore a Brazilian jersey to the event and being at Latin Night got me even more excited to go to Brazil.

I am happy to report that I am now involved in planning a cultural night. On April 28 myself and residents from Congo, Rwanda, Nigeria and South Sudan will be hosting an African Cultural Night!

In January I made a trip to Mexico as a one of the scholars at Inter-American Dialogue, one of the leading U.S. center for policy analysis, exchange, and communication on issues in Western Hemisphere affairs. As part of the trip, I participated in private and public meetings with government officials as well as business leaders in Mexico and was invited by the Mexican Ministry of Education to visit a public high school which is under education reform.

As I mentioned before, I used to study and worked in Mexico and this is the fourth time that I have gone back. I feel very fortunate and grateful that I could develop such a special and strong tie with the people and culture in Mexico, get involved with the dynamics and contribute my knowledge and expertise to solve the development issues there. This time I joined the cohort of eight scholars and together we aimed to understand the infrastructure financing dynamics and China’s future role in the region. I have to say that I’ve never felt so important being a Chinese!

After the conference, I was invited by Mexican Ministry of Education to visit a high school. I was introduced to the teachers and the principal there and they gave me a thorough presentation on the on-going education reforms in the high school and how these public schools support the daily life of working-class families. This experiment high school implements two timetables for the students: morning and afternoon schedules. Each schedule of 12 hours is filled with academic class, workshops and sports classes. The long schedule, according to the teachers, allows parents to focus on their work while their kids are getting a variety of training. In addition, the conversation with the teacher union caught my attention in terms the labor reform for the teachers, which greatly changed the hiring process and cut the benefits for high school teachers. I believe that the education reform in Mexico could be a very research topic in the coming years and I will closely follow it.

Now it is time to go home to ISH and I cannot wait to see my housemates and share about my time in Mexico.  More detailed reports and papers will be published by the Inter-American Dialogue. You are all very welcome to check out the work when it is published!

I returned from the winter holidays to the International Student House, and found new residents at the breakfast table. The House is a transitory space where old residents return and new ones come in and out. I have met so many new people in the past three weeks from: Italy, Peru, Japan, Sweden, Spain, Germany, France and even the U.S. But I also said goodbye to a good friend from Finland who stayed for over 6 months. The great news is that I now have so many more couches to sleep on when I travel around the world.

I find it fascinating how much foreigners know about the domestic politics of our country, and how up to date they are about world news and American foreign policy. This past week I watched the State of the Union Address in the living room of ISH, and the residents’ comments surprised me. Someone from Sweden talked about the Secretary of Education, DeVos, by name and another mentioned the latest government shutdown and how Senate Majority Leader McConnell and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan had to push through the temporary bill to fund the U.S. government for a few more weeks. Someone from Italy talked about our DACA program for illegal immigrants, and someone from Spain pointed out the difficulties that the State Department has faced with the hiring freeze. I know that the United States is an important country in the world, but I was still impressed by the level of detail these international students knew about U.S. policies.   We passed around chips, chocolate chip cookies, and even pretzel sticks during the debate while listening to everyone’s reactions. I learned about new views from other countries I hadn’t even considered. It was a great experience.

       

Residents watching the State of the Union Address at ISH

This month, I became a new Peer Orientation Assistant (POA) for ISH and have been paired with five new residents. As a POA, I give tours of the house to new residents, answer any questions they might have about the House or D.C. in general, and even grab a meal with them to learn more about their background and what they are doing in D.C. It felt nice to be the house expert and point of contact for these new residents, and it reminded of how I was in the first weeks.  I was excited to practice some of my French and German skills with some of the new residents, and even brush up on some Spanish words from Spain (I am from Colombia). I have also continued my front desk shifts, and checked in a new resident for the first time.

I went to the Inter-American Development Bank for the first time in January to visit a lead specialist on block-chain technology projects in Latin America. The specialist had given a talk at Georgetown University last semester, and I followed up with him afterwards to learn more about this new technology. The Bank is located in the center of D.C. and I was blown away by how beautiful the lobby is. After my visit I went home to ISH for dinner, and as I told a new resident about my experience she mentioned that she was currently interning at the Bank. We ended up talking for over twenty minutes about how the Bank operates and the cool projects they have lined up. There is never a dull moment at ISH!

Several changes have come with the new year at ISH. Many residents moved out in December after completing semester study abroad programs or internships. While familiar faces remain, there are a lot of new additions to the ISH community. As introductory questions and conversation start up again between new and old residents interesting discoveries are made. For some who recently moved in this isn’t their first time living at ISH DC others have lived at international student houses in other cities around the world.

One of the first questions I tend to ask after the preliminary name, nationality and reason for being in DC is whether or not this is the first time someone has been to the United States. Responses range from people having completed their undergraduate in the U.S. to participating in an English immersion exchange program during high school to being first-timers.

In addition to getting to know the new residents, January has been a month of many opportunities to share U.S. political culture. For example, one of our Sunday dinners was soul food themed in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. day. There was also an ISH game night, which involved a variety of well known board games and card games. Several weeks later on the night of the state of the union address, several of us gathered in the TV room to watch the speech. Experiencing these historical, political moments with international company is a unique experience as an American. Talking about U.S. politics in a house with so many people interested in foreign affairs and global politics never fails to be interesting.

State of the Union watch party

One of the new residents decided to take advantage of the chatty, internationally minded nature of the ISH community by starting a new discussion group. Once a week a group of us will be meeting to discuss articles on issues of global importance. The first article is Susan Sontag’s “Regarding the Torture of Others”. The new readings series in addition to our weekly “salons” (a similar venue for talking about global affairs and culture) continue to make ISH an intellectually stimulating place to call home.

 

Today I return to ISH for what will be the fourth semester in a row. As much as this may sound like graduate school routine – it is actually quite a miracle to me. The last time I left ISH to return home, it was utterly uncertain that I would return.  As I am writing this, from a plane over the Atlantic, excitement and gratitude leave butterflies in my stomach.

Why the fuss for a student home, in which you share a room and have no more than a cupboard, bed and desk, you may ask. Well, it is such a fortune, to be able to study across the world from home. Dozens of helping hands and scholarships have brought to life formerly foolish dreams.

But in this moment, the joy is particularly centered on my specific destination: 1825 R Street is my direction for the supershuttle, once I pass customs.  “To ISH” as drivers confirm by now, will mean “to my best friends in Washington”.

Every semester at this house has held a gift box of its own: New faces became the gate to beautiful hearts and minds, awkward introductions gave way to invigorating (late) dinner talks. Some tears were shared and victories celebrated, stress was danced away and dreams serenaded on the piano.

It always began just like this: A visa, a flight, a shuttle from the airport- and ISH filling with new and old residents for another term. What will the House have in store for us this time?

Beloved friends left ISH over winter break and are dearly missed. But a few of us, who, shared the very first day at ISH, embarking on the journey of graduate school, have stayed for three semesters. We will now share the final stretch to graduation. The old crew, “running mates”, and cherished friends.

A former Housemate say goodbye at the end of the fall term.

To us, the house will be as familiar as a home, while also brand-new, with dozens of residents arriving for the first time.

Together we will once again travel the world in Sunday salon talks from politics to pop culture. The cozy Great Hall will give refuge with its patient piano, after tough days. The study room will be our shared space for academic workouts. We will visit new embassies and welcome guests from across D.C.’s society. Such rich experiences- I would not want to miss it.

Whom will I share dinner with this semester, and with whom my room? Tonight, when I arrive, will be the quiet beginning of new friendships.

Of course, with the semester well underway, the stress of grad school is already omnipresent.

But first: pure joy of coming home.