International Student House Washington, DC

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This house is full of music!

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We all know them: these people, who always have a song on their lips, a rhythm in their fingers or an unbelievable ability to take the stuff of everyday and turn It into instruments: Few combine all three of these types, but many at least fit one.

To all of them and other musically inclined: You’ll find some treats at our House.

Not every dorm provides the room, rules and tools to make music together. What is more, grad school life makes it difficult to practice regularly.  But at ISH, a couple of things come together beautifully for musicians:

First, we are blessed with a piano. I can’t overstate the beauty it adds to our home! Up in the great hall it stands preciously, waiting for those who play like professionals and those who- like me- just know their childhood melodies or practice a bit of sheet music here and there. It’s a great comfort to know that however challenging the day, those who know how to make music can always go up there and play a bit.

Secondly, we also have two guitars- generously donated by previous residents and tenderly cared for by current generations. Any day you may find someone singing pop, folk, soul or traditional songs from his or her home country with the guitar. This makes ISH so fun. The library, dorm rooms and dining hall are far away enough for readers not to be too disturbed by these sounds. Rather, you may recognize a melody softly playing from afar and enjoy the free, calming background.

But above all, we have quite a few music-enthusiasts among our fellow residents! Some even bring their instruments from home, others use piano, guitar and vocal chords. This way, so many impromptu bands have already formed spontaneously.  Our good friend Tito has entertained a small crowd with his songs one Friday night, Sun, a longtime resident, sparks gratitude and joy when she frequently practices Chopin and more. Just before Christmas, we came together by the fireplace to sing pop and Christmas folk songs a capella.  Ben, a fellow resident and I, are about to start practicing a duet together, and last years’ jam sessions with Joelle on the piano and a small choir forming around her one random weekday night are unforgotten. What joy in each of these music moments.

Nothing brings people together quite like this.

It remains fascinating to hear songs from all parts of the world here, year-round. And a joy to explore playing new songs together in evenings, on weekends, whether spontaneously or in weekly practice.

Musicians and music enthusiasts- welcome to ISH, you’re in the right place.

If you just arrived at ISH and would like to make some music- no matter how long ago you last played or sang- come find me or join one of the music practices going on. We’ll form another impromptu band – for one moment, and many to come.

New Sides of ISH

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Going into my third month living at ISH, I now feel more apart of the community than ever. A really memorable event that solidified this feeling was the Global Leadership Awards Dinner (GLAD). It was a special occasion for my fellow residents and I to act as hosts to highly regarded political figures and guests from across the globe who came to support the International Student House. The evening consisted of a lovely reception followed by a dinner in the garden. It was wonderful to see how much people care about international students and cross-cultural exchanges in Washington.

I am right there!

The highlight of the evening was witnessing former Vice President Joe Biden receive the Global Leadership Award. The address he gave after being honored for the award was inspiring and encouraging. His humor and kind hearted demeanor was something I’ll never forget. After he spoke in front of all of the dinner guests he stepped away to take a photo with the group of residents in attendance. Before he left, he gave us a pep talk about the future of international affairs and our important role in it. It was a night I will always remember.

Several weeks after GLAD, classes ramped up in the lead up to midterm exams. Although a challenging time, it was reassuring to experience the solidarity of residents from all different schools going through a similar experience. Papers, exams and projects had many of us up later than usual but it was really nice to regroup at breakfast or dinner and encouraging each other until we made it through.

My housemates Meghna and Hayato also work at the front desk.

At the start of October I took on a new role at the ISH front desk. Working at the desk has been a way for me to talk to residents I hadn’t met yet and get to know ISH administrators and staff. The desk is located in the lobby of the house so I get to see people come and go and learn more about the day-to-day happenings of ISH. All residents pick up packages at the desk which has been a great way to reinforce people’s names and where they’re from. During one of my shifts I got to welcome a new resident moving in from Japan. Because of each resident’s unique timeline in DC residents are always coming and leaving. The transitory nature of the ISH makes it all the more friendly and open as we wish people well as they head off to their next destination and welcome new additions to the community.

Cultural Nights at ISH: Strengthening the ISH Community, by Resident Scholar Rakesh Gupta

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“The House promotes inter-cultural dialogue, encourages life-long connections, and fosters global citizenship.” “Our mission has proven to be more important than ever, given the times in which we now live.” These two sentences taken from the ISH DC website lives up to the experience as a resident at ISH to say the least.

ISH is a place that facilitates its residents to make beautiful connections and relationships; benefit and contribute to and from each resident. The resident initiated national celebrations and festival celebrations are only a few of such examples.

Mexican Night
Italian Night

The recent events of the past months at the house include the Ferragosto day, Mexican night, Bollywood night and the Octoberfest, apart from all the other cookouts that happen at our very own ISH. These present themselves as the unique and rich public goods created and initiated by the residents and generously facilitated by the management with resources and infrastructure. Residents are excited and look forward to these events almost the entire week before, building up to the hype and exceedingly delivering on expectations. These events are charged with positive energy, perhaps enabled a tiny bit by culturally appropriate beverages (will not alter the outcome of the events, so keep the Mezcal and artisan beer coming!) accompanied with delicious food. Oh, did I forget to mention the dancing? The hours of dancing that follow almost all events is icing on the cake!

Every event contributes and enriches to the rich diversity that ISH offers that we as residents appreciate and learn from. This is enabled by the distinctive and continual different groups of residents that ISH hosts comprising of brilliant, well-rounded, tolerant, open-minded, interesting and fun people from across the globe.

These events which bring the entire ISH community together have also led to smaller groups for various purposes – helping each other on assignments, weekend getaways, Thursday Frontpage alliances, Saturday El Centro groups, board game nights, resident salons, kayaking on the Potomac, whisky tasting, running club, movies groups, movie nights, yoga classes, French classes, volunteering, museum going groups, and several others.

This is all very welcome as these ultimately generate positive externalities and contribute to the immense and growing social capital of the ISH community. My stay here at ISH since March 2017 has reminded me several times of what my then Rector at the Norwegian Folk School where I spent a year as a Youth (Norwegian) Peace Corps, that the intangible experiences of inter-cultural dialogue and relationships that we make will have lasting effects on us as individuals. This is very true with my stay here at ISH, and I’m very glad to be a part of it. So, ISH has got everything going right especially with these events that bring almost all residents together, kudos on that!

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Rakesh Gupta NICHANAMETLA RAMASUBBAIAH is working at the Development Research Group division of the World Bank in Washington DC. He is also a PhD candidate at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne / Paris School of Economics. He holds a Master degree in Quantitative Economics from Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS-Ulm) and Paris School of Economics specializing in Public Policy and Development; a University Diploma in Applied Mathematics from Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne; and an Executive MBA from Alliance University.

His primary field of research is microeconometrics of development economics, with a particular interest in impact evaluation. He’s currently working on questions of intergenerational mobility across the world at the World Bank. Previously, he was working on early childhood development, social sectors budgeting, child poverty and Monitoring and Impact Evaluation of programs as a UNICEF Fellow at Economic Policy Research Centre in Uganda. Alongside, his PhD funded by the French Agency for Development (AFD) and Chaire Energie et Prosperité is on social capital and subjective well-being as an extension of the capabilities approach. He has also worked on the statistical foundations of coherent, composite, multidimensional development indicators, including Relational Capability Index.

His other work experience includes: ESSEC Business School (IRENE-CODEV) on social capital and relational capabilities research; launch team of Uber in Paris; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on fiscal impacts of environmental policies; Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) on a banking and credit services study; United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) on environmental policies’ distributional impact in the Asia Pacific; and also at Goldman Sachs as a hedge funds analyst.

“Meeting you has given me hope.” A letter from former Resident Scholar Anna Lena Freya Michel

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What remains?

Two eventful months in the capitol of the United States are over. During these two months, I have been living with young people from many different countries.
A short, emotional, and educational period of my life has come to an end.

The last eight weeks were a big challenge. I got to know all these people and was drawn into such interesting conversations, but sadly, only until I got to meet the next, new connection. There was not much time to reflect; no time to become more familiar with these fascinating people; no time to pay them more attention. Two months is so short. Due to my short stay, we did not have time for trips or common hobbies. Nevertheless, meeting you has changed my world. It is time to pause and ask: What remains?

The answer is hope. Meeting you has given me hope.

What, hopeless?

Sure, I am from wealthy Germany. I am a European. One could take that feeling of hopelessness as unjustified complaining. But I have been scared about our future in these past years. Terrorism has reached France and Germany, too. We, the committed Europeans, had to discover that Europe, our peace project, is in danger. On top of that, 200 refugees are drowning in the Mediterranean Sea every week, trying to escape to a life worth living. Alternative facts are eliminating the foundation of legitimacy for our democracies:  truth. All of this makes me want to give up on my studies. There is no way I can just do nothing. I want to take action. But how? It feels like everything I am trying to do does not help. Before I travelled to the US, I was feeling truly hopeless.

First Lesson:  Modesty

Raghuveer, from India, grew up in a town without electricity. It was pure coincidence that he learned English and had the chance to become an Indian lawyer. The majority of children in India do not learn English and, therefore, cannot attend university, as English is the language of instruction. He left India for the first time to complete a master’s program in Washington, DC. Once, Raghu said to me, “I have come a long way to be here, Anna.” He certainly had.

Jiawei works for the United Nations. When he left China and came to the US, he had to form dumplings in a Chinatown restaurant for two years. No one knew he had the potential for more than that, he told me. People had to be convinced to believe in him.

Other housemates accept living far away from home because they cannot practice in the professions they strive for in their home countries. Who needs a skeptical economist in China?

Although you have achieved that much while still young, you are down to earth, open-minded, friendly, and never restrained. We can learn a lot from you. Modesty – that is my first lesson.

Second lesson: Strong women

Even in Germany, women do not yet have the same opportunities as men. Too much self-confidence, especially in young women, is not appreciated, only smiled at. Outward appearance is more important for woman than men, in all areas of life. Until now, I had not yet decided how to position myself in that context. Should I play by rules, be cautious and work for my aims and convictions silently? Or should I speak up for myself?

At International Student House DC, I found women of my generation acting as role models. There are Senni and Sara, two Finns who are experts in International Politics. They are self-confident, stand up to their bosses and initiate bigger projects. There is Lisa, who defends Russia – her Russia – conclusive and engaging, giving an impression of her enormous potential. Her presence is so powerful, that former US Vice-President Joe Biden could not hold back in telling her that she herself could bring change in Russia. Next is Aura from Mexico, who takes a stand for Human Rights as a lawyer in South America. Then there is Tian from China who when meeting four unknown, high-ranked experts at the International Monetary Fund  – frankly speaking – blew them out of the water. Rose, who had to live in refugee camps before she was granted asylum in the US, followed up learning English and catching up in school with university degrees and finally her first great job at an NGO. Acting confidently, being determined, not yielding to male sensitivities – that is your way and it is now mine too. The second lesson is learned.

Third lesson:  Joy of life is homemade

Who always carries a smile, a friendly word, and is up to something fun? Italians! There were always at least seven Italians at International Student House at a time this summer. They are easy to recognize:  if they do not know a word in English they immediately start a loud, unmistakable discussion in Italian. Of course, I have already heard that we Germans are more of a quiet, reserved, not excessively friendly people. My time together with you these past weeks has forced me to acknowledge this for the first time in my life. You express such a zest for life that it feels incredibly good to be close to you. Each and every one of you has to be taken into one’s heart immediately. There is not a single person in the house who you do not greet with a broad smile. Andrea Mansi, an exceptional comedian, also provided many laughs. Whether it is Roberto, Nicolò, Paolo, Michaela, Carlo, or others, you are always ready to go out and have a good time. One day I curiously walked into the Great Hall because I had heard beautiful music. My very talented friend, Sun, played the piano while seven Italian men listened. I witnessed the same scenario when the second group of Italians arrived. You love art and life. At my last night, we all sat together in the Great Hall and were playing music. At some point Guiseppe took a guitar and started jamming some Italian song. Every Italian in the room immediately started singing or dancing. It was a manifestation of the pure joy of living. This does not mean that you are not professional, though. All of you either study, work, or are in a PhD program. You are diligent and successful. But you do not incessantly work on your degrees. You enjoy every second. Your joie de vivre – I put it into my bag and took it home with me – it is my third lesson. Thank you for every laughter we shared, and for opening my eyes. Ci vediamo a Roma. See you in Italy.

Lesson four: There is no such thing as THE Americans

We Germans have a complicated relationship with the US. On one hand, there are people who admire the US so much so, that they would rather live in the “Land of Opportunity” than in Europe. On the other hand, there are those who despise America. I am not talking about justified criticism now. I am talking about widespread, fundamental resentments.

Some issues are reasonable to discuss and oppose, like massive gun-violence casualties, the unequal healthcare system, social injustice, and Guantanamo. However, a lot of Germans only see the negatives. The election campaign of 2016 and Donald Trump as the new President strengthened the all-embracing criticism of the US, our partner, and seemed to support the second group. When I returned to Germany a few days after the attack in Las Vegas many people said, “Thank god you got back home safely from those maniacs. These Americans are all crazy and dangerous.” The first thing I responded was that there is no such thing as the Americans. I have met many engaged, intellectual, kind-hearted, young Americans. David, Alex Beck, Rostaam, and Matthew, who you can always count on to be reading a good book, or to answer any question on domestic or international politics eloquently and adeptly.  Manuela, Alex Plum, Rose, and Cameron, impress with their empathy for different languages and cultures. Cameron speaks Japanese and Chinese, was in Japan during the Fukushima earthquake and helped foreign journalists report from Japan with his language skills and cultural knowledge.  These are all young Americans who are not blind with national pride (yes, that is the widespread stereotype about you). They are aware of America’s shortcomings, too, and are idealists who care about other people and fight for different policies. I met young Americans who carry the spark of Kennedy and the Obama-charm. From a European perspective, these are Americans one can imagine a trustful and efficient collaboration with in the future. Simplification and generalization only benefit the enemies of democracy. Lesson four is having experienced a more nuanced America.

Hope

When a Chinese laughs with a Taiwanese at the breakfast table; when Jonathan explains how he will create jobs at home in Nigeria as soon as he gets back; when Cem states that most Turks love democracy so much they will not stop fighting to protect it, then hope remains. I met so many inspiring personalities at International Student House, people who fight in every corner of this world to make it a better place.

Our generation is the first one who is mobile on such a high scale and able to easily make friends around the world. Our generation is the first that, with the help of social media, is capable of maintaining these contacts and can call on them – if needed.

We have to cope with the same global challenges, have to fight for more justice, liberty, and the preservation of our livelihoods. The International Student House offers an exceptional opportunity to find worldwide allies to tackle these challenges together. It definitely lives up to its aspiration of global peace promotion through bringing together youths from around the world.

When it comes to me, the time spent at ISH has given me back hope for a (more) peaceful future.

Many thanks to all of my fantastic housemates, ISH-employees and the members of the Board.

Loving the ISH Spirit of Learning

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My first month at ISH came and went very quickly! Between grad school and ISH events there is always so much going on that time moves fast. I really appreciate how everyone at the House, whether they are interning, looking for jobs or going to school, is interested in learning and open to sharing and teaching about their field, background or country. There have been many interesting events at the house organized by residents these past few weeks. In early November there was a celebration of Mexican Independence Day complete with authentic Mexican candy, a piñata and margaritas. A few weeks later several German residents organized a briefing on the German elections and later live-streamed it in the TV room.

Some of my favorite learning experiences at ISH this past month have happened casually around the house. For example, I had an interesting conversation about how American reality TV shows are perceived abroad with a group of residents in the TV room as I watched ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians’ for the first time (another example of something I never anticipated experiencing amongst such an internationally diverse group). Over brunch one Saturday I left the meal having learned that the Philippines is made up of 7,107 islands with over 170 languages spoken, something I had never even thought to wonder about before. Similarly, a conversation after the Mexican Independence Day celebration led to my learning that Kuwait celebrates both an Independence Day (from Britain in 1961) and a Liberation day (marking the end of the Gulf War in 1991) – the two holidays take place on February 25 and 26 respectively.

Another aspect that I love about living at ISH is the diversity of languages that are spoken. I’ve enjoyed keeping up my French speaking skills by talking with French residents over meals. On top of French, I recently started taking Portuguese language courses for the first time at Georgetown. As I’m studying new vocabulary or curious to know more about the cultural information my professor talks about in class, I can conveniently ask one of the three current residents from Brazil.

I contributed to the ISH spirit of cultural sharing and learning by wishing everyone a Happy Ethiopian New Year on September 11 through an informational poster. I had fun putting the poster together and ended up displaying it at the entrance of the House. I was pleased to hear that many people stopped to read the information and found it interesting.

I’ve learned so much living at ISH and pursuing my courses in Global Politics and Security already, I can only imagine how much more I will know (and be driven to learn) by the end of my graduate school experience. I am very happy to be constantly learning as well as questioning and developing my beliefs and values both inside the classroom and at home here at ISH.

International Student House of Washington, DC | 1825 R Street, NW | Washington, DC 20009

International Student House of Washington, DC is a private, non-profit 501(c)3 organization located near Dupont Circle in the heart of Washington, DC. Donations will help support our mission to provide an exceptional residential experience to a highly diverse international community of graduate students, interns and visiting scholars. The House promotes inter-cultural dialogue, encourages life-long connections, and fosters global citizenship.