Asking for information about Truman State University and Kirksville

Colleges and Universities A-Z Truman State University
1

<p>Hello everybody. My name is Jon, I am 26 years old and I live in the Basque Country (it is a little European country divided in two parts, one belongs to France and the other to Spain).</p>

<p>I would like to know more about Kirksville and Truman State University and I would be very grateful if someone could help me on that. </p>

<p>The reason why I am asking about these information, is because I am in the fourth year of Business Studies (I study in the ESTE faculty in Donostia which belongs to the University of Deusto) and on the fifth year we have to study abroad. We had the final meeting to choose our destination for next academic years second semester last Wednesday, and everything went perfect. I had really clear where I wanted to go, I asked if the place for Truman State was still eligible, they told me that it was and I picked it. So if nothing strange happens from now on, I will be at Kirksville by the beginning of January 2008. It?s quite complicated for me to express how happy I am because my first option will come true, but believe me when I say that last Wednesday was a great day for me. I?m sure I?m going to live a very good experience both at Truman State and Kirksville.</p>

<p>So now that I know that I?m going to be there on the next year, there are 2 questions that worry me more and I would like to ask you for advice.</p>

<p>My main concern is about where to stay during the months that I?ll spend in Kirksville. I see 3 different options, but I have totally ruled out one. I have ruled out renting a flat only for me (without any flatmate), because my main reason to choose Truman State was staying in a city where I would have to speak all the day in English, and if I?m in a flat on my own, I won?t have the opportunity to speak with anybody. So ruled out this, the only options are renting a room in a flat where there are more Truman State?s students, or staying at one of the university?s residences.</p>

<p>I have seen on Truman?s WebPage that they recommend to the international students staying at one of the university?s residences. I see both advantages and disadvantages to this option. The main advantage that I see is that it should be easier making friends staying at a residence. This is a very important point, because as a foreign student, that is one of your may concerns, if you will fit well there and you will be able to make friends easily or not (I have heard totally conflicting versions about the ease to make friends at the USA. Some have told me that they?re very open people and on the contrary, others have told me that they are very shy and that it?s complicated to make friends there. I suppose that neither will have the truth and that like in any other country, there will be open and shy people, so it?ll depend more on me and my attitude if I make friends easily or not). So this is a very strong point to choose this option. </p>

<p>But I see some disadvantages too, and I think they are also important. The main one is that I?ll be almost 27 years old by the time I get to Kirksville and according to my university experience, only freshman and sophomore students stay at a residence (so we are talking about 18 to 20 years old students). In my country, the Basque Country, and in Spain (the country where I studied my first degree) all the first year students live in residences with the only aim of meeting people and make friends. Once they have made friends on that first year, on the next year they rent flats with their friends. I don?t know if that is the case of Truman, but if also works that way, I?m worried if I wouldn?t fit well with students that are younger than me.</p>

<p>Another disadvantage would be ?the lack of freedom? when you live in a residence. May be I haven?t chosen a very appropriate expression, but what I wanted to reflect was that while you can do whatever you want in your flat (there are no time limits, you have your own room with no roommate, you can bring any friend at any time if you don?t bother the rest of the flatmates ... ) there are many restrictions in a residence.</p>

<p>The second option, renting a room in a flat with other Truman students, has its good and bad aspects, too. I have mentioned its main advantage before, the freedom that you have in your own house. But I see a very important disadvantage to this option. That there?s the risk to know only your flatmates and that you don?t make many friends. There?s also another aspect that worries me, and that?s that I think it would be complicated finding a flat with Truman students that have a free room in the middle of the academic year in January and that would be willing to take a foreign student with them.</p>

<p>These are some of my thoughts about that aspect, and I haven?t taken a decision yet. So as some of you have been Truman students or you have been in contact with Truman?s reality, I would be very grateful if you could give me your opinions about it. Thank you in advance.</p>

<p>Apart from the place to live in Kirksville, there?s another important subject for me, and that?s sport. I like practising sports a lot (before the Business Administration degree that I?m currently studying, I studied the degree of Sciences of Physical Activity and Sport on its sport companies management branch) and I would like to know what are the options to practise sport at Kirksville. Here at Donostia, I go jogging everyday from Monday to Friday and on the weekends I play soccer on a team with my friends (I also play ?pala?, but it?s a sport that I?m afraid it?s only played in my country, so I?m not going to ask about it :) ).</p>

<p>I have made an idea about how Kirksville is thanks to Google Earth, and I think that there?s no problem to go jogging there. But I?ve seen that during January and February it snows a lot in Kirksville (may be it snows in March too, but I have checked the university?s webcam several times, and it seems that those are the months where snow affects more) and my question is if during that months it is possible to go jogging on the streets (may be they clean them during the day and in midday streets are ok to go jogging as sun melts snow) and in case it isn?t, if there?s an indoor facility where you can go jogging.</p>

<p>About soccer, I don?t know how sport leagues work in the USA. The image that we have about university teams there (taken from USA films :) ) is that they are similar to professional teams and that it is very difficult to make into the team. That not all the students have the opportunity to play in the university?s team. So my question is if you know if I could play or just train with the university?s soccer team (I?m not a good soccer player, but I enjoy a lot playing it, so it would be great to have the opportunity to play soccer there). I have seen that you have Intramural sports, too, but they only last 1 or 2 season games, so that?s not what I?m looking for, because I?m going to be there until June, so 1 or 2 games seem very little.</p>

<p>Here, apart from the university, there are many football teams in each city and town, and I don?t know if there are soccer teams in Kirksville or not. I know that soccer isn?t a very popular sport in the USA, so may be my questions are kind of stupid, but I would like to know how the situation of soccer is there, so I can see if it?s possible or not for me to play soccer there (if not, there?s not any problem, because despite soccer is my favourite sport, I like practising sport in general, so any sport that involves movement works for me).</p>

<p>Well, I?m afraid I?ve written too much, and more if we consider that I only wanted to ask for your advice about only two subjects, acommodation and sport, so I?m going to finish now (I hope it wasn?t too boring).</p>

<p>Thank you again to everybody, excuse me for all the grammar mistakes I?m sure I?ve done (I did my best, but my English level is not very good, although I expect to improve it considerably during my stay in Kirksville) and if you know anyone who is considering the option of studying in the Basque Country give them my e-mail address (<a href="mailto:basque_boy23@hotmail.com">basque_boy23@hotmail.com</a>) and I?ll try to help them and give all the information that I can.</p>

<p>I?m thrilled with the idea of going there.</p>

<p>Looking forward to hearing from you,
Jon.</p>

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<p>Hello, Jon! First of all, I'm glad you ended up with your first choice. Truman is a great school, and while Kirksville is... not my favorite place in the world... it's the perfect place to study English.</p>

<p>First of all, the friendliness of people from the US greatly varies, just like any other country. You'll have to put in some effort to make friendships of substance, but you'd have to do that anywhere. I find that people in rural areas are much more friendly than those in the city, but that's just my opinion.</p>

<p>I think you're right to worry about living on/off campus. The dorms are a great way to meet people and to practice English, but it can get a bit stifling--and the older you are, the worse it will be. At Truman, freshmen (18-19 year olds) are required to stay in the dorms. After that, it's optional. Maybe 75% of sophomore stay in the dorms, ~20% of juniors, and very few seniors (at this point, they'd be around 21-23 years old). I'm pulling these numbers out of thin air, but you get the idea. The ages of international students in the dorms run the gamut, from 18-25. One of my suitemates (we share a bathroom, but not a room) is a senior Korean international student, and he'll be celebrating his 26th birthday in July.</p>

<p>re: "the lack of freedom"--this is the main reason to live off campus. If you live in the dorms, you'll have to check in after 12am (10:30pm on weekends), you will not be able to have alcohol (but you can drink off campus), and "quiet hours," when you have to be quiet in the halls, run from 10:30pm-6am. Living off campus, you won't have to bother with those rules. However, living off campus will mean you'd have to put in some effort to meet more people, and finding an apartment/room could be difficult, although not necessarily impossible. People generally study abroad second semester of every year, so there's a good chance that if you started early enough (think... August/September) you'd find something. Heck, worst-case scenario, if you decide to live off-campus but can't find a place to live, you could crash in my apartment for a while... I doubt my roommates would mind. :)</p>

<p>Honestly, I don't really know which you should choose. I'm not a big fan of the dorms for a variety of reasons, but they ARE a good place to meet people. You'll be improving your (already outstanding) English just by going to class every day. Even though this wasn't very helpful, I hope this gave you something to think about...</p>

<p>It's certainly possible to jog in the streets at any time of the year. There are actually several miles of bicycle/jogging paths spread throughout Kirksville, as well as many back roads to run on. The weather in January and February usually isn't too bad, compared to, say, Minnesota (not too much snow, the ice isn't too awful, etc). The issue is the temperature: it stays down in the single digits for several days at a time. When it snows, the streets are usually cleared by noon. What you may not know about the weather in the US midwest is that it is highly volatile. For example: it was 75 degrees on Wednesday last week, without a cloud in the sky. Saturday morning, it was snowing. By noon Saturday, we had about four inches of snow, and by 7pm, it ALL melted. The Rec (campus gym) is open and free to all students, and it has a pretty nice indoor track. Personally, I prefer to run outside regardless of the weather. It builds character. ;)</p>

<p>Many college sports teams are like the movies, but not all of them, and definitely not Truman's. You wouldn't be able to join the soccer team, but you might be able to practice with them (e-mail the coach, maybe?). Another option is intramurals. Truman has many intramural teams for many different sports, including soccer, all organized by the friendly folk at the Rec. It's much less intense than the varsity team, and while there are only a couple of games, they do a lot of practicing. That's pretty much how the intramural system works here. Soccer isn't terribly popular in America as a whole, but you can certainly find someone who's interested enough to play a game or two. David Beckham's move to America will (hopefully!) make the sport much more popular.</p>

<p>If you have any more questions, feel free to message me/e-mail me (I've included my e-mail address in a PM). I may actually contact you with info about Basque/Basque country... I'd be very interested in either studying there one day or just visiting.</p>

<p>Hope this helped,
A</p>

3

<p>Good evening Adam, and thank you very much for your help. Actually is much more than I expected. A very complete reply without doubt.</p>

<p>You have perfectly guessed what?s my intention choosing Kirksville as my destiny, and that?s not anything but improving my English level. The options our university gave us in the USA were Boston College International, Truman State University, Santa Clara University, University of Dayton and Loyola Marymount University. The international department coordinator, tried to persuade me several times to go to any other university of the USA saying that Kirksville was a very little city in the middle of nowhere and that the other universities had a better reputation (I don?t know anything about them, but at least Boston College sounds me as a good one), but my I made my decision many time ago. When I saw two years ago the catalogue of the different universities throughout the world where we could go, beside every university there was a little commentary about their excellencies, with one exception. Next to an (at that moment) unknown university called Truman State was written ?no ESTE (the faculty where I study here) student has attended this university in years? :). So my curiosity was aroused by this and I started looking for information about Kirksville and when I saw how little it was and where it was placed, I thought for myself, ?Jon, that?s exactly the perfect place to learn English appropriately? :). Because when other students of my university come back from their stay in a foreign country, you asked them about how was the experience, the answer always is great, but when you asked them if they have improved their English level, their answers are more like ?well, actually I went there with two other friends from the university, and in addition we made some friends from our country there, so we didn?t speak much English?. And that?s just the kind of thing that I want to avoid. Besides that, I thought that in a little town like Kirksville, there won?t be Basque or Spanish students, so I?ll be forced to speak all the day in English. I know that it seems that I?m quite obsessed with improving my English level, but the fact is that I have reached a point, where I can barely improve my English level (it?s not because I have a great level, but because you can?t improve much in an academy with other Basque or Spanish students that has the same language problems that you have) if is not going abroad.</p>

<p>In addition to that, I would like to avoid too, the typical situation that I see in my university with foreign students. They are always together, the don?t interact with local students, and I always wonder to myself, what a waste of time being in a foreign country and not knowing its people, customs and places. I know being in a foreign country has to be difficult, and that in that kind of situations you tend to shelter on people you know, but I think that in that way you don?t make the most of an experience like living abroad. So my intention is to be the only Basque or Spanish student there (as I wrote in my first post, I?m from the Basque Country, but it?s not an independent country (at least yet) and as I live in the side of the Basque Country that belongs to Spain, for me a Basque or a Spanish student would be the same, because I speak indistinctly both languages, Basque (?euskara? in my language) and Spanish). Besides that, I would like to meet American people and not other foreign students, to make the most of my American experience.</p>

<p>About the living on/off campus subject, I have to thank you for the great ?radiography? you made about the Truman and Kirksville scene. It?s been very helpful. I have to admit that I would prefer living in an apartment (freedom is important), but I?m conscious that I?ll be new there and you never know how are you going to fit in a new place, and may be I can have problems to make friends. Here in Donostia, for example, it?s very difficult to make friends in the university classes, because we only stay there for the classes and then we go to our home or with our friends. So if the situation is the same at Truman, going to an apartment would be a mistake, because despite I appreciate having some moments alone for my own, I?m not autistic :). Continuing with the same topic, I don?t know if I have understood well it or not, but what I?ve understood is that some Truman State students also go to spend their second semester to a foreign country, so it makes me think that there has to be free rooms in some apartments where one of their housemates has gone abroad. If that?s the situation, I could have some opportunity to find a room in an apartment like that with other Truman students, but I still see two problems. The first one is how you can contact with people that are in that case, and the other one, are they going to be willing to rent a room to an international student that they don?t know and may not fit well with them? I was only thinking aloud :).
Anyway, there?s still much time until I have to make a decision, but I have always liked being prudent and prepare things with enough time.</p>

<p>I wouldn?t like to forget to thank you for your invitation to crash in your apartment for a while in case I don?t find a place. I?m very grateful and it?s very kind of you.</p>

<p>If it?s ok with you, I?ll ask you for advice about this topic as I have more doubts to clear.</p>

<p>About the sport subject, it?s good to know that I?ll be able to continue jogging there. I like practising sports a lot (although I?m very bad at almost every of them :) ), and I?ve seen through Google Earth that there?s a great park with a lake next to the city, so buying a bike will be a must do thing when I get there.</p>

<p>In the case of soccer, your comment about the varsity team has been very helpful. Because when I visited Truman?s webpage I totally dismissed it when I saw that they only play one to two games (which in 6 months is like nothing), but if you say that they do a lot of practising, I?ll have to take it into consideration. Joining the soccer team even if it?s only for practising is another option, but I don?t know what?s the level of the team. I?m not a very good player (may be I?m quite bad :), at least here) so I don?t know if they would be interested on having someone on the team that only trains and is below the average on skills. But I think it would be a great opportunity for me to make friends, because according to my experience, being part of a sport team is the easiest way to make friends. And I also love soccer, so it would be a great chance to both make friends and have a good time. Thank you also for suggesting the idea of e-mailing the coach, I didn?t know that was possible. Another thing to take into consideration :).</p>

<p>Before finishing, I know that I had finished with the accommodation subject, but it has come to my mind just now. Is there any place in the university where Truman students that have a free room in their apartment put advertisements asking for someone to get that room? Because in case there is, it would be much easier for me to find a room from here. </p>

<p>So thank you a lot for your great and complete reply, it?s been very helpful. Thank you also for offering your e-mail address in case I have more questions. At least at the beginning, I?ll continue using the forum to communicate with you, because I don?t want to bother you much. I think you can feel obliged to reply my messages in case I write to you to your e-mail address, while if I write to the forum you can decide not to reply more easily (sometimes when you only now one person somewhere, you tend to lean too much on that person and you are not conscious that he/she is getting tired and I don?t want that to happen).</p>

<p>I almost forget it! Of course you can contact me to ask for information about the Basque Country (in Basque it?s Euskal Herria). I?ll be pleased to help you with any kind of information about it or even about Spain. As I told you during the message, the Basque Country is not an independent country and it?s divided in two parts, one that belongs to France and the other that belongs to Spain (hopefully some day we?ll achieve the independence). The part of the Basque Country where I live belongs to Spain, so officially I?m Spanish according to my identity card and passport (officially there?s not a Basque nationality), but I only feel myself as Basque, and I don?t care about what papers say, I?ll only be Basque all my life. So as you can see I know Spain quite well, and I even spent 4 years in Madrid, the capital of Spain, when I was studying my first degree (Sciences of Physical Activity and Sport). I strongly recommend you to use the opportunity of going abroad for one semester and I don?t have any doubt that the Basque Country or Spain would be great places for it (although I say that I don?t feel myself as Spanish, it doesn?t mean I have anything against it, it?s only that I?m Basque). Everybody that comes here likes it, and the city where I live, Donostia, is incredible, really beautiful. As you told me, feel free to e-mail me (<a href="mailto:basque_boy23@hotmail.com">basque_boy23@hotmail.com</a>) with any question you have and I?ll try to help.</p>

<p>Well Adam, sorry for writing such a long reply, but once I started writing many ideas came into my mind :). I hope I haven?t bored you.</p>

<p>One last thing about my English level. Thank you for saying that it?s already outstanding, but I?m afraid it?s not true :). The point is that when I?m writing like now, I can look into the dictionary when I have any doubt, but while you?re speaking that?s not possible, and that?s why I?m that bad speaking English. I hope my stay in Kirksville will help me improving that aspect :).</p>

<p>So, please, e-mail me if you have any question, and I?ll continue writing to you in the forum if it?s ok with you.</p>

<p>Thank you Adam.</p>

<p>Greetings,
Jon.</p>

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<p>Good evening again. I have checked the message I have posted now and I have seen that I have a typing problem. I do not know why, but although I use the apostrophe in contractions, the forum changes all them into question marks. I only wanted to clarify it, because I make an effort trying to write correctly and I do not want you to think that I do not care about writing correctly.</p>

<p>That is it. I promise I am not going to write more today :).</p>

<p>Greetings,
Jon.</p>

5

<p>Jon,</p>

<p>I'm studying various foreign languages (Russian, French, Spanish, etc), so I understand the desire to go somewhere relatively obscure in order to improve your language level. But what I was saying about your (written) English level is true--you have a fantastic grasp of the grammar, and your vocabulary is excellent, even with the use of a dictionary. I've reached the same level you have for English in French, and I doubt I'll be able to improve until I head over there... eventually. Thanks for the info about the Basque Country; I find that area to be incredibly interesting, and would love to go there one day!</p>

<p>Please, feel free to ask whatever/whenever you'd like! I don't really go on this site very much at all, but if you'd continue to PM me whenever you respond, I'll be sure to check it out.</p>

<p>There is a school newspaper that you can find online (<a href="http://www.trumanindex.com)%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.trumanindex.com)&lt;/a>. The offline edition has classifieds... I'm not sure if the online version does, though. There's also a bulletin board in the SUB (Student Union Building) that has ads for available rooms/apartments, but I don't think any of them are posted online, unfortunately.</p>

<p>Hope this helped...</p>

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<p>Good afternoon Adam and thank you for the information. I knew that there was a newspaper in Kirksville, the Kirksville Daily Express, but I did not know anything about a school newspaper. It can be a great way to get more information. I will check it better when I have more time.</p>

<p>Have a nice week,
Jon.</p>

7

<p>1) I agree with ruling out a flat just for yourself, good decision.
2) Choosing between the other two options depends a little on your personality and some other things I'll try to talk about. </p>

<p>Sometimes a lot of upperclassmen (older people) choose to move out of the dorms because they in general study more and need more of their own space. There are people with extremely busy schedules and they want a room to themselves where no one will bother them when they need to do whatever they need to do. You brought up the point of having people over in your room whenever you want and not disturbing the others. As an upperclassman you usually are more serious about your studies and classes so you become more sensitive to how much time etc. other people spend in your room, study, and working space. There are certain people that can usually only hang out with people in their age area and a 26 year old sometimes does not like hanging out with a 20 year old. There are other's, like me, who doesn't really care about the age of the other person and can get along fine with all types of age groups. If you are a person that really does not like talking with 18 and 20 year olds then the dorms are not for you, but if you can talk with all kinds of people and age really isn't that big of a deal then I would not worry about you being 26 and living in the dorms. People WILL NOT treat you that much different.</p>

<p>It is true that if you live in dorms you will come into contact with more individuals from different backrounds much faster. In a flat you will meet other people, friends of flatmates, their friends, etc. but this will take a longer period of time and you're here for only one semester. In dorms there's lounges right down the hall where people from a whole floor will hang, people will sometimes go eat with people from their floor, etc. so you get interaction with other people much faster and in greater concentration which is a good thing. </p>

<p>Some other advantages I see to living in a dorm is the fact that you do not have to worry about paying utility/rent every month and if something breaks you just call these guys and they fix it for you while in a flat you it's more difficult. Also in a flat you have to take the time to go grocery shopping and cook for yourselves, etc. while in the domrs you can just eat at the cafeteria. Just to let you know that you can still buy a meal plan if you live in a flat. The food at the cafeteria is not that good, in my opinion it's okay. Some days it tastes worse than others, but I don't have that much of a problem with it.</p>

<p>There's is another option you did not mention. I'm not sure if it's offered to international students but you can buy out a dorm room. What that means is that you pay a little extra and you get the dorm (residenc) room all to yourself. I personally think this would be the best option for you. You have a room all to yourself where you can go into to study when you want, you can bring whomever over when you want, etc without worrying about disturbing your roomate or having a roomate to disturb you. Also, you would still get a lot of interaction with the people from your floor etc. A lot of upperclassmen that choose to live on campus this is what they do. I will be a second year next year and I plan to live in the dorms all 4 years and junior and senior year I will probably just pay a little extra anf get a room for myself. So, I would ask the university regarding whether you can do this. However, there are only a certain number of rooms that they give away for one person so if you do this you have to sign up ealry to make sure you get a room to yourself.</p>

<p>The restrictions of living in a dorm room I would not worry too much about, expecially if you live alone. There are restrictions but they are not that important, once again especially if you get the dorm room to yourself.</p>

<p>Another important thing is choosing which dorm building you live in. There are some good things and bad things about each building so if you want me to explain some of the difference between the dorm buidling in detail ask me.</p>

<p>You also said that you are worried about finding a flatmate in the middle of the academic year. I would not be worried about that. You will have no problem finding a flatmate because a lot of people leave because they graduate the pervious semester so they move out. Other go study abroad so they move out. There will definatelly be people looking for a roomate around that time. Most people will have no problem with you being a foreign student they will actually enjoy it. The trick would be knowing where to look to find a flatmate, but this is something to worry about closer to the actual date and if you chose to go this route I can give you more tips then, but you are a long ways off from this and you dont know whether you will go this route.</p>

<p>3)Sports</p>

<p>You can run on the streets in Jan/Feb. Also we have an indoor facility where you can exercise and it is free if you are a Truman student. I posted the link to the website of the facility below.</p>

<p><a href="http://recreation.truman.edu/Facilities/Hours.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://recreation.truman.edu/Facilities/Hours.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>The facility is pretty nice. There is a weighlifting gym, an indoor track and treadmills on which you can run. There are certain classes you can take for free. The site also talks about intramurals soccer. I cant speak much more about soccer but you can try e-mailing the coach like the other poster said.</p>

<p>In another building there is an indoor pool that's open to the public during certain times and you can go swim.</p>

<p>The things I mentioned above regarding the sports facility is usually found in most universities across the US.</p>

8

<p>It is a good thing you have choosen a place where others you know will not go. This will force you to talk to other people and expand your language skills. Here at Truman we have a lot of international students from Nepal, about 200 and I've noticed that some of them will stick together and therefore, feel more comfortable to speak in their tongue instead of English. I was talking with a girl from Nepal and she said she did not like that there are so many Nepalese students because they usually stick together and do not speak English as often as she would like.</p>

<p>Meeting new people will depend a great deal on your part. You have to initiate things, you have to talk to others, you have to try and make friends, you have to go to activities. It will most certainly not be an easy thing, but if you wanna meet new people YOU have to be the one who tries a little bit harder. This will be because most of the students here will already have friends they can hangout with etc. However, never ever try thinking to yourself whether you are bothering this person with your questions or whether you should just leave them alone because you are annoying them since you are foreign and they already have friends they can have fun with. I spent half my life in Europe and half in the US and from personal experience I can tell you that people love the fact that you are foreign and have experienced so many different things. Most students love diversity and most people will love talking to you and getting to know you, but you sometimes have to be the one to start things. </p>

<p>I will also say don't try to turn away all foreign students and try to be friends with Americans. It you get a friend whose from Finland or Bulgaria be friends with them too. Get to know people from everywhere even if it will be a little uncomfortable at first.</p>

<p>The class aspect is the same here. Most people don't make their friends in classes. You go to class for a little while and then you leave. You don't have time to meet lots of people in classes so I would not count on this.</p>

<p>"The first one is how you can contact with people that are in that case, and the other one, are they going to be willing to rent a room to an international student that they don?t know and may not fit well with them"</p>

<p>I would not worry about contacting them at this point I would first figure out whether you want to live in dorms or in an apartment, focus on this aspect and then worry about contacting them. The way people advertive that they have free room is by posting signs around campus. I don't know if there is a database or anything of the sort.</p>

<p>About the bike.
We have a program where you can rent a bike for free from a club on campus. I don't know much about it and whether it's still highly active this year, but I know some people who might. I can tell you about this much much much much closer to next year. You can also buy bike from WALMART huge store here (you could probably see it on google earth). The bikes will not on the lower quality but they will be cheap and sturdy and should last you for a semester. I had a bike from here a while ago that lasted me 5 years and it's still in good condition. Nothing fancy just to get around once in a while.</p>

9

<p>Good evening macinici. I am very grateful for your two great replies. You have given me a lot of information and many ideas to think about. I would like to reply now, but here it is 00:44 now and I have to wake up tomorrow at 06:00.</p>

<p>I will think about the things you mentioned (I have found very interesting the idea of having your own room in a residence) during the week and I will write a more complete reply this weekend (after the great replies you wrote it is the less I can do).</p>

<p>Thank you macinici.</p>

<p>Greetings,
Jon.</p>

10

<p>Good afternoon ?macinici?. As I told you in my last post, I haven been very busy during this week (many assignments to do before Easter) and I have not been able to reply to your post earlier.</p>

<p>I have to start saying that your replies were great and they gave me a lot of useful information. They help me thinking about the accommodation thing, too. But I would like to clarify one thing before I start with that topic. I do not have any problem with the fact of being with younger people. My concern was not if I was going to like them, but if they were going to accept me due to my age. As I wrote in a previous post, I am currently studying my second degree, and the people that are in my class now, they are about 21 and 22 years old. So I am used to it and also to the opposite situation. Last academic year I combined the third year of the Business Administration degree here in Donostia, with a master?s degree in Madrid about Sporting Bodies and Services Management, and my best friend there, he had a sister of my age. So as you can see I have been with people of my age (in my first degree), with people younger than me (in the current degree) and with much older people. In addition, I have to say that here at my current university, I am both the student representative of my class and of the whole faculty, so I am used to treat with people of all the ages.</p>

<p>After clarified that aspect, I will take the accommodation topic again. I have to admit that the idea of having your own room in the dorms sounds good, but I still have some doubts about this option. In the four years that I spent in Madrid (Spain) when I was doing my first degree, I spent the first 3 years in a students residence while the last one I went to an apartment with some friends. I had a great time at the residence, but I have to say that the last year, the one that we spent on the apartment, was by far the best of the 4 I spent in Madrid. As I told you in another post, there are those aspects like not having your own room (in case you are not able to get and individual room), the time limits or the many rules they have there, but I have been thinking during this week about this matter, and at the end I have realised that they were not that important. I realised that the worst aspect of being in a residence was that we did not go out much. And with going out I am not talking about partying or things like that. What I mean is that, for example, as we had paid all the meals in the residence, we always had to go to have lunch or dinner to the residence and adapt our plans to the dining rooms timetable. But when I was in the apartment, sometimes I used to have lunch in the university cafeteria, others at home and others in a restaurant. And if one day we went somewhere and we came home late there was no problem because we could cook something at home. I know it seems a very tiny thing, but my impression is that I did many more things when I was in the apartment than in the residence, because we used to spend a lot of time in the residence. And that is something I would like to avoid, because if I go to Kirksville, I would like to have as many experiences as I can, visit a lot places and do a lot of activities too. I know you can do all those things being in the dorms, but an apartment gives you more freedom.</p>

<p>There is another aspect about the dorms that I do not like much, and that is the fact of having to share the bathroom with more people. I saw in Truman?s WebPage that there are even dorms where there is a communal bathroom for a whole floor and I have to admit that the idea does not seduce me. When I was in a residence, we all had our own room with our bathroom and shower inside it and the same in the apartment. May be it is a cultural thing and you get used to it once you are there, but at least from the distance it sounds kind of ?strange?. In addition, I am an only child and I am used to have some privacy at home, too. I know that this is not a big thing either, but at the end it is the add of this little things what you take into consideration when you have to make a decision.</p>

<p>You also mentioned the studying topic, and how some upperclass students tend to take a whole room only for them because they have to study a lot, but I think that is not going to be my situation. On the one hand, because I prefer studying in a library that at home (at least if it is not very crowded) and on the other hand, because I have heard that when you go to study abroad, the classes you have are quite easy (not only for us going to the USA or other countries, but also for the ones that come to our country).</p>

<p>After said that, I have to admit that I still see a very interesting thing to the dorms, and that is that it is supposed to be easier to make friends there than in an apartment, and that is a very important point in my situation. So in short, I think that the situation is that I prefer to stay in an apartment, but in that case I can have problems to make friends, and at the end this is the most important thing, because being alone in Kirksville is not definitely a good plan at all :).</p>

<p>I think that if I go to an apartment, I would depend a lot of my flatmates and in case we did not get along, my situation could be quite difficult. I know I would not have any problem with them in the house work, because I am a very tidy person and I am not lazy with house work, but there could be ?problems? with the way I am. I mean, I do not like partying and going out at night, I prefer to spend my spare time practising sports, going for a walk or watching a movie. And if me and my flatmates have very different interests, how am I going to make friends? </p>

<p>I am conscious that I will have to be the one adapting to the others, and that I will have to make an effort to make friends, and I am ready for it.</p>

<p>There is one last thing I would like to ask you about. How is the Internet situation there? I mean, you have Internet connection in your room in the dorms? In case there is not, is there a free access Internet room in the dorms? And in case you go to an apartment with other Truman students, would you have Internet connection there? I know it may not seem an important aspect, but as a foreign student, I am afraid you pass many hours in the Internet writing e-mails to your friends or phoning with Skype, and having the Internet in your room is necessary for that purpose.</p>

<p>Well, I think I have no more questions to ask right now. I would like to end saying thank you for your help both ?macinici?and Adam, I am very grateful.</p>

<p>Have a nice week,
Jon.</p>