<p>does anyone have any good (or bad) experience in rooming with a student like this? i recentely found out that my roommate is an "exchange student," (but he is a freshman) and im not quite sure what that means...so i dont really know what to expect, and now i am FREAKING OUT.</p>
<p>i am in no way prejudice, i guess i was just assuming my roomate would be from the USA, and i wouldnt be exposed to such cultural diversity so soon. i think he is some where from eastern europe (czech republic/russia/somewhere like that). now i am worrying about my social life, as i was expecting to become good friends with my roommate, and i am wondering if he will be more apt to not be social because he might be shy, etc...</p>
<p>can anyone assure me that i am wrong (i think i need a good slap in the face about this)...or relieve my stress in any way?</p>
<p>European people are awesome. Foreign people are awesome in general. Two of my best friends are foreign, and I know several others too. As long as you can understand their English, you should be completely fine.</p>
<p>Calm down. I've never roomed with a foreign-born student but there are a lot of them on my hall (Russians, mostly). Since he got into an American university, he probably knows English well enough for you to communicate just fine. He might be a little shy at first because he's homesick - it's a big transition to go to a new country - but once he's had a bit of time to adjust he should be fine, and he'd probably be glad to have a friend. On the other hand, he might be outgoing and eager to dive into American life as quickly as possible.</p>
<p>Don't be ridiculously nosy and bother him with questions all the time, but do show some curiosity about life and traditions in his home country. Explain American holidays to him if he doesn't know about them already, and if there's a holiday from back home that he's homesick for, maybe offer to celebrate it with him? If the climate is very different in his home country, he might need some tips on dressing for the weather - my school has a lot of Indians and so many of them have no clue how to dress for a Boston winter when they first arrive.</p>
<p>I had a roommate from China my freshman year....and she honestly drove me absolutely crazy. For the most part, she just drove me crazy because she was a manic-depressive person who never went to class, made any friends, showered, or ever went out -- not because she was Chinese. But a few things were irritating to cope with. She ALWAYS played Cantonese music; talked on the phone with her family in Hong Kong like every day, never stepped out of the room once (if you've ever heard this language, it's very high-pitched and not easy on the ears); and she would cook this really weird food in the microwave that left a smell which honestly forced me to open my windows to prevent myself from gagging. Plus, in her culture, it's expected that everyone share what they have with each other without having to ask -- consequently, she would eat loads of my food and use my computer all the time without asking. I could never get over seeing this as rude. She just felt no interest whatsoever in learning about the American way of life, or making friends here; all she did was talk about how she missed home and hated Massachusetts. </p>
<p>Of course, it was an interesting experience and I did learn alot of valuable things from her -- but, ustas, you are definitely not naive in thinking that there may be some cultural clashes that you just won't be able to get over. But remember that clashes are inevitable with any roommate, not just foreign ones.</p>
<p>Yeah, but clashes are obviously cooler with a foreign roommate. There's just something about arguing with someone with an accent...kinda like a war, ya know?</p>
<p>He had to pass the TOEFL, so you'll be able to understand him, and he you.</p>
<p>I'm international - just hope I wouldn't find my roommate on a forum asking a question like this! (Well it can't be my roommate since we don't know our roommates yet!)</p>
<p>You have nothing to worry about - Most of us are more normal than you would imagine and don't bite!</p>
<p>i agree with caughtbehind. for the most part, we're just like everyone else. and if your roomie went to hs in the us (maybe boarding?) then he'll probably be exactly like every other american teen you know.</p>
<p>Yeah, you need to think more positive. Foreigners are cool. You get to learn about them and their culture and you get to be the ambassador for the US. So show your roomy a good time in the best country in the world.
Feed much alcohol</p>
<p>You might have to explain some - what seems to you - really basic stuff, like how to buy clothes, what's the usual way of saying hi/bye etc. It really depends on how international he is. If he's never set foot on American soil, you can be sure to expect he won't know much about how stuff works here. The thing about buying clothes is a big thing (for me) cause it's different in some countries. Some you just grab stuff off racks and it's a free for all in the changing rooms, others you're not allowed to try at all. Just some basic stuff like that.</p>
<p>No, we internationals are completely uncouth man eating, cave man language speaking (whatever that is) barbarians who streak all around college.</p>
<p>do all you people who post such threads really feel that intels are inferior or something? dude, we may be from a different country, where we've grown up in a different culture. but if you have a problem being open about different cultures, GOD HELP YOU.</p>
<p>and we're probably gonna do better than you in english class.</p>