Published: November 18, 2009 09:10 am      

International students share American experience

International students attending Lake Land College in Mattoon shared their American experience and information about their home countries with others Tuesday at the Kluthe Center in Effingham.

The four Lake Land College, Mattoon, students participated in a panel discussion about where they are from and what they are doing in central Illinois.

Attendance was sparse, but Kashif “Gosh” Awan of Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Katharina Wunderer of Augsburg, Germany; and Hyun-Woo “Joe” Cho and Jae-Won “Jay “ Choi, both of South Korea, had plenty to talk about.

One thing the foreign students agreed upon was the friendliness of the American people.

“People are nice,” Awan said. “They make you feel very comfortable.”

“People have treated me like their daughter,” added Wunderer, who had been an exchange student in Clay City during the 2005-06 school year.

The students said some aspects of life in the United States surprised them.

“Eye contact is different in my country,” Cho said. “We usually do not make eye contact in Korea, so the first time I was here was difficult for me.”

Choi said something else surprised him.

“Wearing shoes inside was an adjustment,” he said. “We don’t wear shoes indoors in Korea.”

The three male international students are all business majors, while Wunderer is studying political science with an eye toward going to law school.

All four admitted there were things about their home countries they missed. For Awan, it’s the food.

“We eat a lot of rice with different kinds of meat,” he said. “We don’t eat pork, but we do eat goat meat, beef and chicken.”

Awan admitted learning to cook for the first time once he arrived at Lake Land.

Wunderer said she misses city life. Her home city of Augsburg has a population of more than 250,000.

Both the Korean students said food in their homeland was spicier than American food. Choi added there was another difference.

“People have asked me what the smell is when I am cooking,” he said. “Our food smells stronger than American food.”

All four plan to continue their education beyond Lake Land. Awan said he plans to stay another semester, then go to either New York or Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Wunderer said she would like to attend the University of Illinois, while both Cho and Choi said they planned to return to Korea after completing their course of study at Lake Land.

Awan, who was born in Pakistan but has lived in Dubai almost his entire life, also addressed differences between different Arab nations.

“Don’t think the Middle East is all the same,” he said. “Saudi Arabia (which borders the United Arab Emeritus to the west) is an extreme country.

But in my country, women can dress how they like. We are focused on tourism. We are made for people to come visit with us.”

Awan noted about 60,000 Americans live in Dubai.

Jennifer Copes, director of international student programs at Lake Land, said the panel was formed as part of International Education Week.

“We wanted to give people the opportunity to learn more about other cultures,” Copes said.

Bill Grimes can be reached at 217-347-7151 ext. 132 or bill.grimes@effinghamdailynews.com.