University of Virginia Library

Host Student

He became interested in
America when he first read
about President Kennedy and
our democratic system. He is
not sure about renaububg here,
however, because he feels the
future of the U.S. is too
uncertain. Club President
Kemal had similar feelings
about staying in America: "I
have no specific plans yet. It's
hard to tell. If you can't get a
job it's hard to stay."

Hasmukh mentioned one
idea brought up by the other
students, that "It takes a long
time to get to know an
American person here." One
international attributed the
difficulty of developing
relationships to the
competitive atmosphere in his
classes.

Another unassuming male
felt that girls were easier to get
to know. Mehmet said, as
many of the others did, that
the social success of the
international "all depends on
the person.... You have to
know how to adapt."

International Student
Counselor Lucy Hale perceives
in many of the Internationals
the desire to establish deep,
lasting friendships, She
understands the different
perspectives of the students.

Mrs. Hale hopes to see a
"host student" program in
addition to the host family,
(All new foreign students are
placed with a host family
during their first year),
because of the generation gap
that invariably exists between a
youthful student and a
middle-aged couple.