This year was the first year that OPIE has tried to house most of the participants in one building. Most of the OPIE students live in the residence hall Scott Quadrangle more commonly known as Scott Quad or “The SQ Lounge,” which is what my friends and I called it when we lived there last year. I talked to Krystina Taylor, who is a Resident Assistant there. She was my RA last year in “The SQ Lounge.” Krys is a Spanish major and she also has completed her Teaching English as Foreign Language (TEFL) certificate. The TEFL program consists of a series of five classes that show students how to effectively teach English to non-native speakers.
I wanted to hear her perspective of OPIE students as an RA, but also as someone who knows how to teach English as a foreign language. 
Communication
I am not an RA, but I know that it can be a challenging job, and RAs need to be able to communicate with their residents. Krys has studied in Mexico and she said she knows that “lost helpless feeling” when students struggle to communicate, she said. I asked her how she communicates with her residents who have trouble with English.
“You learn how to get around the communication barrier,” she said.
Resident Assistants in Scott Quad do that in a variety of ways. It begins with being patient with residents. Some of the students speak English well and so they can translate for other students from their country. The RAs even have students translate some of the English signs hanging in the dorm into Chinese, so that the Chinese students can understand. 
The RAs also focus their programs and activities within the dorm on things that will help international students.
“We try and do more culture based activities,” Krys said.
For example, they set up study tables to help students with their English homework. If students need a study break, they can play Apples to Apples. The game is all about words so it helps with vocabulary and teaches students about popular culture, Krys said.
Adapting
The RAs have had to make other adaptations. It is a different dynamic of students because most of the Chinese students are only children. There are also rules in the dorms that students don’t understand, Krys said.
There are not many problems with alcohol or marijuana like with many American residents, but there are problems with smoking in the building. Krys said that she has to explain over and over again that no one can smoke in the buildings. She caught one of her residents smoking and his punishment was to make a bulletin board about the university’s policies. It is hard for the students to understand this rule because smoking is so popular in China, she said.
In the spring residents of Scott Quad can paint parts of the wall as a fundraiser. One of the OPIE residents saw this and assumed that students could paint the wall anytime. So he painted a graffiti mural on the wall. Because the damage was already done, one of the RAs made him pay for painting the wall.
Krys also said that she receives gifts from the residents all the time. She tells the students that it is part of her job, but they still give her things like fans and scarves from home.
“You learn to expect the unexpected,” Krys said.
Resident Perspective
This was an incredibly interesting perspective to have on the whole RA thing. I had never really thought about it before. I loved that this had what the R.A. thought.
ReplyDeleteOne criticism is that your sentence that said they were"only children" was confusing. I thought that you meant they were children. Oops. Is there a way you could clarify that?
Is there a way you could get some comments from the students on these rules?
I don't really think it is beneficial for the students to be living in the same building. They said that they don't meet many Americans. It is so much easier to avoid trying out English when all of your neighbors speak Chinese. I think it is really sad that the people who are conversation partners are not taking the initiative to meet with the students more often. What are the requirements to be a conversation partner? It seems like some unqualified individuals are in that position.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I don't know if it is entirely appropriate for an RA to accept gifts from residents, regardless of weather they are exchange students or not. Maybe you could add a link to something that better explains the gift giving culture in China.
And that graffiti is really neat! They should do a joint project on the wall by Bentley.
I think this is a great post!! I suppose I am semi-biased being that I am an RA myself, but I feel that you really capture the essence of working with international students. I also like that you put a link to the job requirements of RAs. The photos are great and really paint a picture of life in Scott Quad. Does Krystina (or any of the other RAs) have a program coming up this week? It would be cool if you could attend a program the RAs have organized. It would really give you a feel for what life is like living in the hall...and how Krystina and her fellow staff members cater their programs to the international students' wants and needs. Great job!
ReplyDeleteCorinne: I meant that they did not have any brothers and sisters because in China you can only have one child. I should have explained that better in my post. Here is a link to a CNN article about the policy http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/03/10/china.onechild/index.html
ReplyDeleteTina: The link about gift giving is a great idea. I'll be posting a culture themed post soon and I think I'll include it in there. Thanks for the help.
ReplyDeleteErica: Good idea about the program. I'll have to check on that. Thanks.
Gail, I loved your post! The comments are really insightful. It's interesting to see the outsider perspective on the whole thing, because being a part of the action (ie, and RA) makes you kind of blind to how it actually comes across. On that note, Tina:
ReplyDeleteAs far as the students being housed in the same place, I think the idea is a good one, but the execution could/should have been better on the part of the university. Having been abroad, it is a good feeling to know that you have a hub where there are people who will understand you and your culture. I believe a more effective way of doing this would have been to designate a certain amount of rooms for int'l students and the rest for Americans. It's a lot more nerve-wracking than one might think to just jump into a culture, but having some Americans already in the building will guarantee some interaction. If the students had been immediately thrown onto this campus, with no prior knowledge of it, and varying degrees of language skills, well it can be scary. Even if you are 'proficient' in a language, it's different when you're out in the world, dealing with real people, not students and teachers. In this way, the idea is a great one, it provides some degree of comfort for the students. Also realize that the ones who felt comfortable enough had the choice to move, and many did, so it isn't as though they have no choice in the matter.
Also, to address the gift giving - to accept these gifts from the Chinese students is an interesting experience because it is not something you really encounter in American culture. These students literally came here with gifts, ready to be given to those who help them out. The scarf in the picture was actually a present from a Chinese student who I have become friends with. However, most of the students give you small trinkets - things that aren't really expensive. Not accepting these gifts is seen as rude, ungrateful and is certainly a faux pas - the student is trying to show you their appreciation, and if they feel the situation is 'big' enough to warrant a small gift, then they give you one. Just today I received dried mangoes because my resident got locked out of her room last night (which resulted in her waking me up at 12:30am) and again today. I think she believed that it was an inconvenience to me, and I tried to respectfully decline the fruit, but to no avail. I think the lesson here is that everyone in the building is learning together. We are learning about their culture, and they are learning about ours.