Harding College - Petit Jean Yearbook (Searcy, AR)

Page 24 text:

l Imported and Internationals If a voice count of Harding's 3000 students were to ever be taken, a stranger could be excused for mistaking the event for a roll-call vote of the United Nations and the U.S. Senate. On a ratio basis Harding has long been quite cosmopolitan in the makeup of her student body. Among the 1386 men and 1413 women on campus this year, 48 states and 25 foreign countries were represented. The diversity of the individuals combined in Harding's own type of melting transplanted, learn to cope 1. SENIOR Debbie McCabe from Rhodesia, a transfer student from Alabama Christian College, enjoys the Regina Christmas party. 2. SPENDING an afternoon outdoors, Tom Alexander and fiance Ieannie Spencer relax in a swing. Internationals pot, giving many a different kind of education than what the catalog promised for 565.50 per semester hour. Often, however, experience, a harsh teacher at times, taught the visiting foreign students more lessons than even the most northem Yankee received. Senior Debbie McCabe was one who learned much from experience. From Rhodesia, Debbie's initial trip to the U.S. was more urgent than academic. My parents wanted me to get out of Rhodesia because of the war situation, she said, And a friend at home had two daughters at Alabama Christian College in Montgomery. Originally, Debbie planned to return to Rhodesia after attending ACC for two years. She altered her plans, however, after going back home for the summer. It was very different the summer after my freshman year when I went back home, she recounted. Before I came to the ,States I wasn't a Christian. When I went home I was different from my friends. We had grown apart. Deciding to continue toward. her degree-in public relations in the U.S., Debbie came to Harding. Here she continued to- face anjenvgonment in whig she was still not totally comfortable. I think the whole pace of life here is faster . . . even the families, ' she commented. For instance, meallime here is so hurried. The food itself was an adjustment for her also. Moving to the South, she encountered an abundance of fried foods, a rare commodity in Rhodesia. Even though she came from an English-speaking culture, Debbie also found the language and social customs of the U.S. to be quite different. She discovered in Alabama that Hey means, Hi, whereas in Rhodesia, Hey means, Come here, I need to speak with you. Her problems were only compounded by her' accent and some Americans' delight in mocking it. I began to think they just didn't like the way I talked, recalled Debbie. So I tried to talk like them: I even went through a stage where I wouldn't talk at all unless it was absolutely necessary. One major social adjustment for Debbie came in the way she viewed dating. She stated that in Rhodesia, You have an unspoken agreement that while you are getting to know someone you won't go out with anyone else. Debbie's feelings and experiences were not entirely unique, however. Senior Tom Alexander, son of missionary parents in Australia, experienced his own culture shock upon returning to America. After living in Australia for six years, during the crucial years between the ages of 12 and 18, Tom was more Aussie than American. He had developed an Australian accent and was accustomed to using British spellings and slang expressions. I stuck my foot in my mouth a lot my freshman year, he commented. The first year was especially difficult for Tom. It was hard to make decisions on my own, he said. Dating was an adjustment. In Australia, as in Rhodesia, people date one person at a time. A member of Chi Sigma Alpha social club, Tom received some help in the transition process from fellow club members. The guys on my wing paid for a phone call home my first Christmas here, he recalled. It was very expensive - 53.00 a minute. Unlike Debbie and Tom, who came from English-speaking nations, business major Shinobu Otsuka spoke no Enggsh when she arrived in the States. From Chiba, Iapan she came to Arkansas in 1976 as a sophomore in high school to attend Harding Academy. 'flgwas scared to even try to talk to anyone, said Shinobu, because I knew they wouldn't understand what I was trying to say. English was very hard to learn. After spending three years in Arkansas and learning the English language, Shinobu now considers herself as much a Southerner' as her roommate,

Page 23 text:

M- 'A ' 's -H STEAL OI 57191 , 'YW- 'au- f.,'.. V.. 'f,...,...,. '. .. mn ggmic .UL iJz.m,.1,lc1s wiizh Ergvifut kI'Z,f7Ei' TWTICQ vim in spears. 2. Ff.f7.f2fE! DV J.. I1o::'.ga! Lf1'r'1ux'issi 1 w , ff' LlCJCLlILg 1' you :I l-'xiii jean party fif91' 11--.-,M 1 MU. mmf. L W we .LC Y. .. 1 1 -,.ML11.,..1,,1. som: fm, Cf.-. ., ,LM . 22 l.,v.J ur:2::y3f:iea gillfil Dann 1052941 Pfyoi' 215 01:2 caaufiiy of ilu: f.,.L nigh: Quitacia. Q-5. T?3'ZQi'LYi'AI'ff-,fJE,1 Yfl'Efz', Hal Vhfesl, Darrui Webb and Mark Stitlmti Para? Ufxvlu, manga? zz: plot in aiezzi simwer pzaacis ani bmlil SCEES EM 251 bggihs. U ITA ' Y. M..,.414,.A, ,,m, ww

Page 25 text:

who is from Memphis. The nameplate on her door provided evidence that she has adopted this country as a second home. It read, Shinobu Otsuka - Birmingham, Iapan. Shinobu, or Boo, as she is known to her friends, has been home twice since 1976 -- once for Christmas and during last summer. This summer when I went home I had forgotten how to use chopsticks, she related, and when I got back, I had forgotten how to speak English! She also told of an interesting byproduct of the international lifestyle she has. When I go home, she said, I dream in japanese. When I'm here, I dream in English. Speaking of her adopted home in Arkansas, Shinobu said of Harding, It's pretty hard, pretty good and pretty expensive.f', Qf the state she observed, Arkansas is a fierce country. Also from a non-English- speaking country, Richard Andrzejewski came to Harding from France where he learned about Harding from Dave and Rick McAnu1ty, who 'attended school here. l N Learning English was only one of the changes Richard experienced in adjusting to Harding life. Another was the shift from drinking alcohol, since beer and table wine are an inherent part of the French culture. The congregation he attended in France served wine for communion, as is customary in most European countries. Worshipping here with 3000 members of College church, Richard related that he missed the closeness and warmth of his home congregation of 30 members. The people there are closer, and I feel there is more concern and warmth at the services, he said. Arkansas is a fierce 1-3. GESTURING in a typically European manner, Richard Andrzeiewski discusses his homeland with a French Conversation class. 4. IAPANESE citizen Shinobu Otsuka takes advantage of women's open house to spend some time with Doug Fonville. I will always be a defender of the U. S. if I should go somewhere else. - Mark Zuccolo two years ago, Mark, with his wife Louann, decided to come to the U.S. to be around Christians. Since coming to America, Mark has developed some definite opinions about the country. If I had to choose between this country and another country for a new homeland, he commented, I would choose this country. This Iranian crisis makes me realize that it is easy to criticize 'without knowing anything, he continued. But, though the U.S. is criticized much overseas, I still find the values here, although they may be hidden. You just have to xmcover them. Speaking further Mark said, I country. - shimbu Otsuka The reasons for coming to Harding were quite different for Mark Zuccolo than for Richard, Shinobu, Tom or Debbie. With a degree in social sciences from Milan University, Mark, 27, has lived and worked in several different countries. In Geneva, Switzerland he worked for a multinational company as assistant to the president for international relations. After becoming a Christian feel very comfortable here because I believe in basically the same values. I will always be a defender of the U.S. if I should go somewhere else. However, while Mark remains, and as long as others like him continue to attend school here, all Harding students can benefit culturally from an education which could not come from the classroom alone. - Patti Farmer Internationals