They come to the University to experience a liberal arts education, lead language TA sessions, and immerse themselves in the American college experience. But tucked away on Brainard Ave., a group of just under a dozen visiting international graduate students have little occasion to interact with the rest of the student body, excluding language classes in Fisk, and chance encounters on Bar Night. Despite their close-knit social circle, the residents of Brainard Avenue have developed a unique perspective on the Wesleyan experience.
Katy Ferreira is a French Studies teacher’s assistant who studies History and American Studies at the Sorbonne in Paris. She lives on 39 Brainard Ave. with Sandra Duran Medina, a Spanish TA from Mexico, and two other international graduate students.
“The Americans don’t live here—Brainard is where the international community is located,” Ferreira said.
Despite their differing schedules, the Brainard residents have grown close as a community.
“We go out, cook together, watch movies,” Ferreira said.
The group of international students was initially shocked when they arrived at their new home on campus.
“When we got here, the house was so dirty,” Duran Medina said.
The common areas are now quite clean, but are almost entirely devoid of furniture, posters or any other decorations. The language TAs are a transitory presence on campus, and their house reflects this.
“We’re only here for a year, so we didn’t really feel like investing in furniture,” Ferreira said.
In the kitchen, the only sign that European students live here is a bottle of 2006 Bordeaux sitting on top of the refrigerator. A TV sits unplugged in an otherwise empty living room.
“We usually go next door to watch television,” said Duran Medina.
The residents of Brainard Avenue go out together every Wednesday night, as well as on the weekends, and spend most of their free time with other international students. Their neighbors include a pair of German students who come from the same university, and two other language TAs, who teach Italian and Spanish, respectively.
Most of the American graduate students live elsewhere.
“I guess it could be some kind of ghetto,” Duran Medina joked. “But that’s why we have the classes to go to.”
Duran Medina is used to being an “international.” She’s from Zacatecas, Mexico but studies at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid.
“For me, studying here is kind of a gap year,” she said.
The University’s decision to cluster these older students with similar cosmopolitan backgrounds has its benefits. According to Duran Medina, having other international students nearby is helpful.
“I came here to improve my English,” she said. “For the first two months it was very difficult. I love my housemates.”
The concept of a liberal arts college where 18-year-olds leave home to live on a faraway campus is rare outside of the U.S. Ferreira attends a university in Paris only a few miles away from the town she grew up in.
“Most French students go to the city university,” she said. “They’ll live with their parents or friends from home. Here, I feel there’s much more sense of community, not just at Wesleyan, but in all American universities.
Because people leave home to live here, students feel much more attached to their university. In Paris you see fewer people walking around with their university shirts.”
This is the third university in the U.S. where Ferreira has studied. She notes that professors at Wesleyan, and in America in general, give too much attention to students’ needs. In France, professors expect students to do most of the work without much help or guidance.
“We all agree that students in Europe are much more independent,” Fereirra said. “Here, there’s too much repetition and unneeded reminders from professors.”
Duran Medina also noticed the amount of attention that American students receive.
“Here it’s like a paradise—if you have a problem, [the administration] solves it for you,” she said. “They just give you everything. I think it’s because it’s a private university.”
She doesn’t see herself sticking around, though.
“It’s comfortable, but this is just another experience for me,” Duran Medina said. “I’d like it for one year only, I think.”
Leave a Reply