American culture through international eyes

STORY BY SAYAKA IIDA

When Western Washington University Senior Dina Taitelbaum, 27, first arrived in the United States, she didn’t know why people kept looking into her eyes when they talked to her. Where she was from in Europe, people didn’t care as much about eye contact and often did not like to be looked at all the time. She realized that this was the American way, and not making eye contact was rude. Sometimes people even thought she was lying.

As of October 2014 there were 148 International students at Western, says Abigail Borchert, an on-campus International Student Advisor. Among international students at Western there are two versions: students who want to get a bachelor’s degree from Western and students who study at Western for only several quarters and are from another university.

“The hardest thing still for me is the lack of diversity in classes and class discussions,” Taitelbaum says. “You know most people here in my classrooms are locals, most of them are from Washington State. There are some people from other states but I rarely meet international people.”

Taitelbaum was born in Russia and raised in Israel. Before she came to Western, she attended Richmond, The American International University in London, England. That experience allowed her to see students who came from different countries and had different backgrounds and cultures. She says even in Israel she saw a lot of diversity.

“There’s not many discussions about Europe or Asia or other things,” Taitelbaum says. “Most of them are based on America. That’s weird for me.”

Taitelbaum says she feels like it’s sometimes hard to speak up in classes because she feels her experiences don’t relate to class discussions.

“For example, I once wanted to talk about things people in other countries say about Americans and now I feel like I can’t anymore,” Taitelbaum says. “I once said something about how everyone says Americans are loud and fake and the people in class evidently didn’t like that so now I try to withhold what I say.”

One thing about the U.S. that does stand out to her is the diversity of food. Taitelbaum says she sees a greater choice in non-GMO, organic and gluten-free food in the U.S. This is something that she didn’t see in Russia and Israel.

Taitelbaum was also surprised at the Bellingham riot last year, she says, because in Russia and Israel, people start drinking alcohol at a young age and learn how to drink responsibly.

Aziz Al Janoubi, 22, a junior at Western who is from Saudi Arabia, says he sometimes finds it difficult adjusting to the individualism-centered culture in the U.S. — especially when it comes to friendship.

Societal values in Saudi Arabia center around family and friends, so people tend to care for each other before themselves. However, friendship in the U.S. is different, Janoubi says. Knowing who his friends truly are is hard for him even though he and his friends in the U.S. are close.

Janoubi says making friends was also difficult for him when he first arrived.

“They (American people) would like to hang out with other Americans rather than Arabs,” Janoubi says.

Americans who he met did not know anything about Saudi Arabia or even where his county was located.

Coming to Western three years ago, Janoubi got detained at Ronald Reagan International Airport in Washington D.C. and was given no reason by immigration officials. He had with him his passport, visa and I-20, which is the form that grants him permission to attend school in the U.S. Originally just a transit stop, the delay made him miss his flight to Seattle.

The next day Janoubi was released, but immigration officials at the airport lost his I-20 with no apology or explanation. With a very limited knowledge of English, he could not complain and tell them his feelings and situation. He was very frustrated and this incident motivated him to learn English.

Because both Janoubi’s two cousins and several other Arabic students were at Western, he decided he wanted to come to Bellingham to learn about and experience a new culture and people. After receiving a scholarship in Saudi Arabia and getting accepted to Western, he made the decision to leave home.

“Being far from my family, that’s a challenge,” Janoubi says.

Not usually seeing his family other than once a year, he says he notices many changes when he’s back in Saudi Arabia. Usually this is seen in the amount that his nieces and nephews grow in the time between his visits. He is surprised and enjoys seeing their growth, but at the same time feels a bit sad that he misses seeing their childhood.

“Western is a weird campus, it is not the U.S.,” says Janoubi. Before he came to Western, he thought that American students were rude and partied all the time like American college movies. However, after three years, he now feels that Western is more educated and peaceful.

Janoubi says he likes to see the difference between here and his home. “It (the U.S.) is different than my place,” he says.