A group of women sit in a small, intimate circle, chatting and laughing together once a week on campus.
The group of is not a feminist or self-help group. It is the International Women's Conversation Hour.
"The International Women's Conversation Hour is designed to help female international students practice English, learn study skills and gain an understanding of classroom culture as well as make American friends," Pei-Yi Lin, a psychologist with the Counseling Center, said.
The conversation hour does not consist of just international students, but American students as well.
Each week, there is a particular focus for discussion.
"There are structured activities to make initial interactions easier and allow people to comfortably get to know each other," Lin said. "There are also small group discussions, community announcements and lots of opportunity to form friendships."
Some examples of mingling questions from a past discussion include what is one of your best memories of someone you love and what is the nicest thing you have done for someone? Examples of small discussion questions include what does love mean in your culture, how is love shown between men, between women and how do children show their love?
For example the group discussed love in different cultures on Wednesday.
"Love has many meanings," second year Intensive English Institute student Dimah Alfallaj from Saudi Arabia, said. "The love of my husband, family and friends."
Alfallaj said she doesn't care about Valentine's Day and thinks the holiday is silly.
"The culture is so different," she said. "Here, you love someone, you get married."
"We [in America] idolize romantic love more than family love," American student and senior English studies major Christina Peterson said.
Back in Saudi Arabia, Alfallaj said the man talks to his mother about getting married and he comes to the woman's family to ask. She doesn't have to say yes if she doesn't want to, she said.
Alfallaj found out about the discussion group from a Ball State e-mail and one of her professors talked about it in class.
"I want to practice my English and talk in English in my classes," she said. "I like talking together [as a group of women] and having one topic to talk about."
Peterson heard about the group from a fellow classmate and went to the International Conversation Hour, a group that meets on Tuesdays and includes men.
"This is a more intimate setting and less stressful," she said. "I really like interacting with women a lot in general and I like interacting with people from different cultures. I feel more connected."
Lin said the benefits are different for international and domestic students, but are equally beneficial.
"Through interactive discussion, [international students] can normalize and decrease their isolation, worries and stress as well as get support from American students," she said. "They also learn different kinds of studying skills to help them succeed at Ball State.
"For domestic students, the program provides a great opportunity to meet and develop friendships with people from different cultures and learn about their lives and customs," she said.
Info Box
Who? International and American women
What? Discussion about weekly topics
When? 5-6 p.m. Wednesdays
Where? L.A. Pittenger Student Center room 305
Read More
Spring donation drive
By Amelia Winter / YesterdayBrand-new spring donation drive to help international students at Ball State University.
Late Nite preparing for annual carnival
By Evan Shotts / YesterdayNight of April 19th marks the annual carnival put on by Ball State’s Late Nite association.
Tranquil weather to round out the week before active pattern sets up
By Hope Kleitsch / YesterdayHigh pressure will replace the breezy and rainy conditions, but for how long? Chief Weather Forecaster Hope Kleitsch has the details.
