When senior Inhyup Hwang first came to America to attend Ball State, he said he was shocked by the way younger generations seemingly disrespected the older generation.
When graduate student Fahad Aseery first came to America with his wife and two children to attend Ball State, he said he spent 10 days in a hotel trying to find a place to live.
Now, Hwang, president of Korean Student Association, and Aseery, president of the Saudi Student Club, are dedicating their time to easing the transition for their fellow study abroad students through multicultural clubs.
The Korean Student Association has about 20 active members. One of the goals of the club is to encourage Korean students to join to create a sense of security and to help with the homesickness and culture shock.
“When I was a freshman, I had difficulties getting used to America because it is basically so different,” Hwang, an advertising major, said. “I tried hard to have American friends so I’m fine, but I still find some Koreans being lonely and missing Korean food because American food is not very healthy, honestly. American people don’t understand, if I was just walking in the street and just bow to somebody, they would say like ‘what?’”
In Korea, bowing is a respectful way to greet someone, he said.
While in the past, the club’s primary focus has been Korean students, Hwang opened the club to American students who are interested in Korean culture as well.
Hwang said it is important for the club to respect American culture and to help Americans learn more about Korean culture.
So far, the club only contains five American students, but Hwang said he hopes to see more growth throughout the year through the four events the club hosts. Each year, the club has a welcome party, a sports meeting in October, a booth at the Amazing Taste Festival in November and a spring picnic.
The Korean Student Association has been practicing hard for the Amazing Taste, where the club plans on stealing the show by performing the popular Korean pop song “Gangnam Style” by Psy.
Aseery, a special education major, and the Saudi Student Club also will attend the Amazing Taste in the hopes of sharing the culture, although the club is limited to Saudi students.
“A part of our mission is to share with other people our experiences and be like our ambassadors to our country,” Aseery said. “So of course, we are working on reaching Ball State community.”
Another part of the club’s focus is on future students. Aseery said he makes sure to try and contact potential new members before they make the move to Muncie to ensure that they can become settled within the first few days, unlike when he came here in August 2009.
A lot of students from Saudi Arabia have already tried contacting Aseery, and he said he credits this to the King Abdullah Scholarships Program and the push toward studying abroad King Abdullah has brought to Saudi Arabia.
The emphasis on foreign education is what caused Aseery to earn his undergraduate degree in Australia and then come to Ball State for graduate school. Aseery said he thinks that if he had contacted the club, his own transition may have been smoother.
“I was more adjusted because I had transitioned [before],” Aseery said. “But Muncie is quite a small city, so it was difficult. When I went [the] first time, it was hard for me to adjust.”
Aseery and Hwang both used their personal experiences as inspiration for helping others and said they agree that diversity at Ball State is important.
