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Foreign students add to culture Photo by Jim Craven Csendi Kaszas, who works in president Stephen Reno's office at Southern Oregon University, is one of a growing number of international students drawn to Ashland because of its friendliness and quality of education. International program at SOU attracts record numbers By DANI DODGE ASHLAND -- After flying from her home in Yugoslavia, Csendi Kaszas and her friend were dropped off by Greyhound at the tiny market that serves as a bus station just north of Ashland. The new Southern Oregon University international students were headed for a friend's home, but they didn't even have a complete address, only a street name. "We mis-wrote our friend's number and we had no idea where we were going," Kaszas remembers. "We had five suitcases. Me and my roommate were just standing there: `Oh my, where are we?"' But then a family with two kids happened along. "These people just picked us up," Kaszas said. "We couldn't believe how friendly people were. They said they knew an apartment complex on the street and took us there. We started knocking and found our friend." From her surprising welcome to Ashland, things have only gotten better for Kaszas. The international student now works in President Stephen Reno's office and is nearing completion of her degree in English. She is one of a growing number of international students choosing to attend Southern to earn their degrees. Numbers released this week show there are more international students at Southern Oregon University enrolled this year than there have been in many years, and maybe ever. Last year, the university had 145 international students. This year 153 are enrolled, according to SOU marketing director Kathryn Bazylewicz. That's 2.9 percent of the students at the university. Kaszas believes the increase may be due in part to the small-town friendliness that students experience and pass on to their friends. Reno said the international students add an important cultural note to the symphony of people who make up the university. "Their very presence brings an awareness of other cultures," Reno said. "It's important because Southern Oregon University and the region don't have the great multi-cultural diversity of other metropolitan communities. "So they bring a very important dimension to the campus and the community." Anne George, the student advisor for the university's international programs, said not only are the numbers good, but the diversity of students is increasing. Currently, students represent 35 countries, from Argentina to Yugoslavia, with Bosnia, Bulgaria and Burma in between. Some come because Ashland is a safe community with a well-educated population. Others come because of the diversity of programs at SOU, with business and hotel management attracting the largest portion of students, George said. A number of the students learn about the school on the Internet. And when they e-mail for information about the international studies program, they always get back a personal reply. "Word of mouth is a big part of it," said Keith Chambers, director of international programs. "That's one reason to remain the personable place that we are." For Jander Meira, 24, who grew up in Salvador, a Brazilian city of 3 million, the small-town life of Ashland is appealing. "One of the most fun things is I know everyone on campus," Meira said. "When I go out, I know so many people everyone asks, `How can you know so many people?"' For Meira and his roommate, Diego Andrade, 22, of Ecuador, the most difficult adjustment was eating the food. "The food is more spicy in my country," Andrade said. "There's more meat. Here so many people are vegetarians. There aren't many of those in my country and it was hard to adjust to eating more vegetables and stuff like that." Andrade, who is majoring in marketing and computer science, first came to Ashland as part of a language program. He wanted to stay in Ashland, but the university's name was still Southern Oregon State College. In his country, that name doesn't have the prestige of a university, so he began looking at other schools. "But when they started talking about changing the name (to SOU), I decided I like to stay here better," he said. He said the quality of the university and the friendliness of the people kept him from attending other universities. "I've been to San Francisco and San Diego, but there you are just another person out of the million," he said. "Here people say `Hi' to you all the time. That was one of the biggest shocks. I was just walking down the street and people would say `Hi."' Many of the students, like Andrade and Kaszas, hope to one day return to their homelands and use what they've learned here to make those places better. "I think I will go back, but not for a while," Kaszas said. "I know it's a naive thought, but I do wish I could help, go back and build a new country." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA