Cosmo Connections, November 1997
I Could Smell the Peaceful Living
by Mariko Kurihara
"I could smell the peaceful living." That was my first impression
of the Cosmopolitan Club. I came to the U.S. last January 5. At
that time, I couldn't believe my ears and eyes. At the O'Hare
Airport, I couldn't
understand what the ground hostess said. I could say only, "Yes,
yes." And when I arrived in Champaign, I
couldn't find which building I wanted to go to because of not
understanding written English. When I entered
Cosmo, I felt tremendous relief. There were various pictures of a
dinner party on the wall. In the pictures, there
were ladies wearing traditional Indian clothes, Japanese clothes,
and clothes from other countries, and there
were many smiling people. I could smell that Indian food,
Japanese food, and the food from other countries
from the pictures. I felt that Cosmo was the place that people in
the world were gathering for peaceful living.
When I talked to Andrea Shields, the coordinator of the
Cosmopolitan Club, about my rent, she was a
very cheerful, energetic, and kind person. When she knew that I
couldn't understand English very well, she
managed to tell me about the contracts using gestures and using
keywords on the paper. I was attracted to her
like a mother of Cosmo, and I decided to live at Cosmo on the
spot and moved to Cosmo on that day.
The first day I stayed there, I discovered that 13 foreigners
lived at Cosmo. In the kitchen other residents spoke to me in
such a friendly way. They always cooked in the kitchen and liked
talking together and they still do. I can hear the sound of
laughing and chatting anytime from the kitchen. It is very
peaceful.
As you know already, it keeps snowing during winter, and it's
very cold around Champaign. In spite of such terrible weather,
Cosmo had all kinds of attractions--coffee hours, international
dinners, and a short trip. Many people came to our place,
"Cosmo," and enjoyed conversation and foods, small concerts, and
lecturers.
One of Cosmo's events, "Coffee hours," has various programs. Last
semester, one policeman told us how to protect ourselves from
violence. When I was in Japan, I didn't have to worry about
violence. I didn't have the sense of crisis, actually. In the
U.S., I worried about sudden danger because many terrible crimes
happen in the U.S. The policeman suggested what kinds of
protection tools we should carry with us all the time, and then
he added, "the point is that we aren't victims." This meant that
suspicious persons are less likely to see us as potential victims
when we have confidence. He advised us how to protect ourselves
from danger mentally and physically. It was very helpful for me
because normally foreigners like me don't know details about the
society in the U.S. Cosmo's program gave me a good opportunity to
know how to survive in the U.S.
Sunday dinners were also special. I could taste foods from
various countries. The French dinner was especially nice. Some
French people prepared a delicious dinner of many courses. The
tables were decorated with beautiful flowers. I could enjoy the
meal as if I were in a real French restaurant. Not only was the
dinner nice, but an opera singer also made me feel at ease. Her
voice sounded comfortable in the house. It supported the French
dinner successfully. I was very happy to attend such a nice
dinner party. If I had never know Cosmo, I might not have had
French food and heard the opera songs.
In this environment, I have lived cheerfully at Cosmo. When I
look at the white house outside, I never fail to remember the
first day that I came there and felt peace. That three-storied
house welcomed this Japanese, knowing nothing about the U.S. and
its language, and relieved the uneasiness of being in a strange
country.
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