Zuhayr Chowdhury hails from Dhaka, Bangladesh, 12,500 kilometers away from Massachusetts. He’s spent three weeks at Clark as a freshman so far, not counting his international and Week 1 orientations, and today he’s sitting down with me at the blog to talk about his experiences here, and keeping things honest.
MM [Medha Monjaury]: Hi there, so this is going to be an interesting experience, since I’m a senior, about to graduate, and you’re just starting your Clark career.
ZC [Zuhayr Chowdhury]: And we’re from the same country and went to the same school! [laughs]
MM: I know, that’s a little crazy. But let’s get right down to it. Tell me about your trip from Dhaka to Worcester. Did you travel alone?
ZC: Yeah I did travel alone. I was kinda scared, but mostly about finding my directions and losing stuff, like losing my luggage. Stuff like that. I traveled alone to New York and my brother picked me up, then my brother and I came to Worcester, to Clark. That’s the brief summary.
MM: Does your brother live in the states?
ZC: My brother went to Clark, he graduated this year, so he knows the area pretty well. He was the one who brought me to Worcester. This was the first time I traveled alone, like across countries, across cities…
MM: Did you have any problems?
ZC: Just that there was this one time I nearly go lost in Dubai airport [laughs]
MM: How long was the whole trip?
ZC: 18 hours.
MM: That’s a decent trip. The first time I came here it took 26 hours.
ZC: Oh, really? That’s long.
MM: Have you been to Worcester before?
ZC: No, first time.
MM: What was your first impression of Worcester?
ZC: I liked it. I liked the city. When I first entered it felt like a very city kind of city, not a small town or anything. Did you feel like it was a small town?
MM: Oh yeah, Worcester is actually a pretty big city, but when I first got here it looked nothing like the kind of city I was used to. Neither did Boston, in my opinion, you know? I mean, I’m from Dhaka. Cities have people, pollution, you know.
ZC: It could be just me, but oh well. I like Worcester. I love this area of Worcester, where Clark is.
MM: Have you been around Worcester much?
ZC: Not really? I’ve been to Park Ave. The only other place I’ve been to really is Union Station. I went to neighboring towns. I went to Marlborough and Millbury, like for a shopping trip?
MM: Millbury as in Blackstone? That’s the first time I’ve heard someone call it Millbury.
ZC: Yeah, I’m still getting used to what Clark students call things.
MM: That makes sense, you’re already getting used to a new school. It’s gonna take a while for you to get bored of here and start branching out.
ZC: Yeah.
MM: So what was your first impression of Clark? You mentioned you have a brother who graduated from here so you knew more than most international students, probably, since we don’t really get to tour.
ZC: Not really? I mean, I knew some of the buildings, but I never really experienced the campus itself. I really liked it. I liked how the buildings looked and the greenery and stuff like that.
MM: What do you like most about Clark, then?
ZC: I really like the people. I think that’s what makes the community what it is. Everyone’s so nice and accepting, or, almost everyone, I guess, at least everyone I’ve met so far. It’s a very positive atmosphere; everyone’s so encouraging.
MM: Did you find it easy to make friends?
ZC: I found it way easier than I expected. I know some people had trouble, but for me it was very easy.
MM: Would you say there was anything from Clark that helped with this integration, or was it just, say, living together in a dorm?
ZC: I think there’s a lot of things. During my orientation we had all these social events and you’re grouped with random people and you have icebreakers with them. You’re not forced to talk, but they make it a very welcoming and warm environment and makes it easy to get to know people.
MM: That sounds nice. I don’t remember a whole lot of my orientation to be honest. Just that your international orientation was a bit longer than mine. We had… one? Two nights, I think. Did you like your international orientation, and what did you like about it?
ZC: Our international orientation was three and a half days, I think? First of all, I love that there is an international orientation, because Clark has a pretty big international population, right? We’re not used to the states. I mean, technically I am a US citizen but in every way I’m like an international. I grew up in Bangladesh and everything. So I love that they had all these lectures and stuff that helped us get used to the way things are. I mean to be honest it got boring sometimes, but overall it helped a lot.
MM: Is there anything you didn’t like?
ZC: Not really. Nothing in particular.
MM: Alright, so as of now, what would you say you dislike the most about Clark?
ZC: [very, very long pause] I really don’t know. I’m not even trying to be nice. There hasn’t been anything that I disliked. I wish there was a bit more flexibility in some of the departments though. I remember when I tried to get my room changed. There was a lot of resistance from RLH about it. They kept saying, you know, you’ll get used to it, stuff like that. I really did want to get my room changed, but they were very firm about it.
MM: Did you get your room changed?
ZC: No, I ended up liking JSC [Johnson-Stanford Center] a lot, but the reasons I had for wanting to change rooms are still there. I got used to it but it wasn’t great, and I might not have gotten used to it after all. I could have been miserable there.
MM: So you like dorm life.
ZC: Yeah, we have a small community on our floor of JSC and there are like seven of us and we hang out a lot. If you’re walking around our dorm at night you’ll see groups of people just hanging around and watching movies. It’s pretty great, and my roommate’s really cool.
MM: What might you say surprised you about Clark? Something you weren’t expecting.
ZC: For some of the classes, I like how open they are. There isn’t much of a barrier between teachers and students. The discussion classes are fun, and I wasn’t used to that. Where I’m from it’s like, the teachers teach, the students learn, that’s how it works. I don’t know if this is just college or a cultural difference.
MM: How did you choose your classes? Have you had any problems with it?
ZC: The course selection worksheet we got before we came to Clark was really useful. There weren’t really any problems for me. Everything ran smoothly. My brother gave me some advice. My summer adviser helped a lot.
MM: Is the education system or the workload very different from where you are?
ZC: I don’t know if it’s better or worse, but it’s definitely different. I don’t know if it’s just a college thing, but there’s so much reading. [laughs] The amount of assigned reading we get is really surprising. There’s a lot. Other than that the workload is pretty okay. It’s been there, I felt the pressure, but it’s not super overwhelming. But it’s only been like, three weeks.
MM: The thing I thought about the workload when I got here is that it’s a lot more constant. That’s the thing that was different for me. Back home we had our tests and our exams, mocks and midterms and finals. Here you have to just keep up everyday or you fall behind.
ZC: Yeah, back home like, for two weeks you don’t have anything, and for one week you have a ton of stuff, then for another week you don’t have anything. This is definitely a lot more constant. It’s not too much. It’s enough to get it done, but it’s always there.
MM: I’m running out of questions. [laughs] Oh, have you met President Angel?
ZC: [laughs] Not face to face, but after orientation we had this big meeting in the Kneller. From Kneller, there were these bagpipe players and they led all the new students out to Atwood, and we passed by all the RAs and the PAs and the teachers, and I was passing by President Angel at one point. We locked eyes, and I was so startled, I didn’t know what to say. So I said hi, and he said hey, and I kept walking. [laughs] And I was thinking, wow that happened.
MM: You should go to his office hours. He’s really nice. Last year the ballroom team had this event, it was called Dancing With the Athletes, like a version of Dancing With the Stars, and he was the judge. He was making weird comments, it was so much fun. He’s a cool dude.
ZC: Really? When was this?
MM: Last fall. We’ll host the event again this fall. I hope he’s willing to judge again because he was at least 40% of the attraction.
ZC: I know the community here loves him a lot. During ISO we had this scavenger hunt, and we were looking for big life sized cutouts of his head. They’d be plastered to the doors of buildings and we had to find them, and then surround the head as a group and take a picture with it.
MM: Let me tell you, I was walking by Wright and there was this giant floating David Angel head staring at me. It freaked me out.
ZC: [laughs] I’m so sorry!
MM: So the Clark student body is invested in a lot of political/social issues. What do you think the students here care about?
ZC: If I had to pick one thing everybody cares about, I’d say it’s about accepting everybody? Human rights, maybe. Ensuring human rights for everyone regardless of their race or gender or sexuality. Aside from that, I think there are pockets of people who care about different things. Some people really care about international issues, and there are people who really care about the environment, and other people who care about the economy. I love that everybody cares about different things. There’s a lot of variety.
MM: Is there anything you’ve been involved with so far?
ZC: Regarding cultural or political issues? Not really. I’ve spoken to people who are already involved who’ve told me about meetings and stuff. I’m interested, but I’m still feeling my way.
MM: What about clubs and extracurriculars? Have you joined anything? Have you found your fit, so to speak?
ZC: I joined the South Asian Students Association (SASA). I went to their general interest meeting. I have an interview soon, so they can meet me and, they call it a ‘chat’, not an ‘interview’.
MM: I didn’t know you had to give an interview. Is it because people just eat too much of their food?
ZC: Is the food really good?
MM: I think it’s the main attraction of SASA. [laughs]
ZC: Well, South Asian food, you know. I actually miss it a lot. Besides SASA, I went on a hike with the Outing Club, that was really cool. I want to be more involved with them. I went to a General Interest Meeting for ISA, but I’m thinking of just sticking to SASA for now.
MM: So I have to ask this, it’s the ISSO blog after all. Have you heard about Gala yet? Aside from the fact that your brother’s been in it.
ZC: Yeah even aside from that, we heard about it at the ISA general interest meeting, about how grand and big it is. It’s the biggest event Clark hosts, right? I think it’s really great, that they celebrate everyone’s culture like that. Valuing everyone’s background and giving them the spotlight, I think that’s important.
MM: Talk to me about food.
ZC: [laughs] Yeah, I’m Muslim, so I don’t eat pork. I’m getting a little tired of the limited cafeteria food. I still go there once or twice a week, to see whatever specials they have. I think that food’s pretty good, healthy. There’s a good bit of variety but you do get tired of it after a while. I’ve been eating at the Bistro a lot lately, but I’m getting tired of that too. I’ll figure something out, maybe I’ll start cooking. Most of the food they provide is pretty healthy. There’s this one small space in the cafeteria for fast food but mostly everyone seems to eat healthy.
MM: I haven’t been to the cafeteria in at least a year, but I was one of those fast food people. At least if I didn’t like anything else there was always pizza.
ZC: Yeah, there are some times I really wouldn’t want to go to the cafeteria because it’s further away and there’s a lot of people there, so I’d go to Jazzman’s, and all the solid food they had there, not snacks, I mean sandwiches and rolls and stuff, everything had bacon in it, or ham. This one time I went there and got this turkey wrap, and I ate one of the two pieces, and in the middle of the second one, well, towards the end, a piece of bacon fell out. So I opened it up and saw there was bacon in it. I checked the ingredients and yeah, there was bacon in it, so that was my fault, but that’s strange that it wasn’t labeled. It’s bacon and turkey wrap, not turkey wrap. It’s always just Jazzman’s that only has items that contain pork.
MM: I love Jazzman’s drinks. You should try them out. It’s not Starbucks but the prices are close and it tastes good. I mean, the Starbucks in the alumni building isn’t really Starbucks.
ZC: Yeah, that’s definitely not Starbucks. Can you put that in the interview? That the alumni building Starbucks is not Starbucks?
MM: [laughs] Yeah I can do that. So what haven’t we covered? Let’s talk about culture shock.
ZC: I’ve experienced it, but not as severely as I thought I would? I think part of that is because both my brothers have been here for years, so I’ve talked to them about it. It’s obviously not the same thing as being here but I kind of had an idea of how people and things were around here. There were some things that surprised me, but for the most part I was okay.
MM: Can you give me some examples of the surprises?
ZC: I don’t know if it’s culture shock, but the dietary habits of people here? People in this country eat a lot healthier than back home.
MM: I feel like I shouldn’t say anything here, because I’m the interviewer, but I have an opinion. [laughs]
ZC: No, please, go on.
MM: Well, I feel like while you’re at Clark, you kind of live in a bubble. The people who come here are largely middle class to upper middle class, and especially the moment you get out of Clark you get to see the actual Main South area which is very different from Clark.
ZC: Yeah, that’s true. That’s not how the whole country is probably.
MM: You’re from Bangladesh, so how do you feel about the Bangladeshi population here?
ZC: It’s small, but it’s very tight-knit. All the Bangladeshis know each other, and they’re mostly friends, there’s a lot of bonding. It’s nice. There’s always someone I can talk to if I need help.
MM: Are you integrating better with the international population, or the American population, or is it a mix of both?
ZC: Maybe a mix of both, but I think I’m integrating very well with the South Asian community. I get along with the Americans in my dorm, we’re friends. Other internationals have been kind of weird, and kind of different because, I don’t know. Americans, they live here, so I get to experience their culture, and other South Asians have already experienced my culture because they’re pretty similar, but other internationals like Europeans, or Africans. It’s weird because we come from different cultures and we’re currently in a different culture as well, so neither side is in a very comfortable situation. It’s been a bit more different, I think.
MM: Let’s see if I have any questions left for you. Well, looks like I don’t. So, is there anything you’d like to ask me?
ZC: Regarding Clark?
MM: Regarding Clark, regarding being an international, regarding being a Bangladeshi at Clark, or a freshman talking to a senior. It’s up to you.
ZC: Yeah, actually. How’s it being an international here for three years? Four? Do you get homesick?
MM: Well, I haven’t exactly ever been super homesick, except for the food. Have you?
ZC: Not as bad as other people? I’ve heard some stories about people breaking down, but nothing that bad. But the other day, my friend from Puerto Rico, he met this girl from Honduras, and they just started talking in Spanish. When I saw that it just kind of hit me, that I haven’t been able to talk in Bangla for so long, and it felt bad, watching them. There’s no one here I can talk to Bangla here, not really. And of course, food. I miss the food. The Indian food they serve at the cafeteria, the curries and stuff, they’re just vile. Like, when I’m talking to people back home and they’ll just casually say, I’m eating murug pulao or something like that, and I think, why’d you have to say that?
MM: I know. As for your question, the worst thing about having being here for so long is that I feel like I’m assimilating too much. I’m losing my Bangla vocabulary a little because of lack of practice. I used to write and read in Bangla and I don’t get to do that much anymore. So sometimes I’ll be talking to my parents and I’ll have to substitute out a big Bangla word for the English translation because I forgot it. Even with the Bangladeshis here, I speak proper Bangla best as I can, but we really speak Benglish [mix of English and Bangla], not Bangla. So that’s the sad part.
ZC: That’s not great.
MM: No, not really.
ZC: Yeah I miss speaking in Bangla a lot.
MM: Well thank you for speaking to me. Anything else you’d like to add?
ZC: This was great; I had to think about some of my answers so that was cool too. I’d do this again.
