New Asian residence is a hit with students

The white-clapboard house at 36 North Main Street looks from the outside like an illustration from the pages of Yankee magazine. Inside, however, signs of a very different culture abound. Chinese language magazines strew the living room, the smell of noodles cooking wafts through the halls, and students impressively fluent in Chinese greet visitors.

The College's newest residential unit, the Asian Studies Center is much more than just a dorm. It prides itself on its congenial atmosphere, its communal meals, and its cultural orientation. Formerly the residence for the dean of the Tucker Foundation, the house was renovated over the summer and is now occupied by eight advanced Chinese language students and a native-speaking instructor from Beijing. Because he speaks only a few words of English, the students are forced to use their Chinese regularly. Resident Pamela Taylor '86 says she speaks it two to three hours a day. "We learn more than the grammar," she says. "We learn the common talk."

The house is now primarily oriented to Chinese, but Professor Gene Garthwaite, chair of the Asian Studies Program, emphasizes that the house is "a central meeting place for all kinds of Asian things on campus." He hopes at some point that students studying Arabic, Hebrew, and Japanese can use the center, too.

The focus of the center is both academic and social, and much of the social contact revolves around food. "Eating is an important part of any culture," says Garthwaite, "especially Chinese." Residents share responsibility for planning and preparing all the meals, and dinner is Chinese two to four times a week. In addition, an open "Chinese Noodle Hour" is held twice a week at noon; it's a time when native-speakers, students and instructors of Chinese, residents of the center, and people interested in Asia can share a bowl of rice and speak Chinese.

Faculty and students alike seem proud of the center. Garthwaite notes support for its founding from the faculty deans but also gives credit for its early success to the quality of the Asian Studies Program. "We're extremely well taught," he says. There are about 350 students enrolled in Asian Studies courses and 44 majors double the number three years ago. In addition, the College's popular language study abroad program in Beijing is the only undergraduate program run by a college for. its own students in China.

Just a few months old, the house already has a waiting list. Lisa Lamb '86 is one of those waiting for a chance to move in. In the meantime, she attends "Noodle Hour" and practices her Chinese regularly. Noting how much she wants to live in the center, she opens the door to a dark, musty closet and says, "If they put in a skylight, I'd live here."

Comparing notes on differing styles of chopstick use at the Asian Studies Center are, left to right,Lee Merkle 'B6; Li Kai, visiting instructor from Beijing; and Andrew McKenna '86.