Middle East meets Midwest
Alisha Cowan
Issue date: 3/2/09 Section: News
Waking up early to go to classes, running around the track at the Donald S. Spencer Student Recreation Center, playing soccer and watching movies with friends sounds like the schedule of a typical American college student. It's also how Misagh Jebeli spends most of his days.
Jebeli, however, didn't grow up in the Midwest; he was born and raised in Iran. A computer science graduate student at Western Illinois University, 21-year-old Jebeli says that despite his background, he has found there are far more similarities than differences between his former environment and living in Macomb, Ill.
As he simply puts it, "I just want to have fun," and he feels he can do just that in America, similar to the way he could back home.
Jebeli, who arrived in December, is one of a growing number of foreign students who have come to Western to study. As of 2008, there were 412 international students at the university representing about 3.1 percent of the student body, according to Western Illinois' Institution of Research and Planning Web site. In 2007, there were 366 international students, showing a significant increase in undergraduate and graduate foreign students.
Despite being a distinct minority on the Western Illinois campus, which is 77.7 percent white Americans, Jebeli does not feel out of place. Tehran, Iran's capital city where he grew up, contains about 12 million people.
According to Jebeli, the downtown area is lined with tall office buildings. His childhood was spent running in the streets playing basketball and soccer with his friends, much like what you would find in a big American city.
Luxurious comforts, something most in the United States can relate to, is another way Iranians are similar to Americans, particularly when it comes to where they live.
"There are not a lot of typical houses in Iran," Jebeli said. What Americans label a house is referred to as a villa in Iran, and there are more apartments than villas.
Jebeli, however, didn't grow up in the Midwest; he was born and raised in Iran. A computer science graduate student at Western Illinois University, 21-year-old Jebeli says that despite his background, he has found there are far more similarities than differences between his former environment and living in Macomb, Ill.
As he simply puts it, "I just want to have fun," and he feels he can do just that in America, similar to the way he could back home.
Jebeli, who arrived in December, is one of a growing number of foreign students who have come to Western to study. As of 2008, there were 412 international students at the university representing about 3.1 percent of the student body, according to Western Illinois' Institution of Research and Planning Web site. In 2007, there were 366 international students, showing a significant increase in undergraduate and graduate foreign students.
Despite being a distinct minority on the Western Illinois campus, which is 77.7 percent white Americans, Jebeli does not feel out of place. Tehran, Iran's capital city where he grew up, contains about 12 million people.
According to Jebeli, the downtown area is lined with tall office buildings. His childhood was spent running in the streets playing basketball and soccer with his friends, much like what you would find in a big American city.
Luxurious comforts, something most in the United States can relate to, is another way Iranians are similar to Americans, particularly when it comes to where they live.
"There are not a lot of typical houses in Iran," Jebeli said. What Americans label a house is referred to as a villa in Iran, and there are more apartments than villas.
Be the first to comment on this story