Foreign Relations

When I studied in Germany in 2006, everything was set up in advance. I had a place to stay (dormitory), it was easy to get from the airport to the dormitory (although I stayed with grandparents, but that's a different story), and I knew I would be able to get around without a car.

When my tandem partner got here in the fall semester, he had no idea where he was going to live. Luckily, a friend who'd arrived before him had made arrangements for him to get from the airport and finally found him a roommate. He soon discovered he'd need a bicycle because Tucson is too spread out and there isn't adequate public transportation. He also discovered it was difficult to get groceries, as the closest grocery store was a bike ride away.

Last week I got an e-mail from a German girl who was on her way to Tucson and, having missed orientation week, wanted to know the cheapest way to get from the airport to the hostel she hoped to stay in. Hmm. Taxi? Expensive. Bus? Probably doesn't operate after 10 pm. So I offered to pick her up. She hadn't been able to exchange money for dollars in Chicago, and there was no place to do so in Tucson. Why would there be? The hostel (only one in town, as far as I know--and the first time I've ever heard of it) doesn't offer locks for lockers.

Then, I went to help her find a place to live, since she had no idea where she was going to stay with a few days before school starts. Apartment offices? Supposed to be open on Sunday, but all miraculously closed. The UA International Affairs office had told her it was super easy to find housing in Tucson. Hmm, not by my experience.

Does the university actually think lying to poor foreign students makes getting used to a strange place any easier? If they do, they're assholes. If I'd had to find a place to stay in Leipzig, I'd have been a writhing ball of nerves--a wreck. And they expect people to do it here like it's a piece of cake.

Therefore, I have decided (with a bit of prodding from my mother) to make the German Club more active in helping German, Austrian and Swiss (and maybe even those from Lichtenstein, should they come) students have an easier time of getting into Tucson and adjusting to life here. I mean, we can't just leave them homeless and (depending on the season) sweaty, wandering the streets of Tucson.