Roommates's cultural differences

Discussion in 'Alumni Discussion' started by Celephaïs, Apr 26, 2005.

  1. Celephaïs

    Celephaïs New Member

    To all of you who are curently or have once participated in either the IP or CP, what kind of cultural differences with your roommates have you encountered???
     
  2. MyLittlePony

    MyLittlePony New Member

    Well food storage was a big issue because the Chinese would always be stuffing the freezer with shit... And the aircondition... Even though I'm Norwegian I don't like it freezing inside! The UK people always did, probably because English houses are always dead cold. Those were the problems I've had. I've heard of people with Moroccan roomies that didn't wash their clothes!
     
  3. brightlight42

    brightlight42 New Member

    Everything was mostly cool but the aircon was always a big thing when i was there to but if you get on and like you roommates enough then it should be fine you can always be sure to work something out if not you can move apt.

    hope everything is good for you tho
    xoxo :)
     
  4. Ona

    Ona Member

    Aircon, cleanliness in the kitchen, clothes removed from washer/dryer by others and left soaking wet on the sofa and unplugging the modem and resetting it were the four big bones of contention in our apartment. Aircon prob. being the biggest. Even resulting in shouting/swearing fights! :eek:

    I didn't have many problems myself; my actual roommate was Canadian (pretty similar cultures and the same language always helps) and we were really close but she did have some issues with our other roommates from Germany and Hong Kong.

    I got really lucky though I feel. :) It's all part of the experience though. :D

    Ona x
     
  5. Diana

    Diana New Member

    I was pretty lucky with my roomies. The only issues we had were the a/c and cleaning. I have heard of a lot of problems with Chinese and Japanese roomies. I had a Japanese roomie and we got along great. But trust me, there are some horror stories that go around. Just try to make the best of it.
     
  6. ItsTough2BePatty

    ItsTough2BePatty New Member

    I did the regular CP and lived in Vista Way with 4 american roommates. Our biggest issue was the aircon with the other mexican living with us. She wanted to freeze us to death.
    Other than that we got along pretty well. it's all about sitting down at the beginning and say what u expect from each other and settle things that might be sensitive
     
  7. Dancing_Queen

    Dancing_Queen New Member

    I had exactly the same problems! Plus no one ever took out the garbage ( but me ). My french roomie always just placed it outside our door :mad:
    Nothing was too bad though, you live with people you have to get along with them somehow.

    Julia
     
  8. Sue

    Sue New Member

    I think we can all agree the ac was and issue I like to be cold, my roomie liked to be warm. You just have to deal with it. I was lucky with my roomies. I had the Italian who fed me, my friends and anyone that walked by and Cheryl from Canada who became one of my greatest friends ever. We love each other so much more now that we don't live together now. Crackheads cause issues!
     
  9. Lizzie

    Lizzie New Member

    uhh ..i have a major body heating problem hahaha...i LOVE TO BE WARM! actually i need to be warm...all the time....im not a fan of coldness unless the heat outside is killer...
     
  10. SarahJane

    SarahJane New Member

    Well I don't want to name an cultures in particular, but I found that general apartment cleaniness was abig one...in both ways. Like I had one roommate that was worse than my mother, and she said that she expected as much from me because "North Americans are pigs"..NIIICE.

    Of course, I had another roommate that was completely digusting and I hated living with her.

    Other issues are smells in the apartment...apartment temperature...food storage (leaving food out that I think would spoil food or cause bugs), or worse yet food preparation.....noise concerns (again, both me complaing and against me)....nudity (I won't get into this one)....personal cleanliness (seriously, it's OK to take a shower every day in the US!!).

    Other issues were shared expenses like dish soap and toilet paper, for example. I had a roommate and where she came from these were such precious commodities....here, you can walk out of Walmart with a 22 pack of toilet paper and a super jug of dish soap for $5 bucks....and she would complain all the time about how me and the other roommates were so quickly wasting these things. Like she would not use TP if she JUST peed.... or wouldn't use dish soap if the plates could be rinsed off with water.

    Overall, it was tolerable....sure, I'd have preferred to live with all Canadian for the one and only reason that I'd know what to expect, but it was nothing that wasn't manageable. You just vent to your friends about what irks you, and hey - you feel better! LMAO!!!! AND it wasn't like ALL my roommates had a problem...just one or two ...

    Besides, more often than not, the problems that occur with roommates AREN'T "cultural"...they are purely and simply personality clashes.
     
  11. low

    low New Member

    am worried now more then i was before ahhhhhhhhhhh hope its not to bad
     
  12. Shrooden

    Shrooden New Member

    Hey all.

    Well I really lucked out with my apartment. For anyone who knows- building 28 has some 3 person apartments so for more than half my contract after winning a coin toss I had a room to myself which was bliss!

    But that aside I did have a few issues. Mainly weith the French guy. I was very respectful of the apartment- however, he litterally wanted it as a "showroom". I was clean and for the most part tidy- he just wanted the place too OTT.

    Then there was the ac issue. I like it cooler- especially when I sleep. However, on my first week I bought a very large fan on a pole from Wal Mart for dirt cheap. That thing was amazing- and saved myself a lot of hassle throughout the year!!!

    Urrm, other problems included people using call waiting to take messages from other calls- or the lack of should I say! (Although generally I found this more of a problem when I was calling others- my roomates were all pretty good at this), and the other big issue would be fridge/freezer space.

    Personally a 3 person apartment had no problems with this- if I had to do the program again I would definately have 3 person as a preference- but if not then a four person apartment is clearly the way to go I think.

    Other only awkard thing was when I walked in on my Italian roomie having sex without taking 1 second to lock the door!!! Oh, and bringing one of his many ladies back whilst I was sleeping in a bed 2 metres away form him. Typical Italian!!!

    All in all though my roomies were fine- especially my Norweigan whom was ACE! To those of you doing the program don't be put off by sharing with mixed nationalities- be pleased that after your year there you can stay in many countries worldwide for free!!!
     
  13. shannybanany

    shannybanany New Member

    Ona...who was your roomie?

    Shan
     
  14. Celephaïs

    Celephaïs New Member

    @MyLittlePony - stuff the freezer with mickey, what do you mean???

    @SarahJane - dish soap and toilet paper being precious commodities, where was she from, Zimbabwe???

    About the AC. I know what you mean, I was down in Italy last summer, and the nights there get sooooo hot, so I wanted to turn the AC on, but NOOOOO, one of the guys I travelled with could get a little cold. Couldn't even be discussed. So another guy and myself lay there in our beds sweating our asses off :mad:
    I don't get those people who has to have it warm, give us others a break, it's much easier for you to get warm, then for us to cool down (it's literally impossible)...
     
  15. emma

    emma New Member

    ill fil u in coz i was amazed wen i found out...if u swear on this website/... ie the word that ryhmes with hit and begins with "s"...haha disney i beat u!!! erm neway it censors it with the word mickey! so they filled the freezer with crap
     
  16. Lizzie

    Lizzie New Member

    woah really i have to try it

    shit
     
  17. Lizzie

    Lizzie New Member

    yepp you're right...lol it does....i love it!
     
  18. emma

    emma New Member

    i was amzed the first time i noticed to liz!
     
  19. Celephaïs

    Celephaïs New Member

    LOL, that's cool

    -Oh shit I stepped in a pile og dogshit
    -Better not scare me, I might shit my pants...
    -Shit - an act of defecation
     
  20. topsassyuk

    topsassyuk New Member

    is that the only word it does it for?
     

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