The Journal

Issue date: 11/15/07 Section: Lifestyle

Media Credit: Lanz Christian Banes From left: Yanina Amores from Argentina, Carole Penhaleux from France, Stephanie Kremser from Austria and Akiyo Kimura from Japan point to their respective countries of origin on a map in a Sverdrup building hall. The four are this year's foreign language teacher's assistants and live together in the Webster Village Apartments.

From Webster University's home campus, the Schnucks on Big Bend Boulevard is less than a mile away, Busch Stadium is nearly 10 miles away and Chicago more than 300.

Yet miles - familiar measurements for Britons and Americans alike - become almost senseless numbers for those raised with the metric system.

"You tell me, 'It is probably 25 miles away.' Is that near? Is that far? Is it walking distance?" said Yanina Amores. "I have no idea."

For Amores, one of four foreign language teachers' assistants at WU and a native of Argentina, this was just one aspect of how different American culture could be from that of her native country. Yet the TAs - one each for Spanish, French, German and Japanese - must contend not only with the culture shock of being in the United States, but must also adjust to living with one another: four women, four languages in one small apartment.

Yanina Amores

Amores came to WU as part of an exchange program with the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo in Mendoza, a city in western Argentina. Graciela Corvalán, chairwoman of the International Languages and Cultures Department and a native of Argentina herself, established the program in the late 1980s.

For one year, one student from WU teaches English at UNCuyo while a recent graduate of UNCuyo teaches six credit hours of Spanish at WU. UNCuyo treats the opportunity to teach at WU as an award for its top students.

Carole Penhaleux

Like Amores, Carole Penhaleux came to WU as part of an exchange program, this time with the Université de Toulouse-Le Mirail in Toulouse, a city in southwestern France. Though a French TA program existed in the 1960s, the current exchange program was not established until the 1990s, Corvalán said.

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