After living at home, in apartments, in co-ops and abroad, UW-Madison graduate students Toni Drake and Tim Gill finally found the ideal living situation.
Their current residence comes equipped with a personal chef, a cleaning crew and a breathtaking view of Lake Mendota. Perhaps best of all, they get to live in a community of around 30 people who share a common passion.
What is this seemingly perfect place? It's the UW-Madison French House, located at 633 N. Frances St. amid the fraternity and sorority houses. This unique living option is the first of its kind on any U.S. college campus, and its residents know how lucky they are to live there.
\I think maybe now that I've lived in a variety of situations ... I realize how great it is to live here because it's basically like living in a hotel,"" Drake said. ""They do all your cooking and all your cleaning ... when we move out of the French House we're going to have to move into a retirement home because we're going to be so spoiled.""
Residents do not get to enjoy this cushy lifestyle without a little work, however. Once inside, French must be spoken in all common areas and hallways every day except Saturday. Students come in with a wide range of speaking skills, but Gill said the less experienced students shouldn't feel discouraged.
""I've had eight years of studying French and practically speaking French, I don't expect a freshman or sophomore that is in here is going to do better or speak better,"" Gill said. ""They don't realize that once they finish this thing, they're going to feel so good and so confident that by next year they'll be better.""
In addition to being a residence hall, the French House is also a cultural center for Francophile students and members of the Madison community. Every Wednesday dinner and Friday lunch are open to the public and feature authentic French dishes like quiche, chicken cordon bleu and ratatouille. Students can also take a one-credit class at the House, in which the only requirements are speaking French and eating great food four days a week.
The French House wasn't always as well-liked as it is today, to say the least. At the beginning of the Iraq war when France wasn't on many Americans' lists of favorite countries, the residents were under attack.
""People yelled obscenities at them outside, people threw eggs at the house and someone shot the upstairs window with a gun,"" French House Director Andrew Irving said.
According to Irving, things have fortunately turned around since then, and he is more than pleased with the House's growing popularity.
""Our Wednesday dinners and Friday lunches are usually full; we have a waiting list of students who want to live here,"" he said. ""The thing I'm most proud of is the majority of people on campus know what the French House is now.""
Although more like a dorm than a hotel, the International Learning Community located in Adams Hall offers a similar living experience for students who speak Spanish, German, Japanese, Italian and, starting next year, Arabic and Nordic.
In addition to the language floors, the ILC also offers a home to students who are interested in international issues but don't necessarily speak a foreign language. Hannah Breed, an ILC housefellow, thinks this arrangement is a good opportunity for residents to meet friends who have something in common.
""I think that's one of the hardest things with freshmen for example, you're coming to a new school and you just don't know who has the same interests as you do,"" she said. ""It's kind of just hit-or-miss ... where in this sense, you're put into a community already that's supposed to have kids that are in the same areas of interest.""
Program Director Dora Valentin, who was born and raised in Hungary, made the move from Sellery Hall to the ILC because of the program's emphasis on global issues. Residents not only gain a better understanding of the world around them through multicultural events, guest speakers and group dinners, but also get the chance to know tenured professors on a personal level, Valentin said.
Many students who live in the French House or the ILC do so before or after studying abroad, or use it as a substitute if time or money does not allow them to travel overseas. Most of the language programs combine students studying the languages with native speakers from places like Japan, Mauritius and Mexico, in hopes of creating a more global consciousness on campus.
""My actions, here in Wisconsin, affect the living and thriving of a coffee bean farmer in Central America. My vote will make a difference to a coco farmer in Africa. ??My pollution will effect global warming, which will affect all of us,"" Valentin said. ""We are interconnected, whether we admit it, know it, or not.??Programs like these hope to help students learn about these issues.""
