Shedding Light on Displacement by Danielle Pakdaman

"Now that I have found my community, I wish for others to understand the joy I have unfolded in displacement. In hindsight, I realize the diversity I experienced in my childhood has truly enriched my life. The International House has provided me with the opportunity to recall the displacement in such a way that promotes my intellectual and spiritual growth, as well as encouraging compassion and appreciation for all that humanity has to offer.It taught me peace on a human level, enriched with the cultural beauty that each individual brought from their home, redeeming the magnificence of humankind to me for life"

Untitled by Elizabeth Zacharias

"Recognition of fundamental human characteristics played out in song and dance, in topics of conversation, in humor and laughing. The common thread that weaves through everything and holds us together, that sometimes ties us up in knots so we struggle for individual identity yet commonality, and that makes the tapestry of life. So many acute observations about my country bombard me, enrich me, nurture me, change me. I am refreshed in my newly found opinions and world-views"

Border Crossing by Zahra Makoui

"Every day now.I am able to appreciate people of all races, countries and colors in the dining hall, at parties, at Sunday Suppers. I am a changed soul thanks to the I-House experience and the process still continues.My mission is to expand I-House to the world. If everyone would experience what we experience here at I-House, their fears of 'others' would be shattered and hence their hate of 'others' would turn into understanding. I think there should be an I-House for any university or even college and the world would be a better place in a short time"

A Light to Take Home by Khurram Khattak

"Balance allowed me to find myself among friends of diverse backgrounds. I explored further, and found myself taking a more active role in the community here.Living and working alongside such people, I have found my place in life. Indeed, this is a story about a growing global community in a shrinking world. I am right here, in the middle of my community; it defines me. Come to think of it, perhaps in that light, this is a story about me, after all"

I-House by Justin Go

"I came to the grand house, cream-colored and glowing. And you, who came so much further than I, looking out of a cloudy bus windowpane, to pass the rolling fields of the republic. You too must have held your breath before it, striding past streetlamps and steaming manholes- looking at the façade of another age and knowing it was yours alone to grasp."