International House Berkeley

International House Times 13 Jason Mehrdad Jazayeri (IH 1978-79) Jason visited I-House with his daughter Nicole in January to show her his old haunts. She was accepted to Berkeley Law and is thinking of moving into I-House. Khaled E. El-Khishin (IH 1983-84) Khaled visited on October 17. He was delighted to meet an Egyptian architecture student like himself and said, "I saw myself in him." He also met local news anchor and I-House Board Member Diane Dwyer, with whom he discussed the state of affairs in Egypt. He also states, "I was looking forward to returning to a place where I can feel and touch the human bonds which made my stay at UC Berkeley so memorable… I hope more opportunities and scholarships are provided for young Egyptians to come to the US and live through the wonderful experience I enjoyed so much and that made me a better person." Rachel Fidler (IH 1987-88) Rachel and her family visited I-House on April 18th. She writes, "I had an I-House kind of memory of international understanding come back to me today. When we lived in I-House we British used to have a good few drinks with some Argentinian students we got to know. Only a few years before our countries had been at war over the Falklands/Malvinas. What a special place..." Avaneendra Gupta (IH 1990-91) Avaneendra (Avi) Gupta visited in April with his son Adarsh. The two came to town for the 45th UC Open Taekwondo Championship - and not only did Adarsh score two medals but the chance to see his parents' former home (Mom Tabbassum is also an I-House alumna though she and Avi did not overlap as residents). Avi is President and CEO of SmartZip Analytics, and the family has offered to host an I-House reunion in San Jose soon - see ihouse.berkeley.edu/reunions to track reunion events! Back to Berkeley Letter From... K.V. and Claire S. Ravi (IH 1963-65) 50 Year Anniversary! My first day at I-House in September 1963 was memorable for many reasons, but one of the highlights was meeting Sherry Warrick, Director of I-House. As I was struggling up Bancroft with my large and unwieldy suitcase a distinguished looking gentleman walked by and struck up a conversation. He asked me the usual questions- where I was from, what I planned to study and where I would be staying. I had just come from India for graduate school and planned to stay at I-House. He said something like, "Yeah, I heard it is a pretty good place to stay." He walked on without introducing himself. Later at a reception for new students in the great hall I saw the same gentleman milling about and asked the guy next to me who he was and he replied- he's the director of I-House, Mr. Sheridan Warrick! I had two glorious years at I-House with the highlight being meeting Claire, wooing and marrying her. Sherry Warrick played an important role in this. When I wrote my mother in India about my intentions to get married to Claire she was very unhappy. She did not want her son getting involved with an American girl. She expected me to get my degree at Berkeley, come back home and marry a nice Indian girl of her choosing. I mentioned my dilemma to Mr. Warrick and he made a remarkable suggestion. He was going to India for an education conference and he offered to fly down from New Delhi, the venue of the conference, to Bangalore in the south, meet my mother and assure her that Claire was worthy of her son! He did this, charming everyone in my family and smoothing the way for Claire and I to get married. is September, on a beautiful sunny day, Claire and I went to I-House and had lunch on the café patio with Sherry and Betsy Warrick (photo above) for our 50th anniversary, reminiscing about the old days and the important role I-House played in our lives. Do you have a unique I-House story or do you know an alum who's doing something great? Email Alumni Relations at ihalumni@berkeley.edu.

• Cover