International House Berkeley

81 where he came from, what sort of things he was involved in. But I never became very close friends with him. His name was Arturo Graue. My second roommate was Alex Romanos, who was Greek, and we became quite good friends and shared some social activities together – went out to movies and did other things with friends from I-House. I-House was very social – it was a social milieu at that time – both for men and women. Of course, I met my wife there, so that was important.... All our social activities were related to the International House. I don't think I had any friends with whom I socialized outside of I-House, not from classes I attended or anything else. And the friendships have lasted, some sixty-five years. Most of our really close friends are International House people. What were the activities which helped us bond? Well, there was a men's group that I was asked to join, which was called Lanoitanretni – it was "international" spelled backwards. It was a beer-drinking group. We would meet up in the hills behind I-House, get a keg of beer on a Friday night – I don't know how we got the keg open – and everybody had a beer or two. There were other groups – folk dancing was a big thing at International House; I did some of that. Joan was a good dancer, so I learned to dance through her. And we would go to movies. There was Friday at the race track at Golden Gate fields; it was either free or as many people who could get in one car. You paid one dollar for the car to get into the parking lot, and then it was free to go into the race track. We did that rarely, maybe twice in the four years I was there. Going into the City, maybe once a semester, maybe not that often. Of course, at I-House they had dances, and they had other programs – they had lectures once in awhile. At International House, Mrs. Carlson, who was on the staff – she was the social director – would arrange home visits. It was primarily for foreign students, but occasionally for American students as well – you would be invited for a Sunday afternoon dinner maybe. I went to one or two of those. I also worked at I-House – it was important for me to have a job. So I worked at the information desk. I did mostly weekends, and Peggy [Grunland] did mostly during the week. Was it true that I did almost nothing? That's true! You'd direct people where they wanted to go. "Can I go upstairs?" If they were a visitor, then the answer was, "No." "Where's the homeroom? Where's the dining room?" Or, "I want to talk to so and so – where's the telephone?" You'd just direct people. It was nothing – Peggy is exactly right! You got to know people; that was the big advantage. You kind of knew everybody, all six hundred people by name, and by sight; that was another plus of that job, besides getting paid. Who were some of the first people I met? Well, I met Peggy Grunland, of course; I met Peggy Jackson, who became a very good friend; Betty Lou Crowe, she's no longer here – in fact half or more of this group are no longer here, the people that I knew at that time.... Then there was George Dove, from Santa Anna, and he also had

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