International House Berkeley

4 International House Times I n celebration of its 85th birthday last August, I-House launched 85 Stories for 85 Years to collect memories and stories from I-House alumni, as told by those who lived them. Stories representing the genesis of transformative friendships, I-House legacies over generations, blossoming romances, and cultural discovery were submitted from alumni and friends across the globe and captured on the I-House website. "e initiative began as a year-long project to commemorate our 85th birthday," says Director of Development Joy Iwasa. "As the stories started to come in from alumni across eight decades and from around the world, we quickly realized that this project had grown into an ongoing opportunity to share and learn about the I-House experience. We are thrilled to continue 85 Stories for 85 Years in Stories of Life Under the Dome." One of the projects that came out of the initiative is the I-House video, If ese Old Walls Could Speak, demonstrating the I-House experience from different eras. e film features previous I-House residents talking about their memories, like George Chang (IH 1961-64) who says of I-House, "It's a little bit like a family. Over the decades, the faces of the members change, but we're all part of the same family." Stories for 85 Years My mom, Maude Susanna Alexander (IH 1936-38), dreamed of attending UC Berkeley, and she was accepted as a rising junior. Her first order of business was to find a place to live, and she loved the concept of diversity and cultural exposure International House offered students. Late in the fall semester of 1937, she noticed a new busboy whom she later described to me (when I was about 12) as "tall, dark, and handsome" and decided on the spot she had to meet him. During meals that semester, she made small efforts to find him and flirt. Finally, one day when she saw him scheduled to work at dinner, Mom called down "sick" and asked for room service. She knew he would be the one bringing up the food, and indeed he was. at was the first real introduction of my parents. Ignatius Leon Billy (IH 1938-39) attended Berkeley from 1938-40, and a slow romance blossomed. When Ignatius was ready to graduate, he invited Mom to meet him in the I-House cafeteria where the booths were located next to the windows. At one of the booths, he asked her to marry him, and she accepted. A successful I-House proposal! My dad and mom were married for 37 years. ey had four children, one of whom loved and cherished his parents' I-House memories and history. at was me. As a postscript, in September 1979, I invited Margaret Christie Bohn, a California gal I met at a conference in Chicago, to meet me in the cafeteria by the window booths in I-House. After some very serious nervousness, not my normal countenance, I asked her to marry me, and she accepted: Another successful I-House proposal! Audrey O. Stewart (IH 1952-53) I remember we sat for hours with different groups of people from all countries at the long refectory tables. I remember in particular Big John (from England) giving us a lesson in cricket. He used utensils, salt and pepper containers, anything available to set up the playing field. I'm not sure if we really understood cricket better, but we all had fun. He was a storyteller. When he spotted American tourists in his little hometown, he often walked them all over, pointing out the spots of historic events: "Here is where king so-and-so was killed," or "On this spot king so-and-so won a decisive battle." e gullible Americans duly took pictures and wrote down the historic "facts." "It's a little bit like a family. Over the decades, the faces of the members change, but we're all part of the same family." Following are excerpts from the I-House Stories website: David Alexander

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