Issue link: http://ihouse.uberflip.com/i/88481
Mark Jenkins writes, "Here's a shot of me with the torch, taken in the Athletes Village in London during the recent Olympics. Thanks again for getting in touch – I loved my time at Berkeley and the I-House and still carry it with me every day." communications and to pursue research in this field in Korea." 1990s Xavier Casal has an MS in Civil Engineering and was Minister of Public Transportation and Works for the Government of Ecuador from 2007-09 and is now a professor at Universidad Catolica de Guayaquil. On his latest visit he stated, "It's good to be back at I-House!" Frank Hoffmann writes, "I-House was a unique experience, dense social interaction, and permanent exposure to an amazing diversity of cultures and beliefs and friendships that last way beyond the two years that I had the privilege to live at I-House. I keep fond memories of hiking trips to national parks, skiing in the Sierra Mountains, hanging out in San Francisco, Sunday suppers, and philosophical discussions at the I-House Café." Dr. Sophie Marnette and Ted Piepenbrock are enjoying life in Oxford with their nine year old son Garry. Sophie still teaches French literature and linguistics at the University of Oxford, and Ted is now a Fellow in the Department of Management at the London School of Economics. Dr. Tahir Masood writes, "Dr. Hans Giesecke, congratulations on joining as Executive Director of I-House; one of the great places of the USA. I am sure you will have very positive contributions to a place for which thousands of people around the globe have very significant emotional attachment." Hella Vercammen states that, "It had been my wish for many years, to return to my beloved Berkeley and I-House. I-House was always full of joy and laughter. We celebrated Thanksgiving and Halloween, and we enjoyed the elections of 1992 and the funny debates between Ross Perot and Clinton. A few months after I returned [to Holland] I met the man of my dreams. When we planned our (second) wedding trip last year it had to be a round trip in California so that I could visit Berkeley again and finally show it to my husband and my two daughters of 10 and 12 (pictured). I hope one day that my daughters will also experience I-House student life." 16 International House Times Sang-Hwan Seong, Prof. of German linguistics at Seoul National University in Korea visited in Sept. "I-House means a lot to me. As a grad student in German at Berkeley, I met a lot of interesting people and still cherish friendships with alumni from the '80s and '90s. I-House helped me to open my eyes to multiculturalism and intercultural 2000s Grace Chang writes, "My experience here was the best ever, the community, the openness, and the learning experience with global leaders of the future were absolutely priceless and unforgettable. Thank you I-House!" Paolo Cioppa writes, "I spent over three years at I-House and loved every single moment of my stay: all my friends, the events, the sounds, the music, the lunches and dinners all together (always right before closing with the Southern Europeans/Americans), Joe Lurie's never changing stories, everything, even the laundry room, will be in my memories forever." Gabrielle Karmon shared lunch with Joe Lurie and visited with Liliane Koziol in Sept. 2012. Now residing in Israel and working in banking, Gabrielle stated, "The most important part of my UCB education is what I learned at I-House." Lucas de Abreu Maia writes, "I-House changed my life for the better. When I arrived at UC Berkeley in the beginning of Fall 2008, I knew no one there and had the challenge of finding my way in a new environment with a disability. Yet, at I-House, I felt welcomed and safe. I'll be ever grateful to the friends I made there and to all the many people I've met there that pointed me in the right direction, both literally and metaphorically, whose names I have never known." Navid Ostadian-Binai writes, "I-House is THE place to break down prejudices and to build friendships with the world leaders of tomorrow." Meredith Palermo writes, "Studying at Berkeley was the most incredible experience. Of my four years there for undergraduate studies, I cherish my summer living at I-House as my favorite and most memorable time. What a unique experience to live and learn from people from all over the world. I-House exposed me to cultural diversity unlike before and it reaffirmed my interests in international relations, unity among diversity, and a passion for learning. I look forward to seeing my friends again when I have the opportunity to travel to their perspective home countries and for us to also meet some time in the future at I-House, whenever that may be." Daniele Panato writes, "When I saw the I-House for the first time it dazzled me; when I took the elevator for the first time I had already a couple of friends; when I woke up the next morning, I felt like I was home. I enjoyed every single second of it for one reason or another. It was all because of the beautiful people that were there. The air was charged with electricity, passion, culture and joy. By the time I had to leave, I had filled a suitcase full of great memories that now I happily recall as memories among the best of my life." Duc Bieu Pham is now blogging for californiagoldenblogs.com under the pen name of "FiatDuc." He covered the opening day football game with an article titled Beautiful New California Memorial Stadium, Gameday, Tradition & Excellence. He bumped into Olympic Gold Medalist Missy Franklin (pictured with Duc) on the way up Bancroft. We look forward to more of Duc's blog posts and sharing them on our social media networks.