ISI-Monterey
  • ISI-Monterey, International Students Inc
    • What do we like to do with students?
    • Friendship Familes
    • Meet Monterey's ISI Leaders
    • Meet our Volunteers
    • Exploring Spiritual Interests
    • Talk To Us - by Email or Facebook
  • Events & Things We Do
  • Help Getting Started
    • Arriving In Monterey
    • A Special Map of Monterey to print
    • Bringing Children
    • Cell Phones - A Great Question
    • Finding Rentals
    • Finding Used Furniture and other Household Things
    • Finding Good Food & Ethnic Restaurants
    • Hospital or Medical Urgent Care Facility - How to Choose?
    • Public Bus Transportation
    • Links to Worthwhile & Helpful Resources
    • Monterey Pictures
  • Help us help others

What do we like to do with students?  Good question!

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All study and no fun makes life very, very dull!

We understand you are coming to Monterey to study; and for most, to obtain a degree.  Others are visiting scholars with research projects.  All of you will be very busy. 

Don't forget there’s so much more to learning than just what you get from academics!  Are you also hoping to learn about life in America… it may be different than what you’ve seen on TV?  We know there will be lots of opportunities for you to gather socially with classmates and with those from your own cultures.  This is natural.  As part of your education experience, we’d like to suggest making friends with people & families who actually live here, who can give you a real taste of what families and individuals are like in the US.


We’d like to learn about you.  Would you like to learn about us and gain lifelong friends in the process?  This happens in homes, during fun trips (short “study-break” hikes) to explore the natural local beauty, shopping trips and more.  It also happens through weekly cross-cultural gatherings and other seasonal holiday events we share throughout the year.
   

   1:  We want to welcome YOU and help you learn how to survive in Monterey!

   2:  Do you have questions?  Like where to find different things?  What to do if you feel sick or have an emergency?

   3:  Don’t let academic pressure get you down.  Take short special hikes – we call them "study breaks."  

   4:  Join us weekly. Share cross-cultural foods; compete in fun, creative team games; practice English as you participate in stimulating topical conversations such as “What is it like, or how is it done in your home/ family/ community/ culture.

   5:  We invited into local family homes.  Learn about our culture by experiencing it directly, up close, while also getting a chance to  share your lives with us.

   6:  Occasional weekend trips to the High Sierra mountains, once to play in the snow and once to hike huge waterfalls at Yosemite National Park.  Each time we stay two nights in host homes, being treated with incredible hospitality and friendship. 

  
7:  We also provide opportunities – for those who want it – to learn
about Jesus and the God of the Bible.  Many come here curious and we're glad to share.  But we also respect other personal beliefs and we share with no pressure to become like us.  For those who don’t care for this, we honor that and enjoy everyone the same.

Exploring Life Issues

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What makes cultures different?  What do we have in common?  What makes life matter?  How can we make sense of the things in this world that are hard?  What is the purpose of it all?  What is our purpose?

Ever ask these questions, openly & honestly, searching for answers that make sense?  As humans continually change the rules to suit themselves and as leaders pursue their own ambitions, are there standards and guidelines that might work across cultures?  In the midst of chaos (at all levels) that come from misunderstandings, is there a way for people like us to contribute to a way for stability be reestablished?


"I have come that they might have life, and that life to the full!" (Jesus)

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