ankgoel@watmsg.waterloo.edu (anil k goel) (05/03/91)
Do you recall the mixture of excitement and confusion, the eagerness, the
anxiety, the exhaustion, when you first arrived in Canada and at this
University? Could you tell us a story about how you needed something and
how you would have given anything just to be able to talk to someone in
your own language? If your answer to any of these questions is YES, you are
the ideal candidate for our Friends at Waterloo program. You are exactly
the person we are looking for!
The Friends at Waterloo program was started in 1989 and it has been
successfully carried out ever since. We, the International Graduate Student
Committee of the GSA, collect a short list of volunteers from different
nationalities (including Canada, of course!), who are willing to help a new
international graduate student get through the first exhausting days. A
survey of those who utilized this program suggests that some of their
initial anxieties were indeed alleviated by the Friends.
We are continuing this program for students arriving in the Fall. We are
starting early so that by July we will have sent letters, along with lists
of volunteers, to prospective students. We are also looking for a more
exhaustive list of volunteers from as many different nationalities and
university departments as possible. A volunteer does not have to pick-up
arriving students, or provide board and lodging but should just assist as
much as possible, or as much as he or she wants to, when the new student
phones. Help might be needed in getting over hurdles such as registration,
applying for work permits, social insurance numbers, filling out TD-1
forms, finding accommodation, which bus to take, where to eat on campus,
and untangling red tape.
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please fill out the return
slip below and send it to Darren Meister (darren@watnow), GSA, Grad House.
- Arun Achyuthan (arun@vlsi)
Co-Chair, IGSC
__________________________________________________________________________
Name:
Department:
Nationality:
Languages Spoken:
Home Phone number:
(should be good in September 1991)
Office phone number: