University junior Feruza Ashirova strides into the Mills International Center, bowl of food in hand, long brown hair loose around her shoulders. She sets her lunch down at the front desk where she works and nods hello to the table of young men sitting nearby. Sporting blue jeans and a smile, Ashirova blends right into student life on campus. You’d never know she lived in Uzbekistan until 12th grade, which she spent at South Eugene High School.
The Uzbek native, born and raised in the capital city of Tashkent, began studying her third language, English, at just five years old. Ashirova also speaks Uzbek, Russian and a bit of German, which is her minor at the University.
After the experience of studying at South Eugene, Ashirova decided she wanted to continue her path toward higher education in the United States.
She attended college in Uzbekistan for one semester, then transferred to the University of Oregon after passing the required study abroad exams.
Now in her second full year at the University, Ashirova works as a resource consultant for the International Student Association.
“People are really nice here,” Ashirova said, looking around the Mills International Center. “People smile here and say ‘hi’ on the street. It felt strange to me at first.”
Ashirova said adjusting to cultural cues took a bit of time. When a stranger in his car waved to her as she crossed the street, she stopped dead in her tracks, confused as to why someone would be so overly friendly.
“In my culture, people put on a more serious facial expression,” Ashirova said. “People don’t smile back at you.”

She noticed Oregon traffic appears to be a whole other world from Uzbekistan, as well. While Eugene cars have stopped to let her cross, she lamented that she’s had to wait five to 10 minutes back home before crossing the street.
Still, Ashirova misses the familiar streets of her hometown.
“Eugene is kind of a one-color place compared to my own town,” Ashirova said. “I miss my friends and my cousin, who’s my best friend.”
Along with the social networks she finds herself missing on occasion, Ashirova added that she often craves certain foods like kebab, pilaf and bread. Even when she cooks the same recipes here, they don’t quite taste the same, she said.
Nevertheless, Ashirova has enjoyed immersing herself into U.S. culture. Her host family from Eugene has given Ashirova the support she needs to flourish academically during this time in her life, she said. Ashirova’s future plans include possibly studying abroad in Germany next year. She’s even thought about working for the U.N. post-college. With the help and support of her friends at ISA and her host family, Ashirova remains optimistic for potential opportunities to come.
“Feruza has been helping ISA since last year, and she decided to step up and applied for our internship this year,” ISA Co-director Sho Ito told the Emerald in an e-mail. “I admire her because of the fact that she is detail-oriented and always trying to help.”
ISA meets regularly and holds a free coffee hour Fridays at 4 p.m. in the Mills International Center. Ito said the event often boasts high attendance.
Melissa Ng, an international student from Indonesia, emphasized the ISA community helped introduce her to a whole community of international students.
“I like making friends from a lot of cultures,” Ng said. “I like to see how we think differently from each other and how it differs from your own culture.”
University student Sean Jin, a Eugene native, said joining ISA has expanded his mindset more than he expected.
“I learn new things from other students from different backgrounds,” Jin said. “I’ve had conversations that have made me a richer and deeper person.”
Jin, an active member of ISA, said he’s looking forward to tonight’s Halloween party in the EMU Ballroom. Sponsored by the ASUO, the comic book-themed dance party will supply free refreshments afterward. Each term, ISA organizes one major student event to increase awareness and visibility among the community. Fall quarter festivities usually center around Halloween.
“ISA is a bridge ultimately between students,” Jin said. “It allows domestic students to meet international students from all over the world. We serve as a resource and as an umbrella to connect international students to campus.”
[email protected]