As an international student, I experienced how hard it was to find a place and to feel at home. After moving several times from one apartment to another, I finally found Madre Nazarena Student's House (MNSH) in Richmond, Australia. From the first day I moved in, I felt welcomed, warm and—most importantly—at home.
MNSH is quite far from my university, but I still find that this place is really comfortable for me. MNSH really helps me in all my needs such as providing meals, cleaning my room and creating a better environment for student life. Even though I have a lot of activities which make it hard to manage time properly, I still have a healthy and comfortable life.
When I returned to Melbourne after spending the summer holidays with my family in my home country, the Sisters and other residents of MNSH welcomed me with warm smiles and hugs, I felt good and at home. These simple gestures always make me feel better, especially when I feel lonely and homesick.
Moreover, at the start of each academic year an Opening Mass is held in our beautiful chapel asking God to protect us, and bless our journey and our studies. This event, the first for me since I missed it last year, was so wonderful because for the first time I participated in a celebration with so many other girls from various countries coming together with the same aim: to study far away from home. I really enjoyed the Mass, especially when the priest encouraged us not only to study but to allow ourselves to be enriched by the diversity and the friendship of each other.
I also felt excited when we brought our countries' flags to the altar and put them together in one basket surrounding the big heart that our Sisters carry as their emblem. This simple symbolic gesture was meaningful for me, because even though we come from different countries, backgrounds, languages, etc, in putting together these differences they become instead an enrichment that surely enhances friendships in which we are a great help to each other. I believe that this kind of event helps us to know and respect each other and strengthens our relationships.
Living in Madre Nazarena Student's House means having a lot of fun and I don't think anyone will feel bored staying here. I know that due to MNSH's care and high quality services, the house will always be filled with students willing to share and receive the beauty of one another.
Feroni