Each year, students from all over the world bring drastically differing preconceptions of American life to Harvard. Many international first-years must adapt to the culture shock of unexpected customs and obstacles. Were their expectations of Harvard parties met?
“I think they’re on par with what I expected,” said Eric Hwang ’25 from Seoul, South Korea. “There are [parties] that are quite good and ones that are very mid. Though there was one at Tasty Basty recently that was—yikes. Like tumbleweeds sort of bad.”
Harvard does, however, host events for international students that serve as important outlets for first-years to navigate the social scene in the United States.
On April 1, the Woodbridge International Society held their Spring Rose Formal at the Northwest Building Basement, promising a red, black and white color scheme and a night filled with “Food and Dazzle.” The event, which served gyoza, empanadas, pizza, and guacamole, aimed to include aspects of many different cultures. Afterward, several students in attendance went to a party hosted by The Harvard Organization for Latin America (HOLA), another opportunity for internationals to meet students from their home countries.
Both Alejandro Escobar ’25 from Colombia and Nayeli Cardozo ’25 from Argentina expressed that the parties they most enjoyed on campus were those run by Latin American societies.
“I had an English teacher who told me, ‘Oh my god, when you go to the U.S. you are going to be so popular because Americans don’t know how to party. They don’t know how to socialize. They haven’t had a drink in their entire life,’” said Alejandro Escobar ’25, who is from Colombia. “So I came in with low expectations. They were exceeded, but not by much.”
Meanwhile, Hwang’s experience living in Korea has made him appreciate the parties that Harvard does put on, even if they aren’t entirely satisfying.
“It’s hard to throw parties in Seoul. You can’t jump up and down in apartments because the people below or next door will get mad. It’s harder to throw parties in Korea. If you wanted to party, you would go to a club.”
Though generally disappointed by the underwhelming nature of Harvard parties, students like Hwang have learned to find fun on restless nights through other types of social activities. “Things with friends are fun—getting a few friends together on Friday night and playing a game.”
Other students were disappointed by the social scene in ways they didn’t expect.
“I didn’t have a lot of expectations. I thought that people at Harvard would just devote their lives to study. But people here lead lives that are more well-rounded than I expected,” said Jimena Luque ’25 from Peru. “I’ve got to say, though, a lot of Harvard’s social scene seems to be racially segregated. One of the reasons I chose Harvard was to experience other races and ethnicities, and I was disappointed to find the social scene doesn’t really facilitate that.”
Like Hwang, Luque has found fun and camaraderie outside of parties. She accredits her three suitemates as well as her two dance groups, Candela and Asian American Dance Troupe, for helping her find a support system on campus. “You really connect beyond whatever activity you’re doing. They’ve played a big part in making my transition to American college life so smooth,” she explained.
International students’ preconceptions of life in the States came from a variety of sources. While some expressed having hearing advice from adult figures and stories of their friends’ experiences during gap years, many students found they were highly influenced by the media, especially movies.
“I’ve watched all these movies about Americans, and my friends ask if the parties [are] really like that,” said Joel Runevic ’25, who is from the United Kingdom. While he and his friends knew such movies were exaggerated versions of reality, they compared their experiences at Harvard to stereotypes of high school films which presented American parties as intense raves. The discrepancies between the fictional world “wasn’t necessarily a bad thing,” Runevic said.
He found the major difference between the American and British party scenes was the legal drinking age. “I think it’s seen in the U.S. like it’s more cool to drink, whereas in the U.K., the drinking age is 18, so people drink a lot more often and are more open about it,” he noted. As a result, this drinking age affects students’ awareness of their drinking limits.
The creative outlets that international students find or create as they navigate Harvard’s social scene call Americans to evaluate their own partying habits. Can we reimagine the party scene at Harvard to be more fun and inviting? Can we pull successful aspects of party scenes from around the world to better what we have now?
Reina Pimentel ’25 (reina_pimentel@college.harvard.edu) and Lauren Kim ’25 (lauren_kim@college.harvard.edu) write for the Independent.