DE Asst. Features Editor

Se Gin Ong is a certified elementary school teacher in Malaysia, but she left her career behind to live in Carbondale.

Ong, 39, is the spouse of an SIUC international student. She and her husband moved to Carbondale in August 1994.

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There are an estimated 200 international students with dependents at SIUC, according to International Programs and Services. Many of these dependents are spouses who left behind their lives, families and friends so their husbands could study at an American university.

While her husband is studying for a degree in music, she has found a way to occupy herself in the International Spouses group sponsored by International Programs and Services.

Ong said she experienced conflicting emotions when her husband received a scholarship to SIUC.

I was both happy and sad about leaving Malaysia, she said. It’s an exciting, new experience, but you leave everything familiar behind. But it was a good opportunity for our family, and family comes first.

The International Spouses group began 10 years ago, when a graduate student became interested in performing a study on the needs of international spouses, Beth Mochnick, community programs coordinator for International Programs and Services, said.

Mochnick said the program is designed to help spouses remain productive while they live in Carbondale. She said the spouses set up and run the group.

Many international spouses are highly educated professionals in their own countries, she said. They have a lot to offer and no way to express it, so they very often can become subjected to boredom.

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Many group members say they value the opportunity to spend some time outside of home.

Josefena Beck, 33, from Peru, said she joined the group in December 1994 because she had too much free time and was bored. Beck said she was involved in a minority action committee before she came to Carbondale, and she misses the work.

You find yourself at home without anything to do, she said. I went to International Studies and asked them if there was anything organized I could help out in.

Beck said the group offers valuable information and activities for international spouses. Past programs included cooking classes, computer and English courses, and various family activities.

The group currently has 30 members, including some American members. Mochnick said the interaction between the different cultures is important to international families.

International spouses are interested in meeting Americans and understanding their social system, she said. All these women are in the same boat. They worry about baby sitters, financial difficulties and love to talk.

Petra Colon, 33, from Germany, said she depends on interaction with American culture. She said she was a kindergarten teacher in Germany and wants to start a pre-school in the area.

My husband is American, and he wanted to go to school here, she said. We will stay in the area for a while, and I want to start working again. The more English I learn to read and write brings me closer to my goal.

Colon said the most important aspect of the International Spouses group is the interaction with other people. She said she feels safer knowing other people in Carbondale.

When you come from one country to another, you always are by yourself, she said. In a small area like this, you can’t do a lot of activities by yourself.

Ong said she immediately joined the International Spouses group when she first came to Carbondale. She said the group always has provided a type of home away from home.

All the women have something in common, she said. We all have children and husbands studying for degrees. We can’t depend on our husbands because they really can’t spend a lot of time with the family. This group provides an alternative for the wife and kids to depend on themselves.