International students from Sheffield Hallam University had dinner with a former Lord Mayor of Sheffield as part of a new scheme to bring communities together in Sheffield.
Hajar Fatorachian and Hadi Kazemi, a husband and wife from Iran, went to the home of Councillor Mike Pye for lunch and a chat as part of the new Local Friends project. Councillor Pye nominated himself to be the first person to host an international s
tudent through the Sheffield Hallam project.
Councillor Mike Pye said: "Anything that brings people together and shares understanding benefits the local community. If you have a look at the two universities in Sheffield we have 40,000 students here from all over the country, and up to 8,000 international students, that can only benefit the local people if they know what's going on."
Andrew Bromley, founder of the project, said: "The project puts international students at Sheffield Hallam University in touch with local people to help them experience our way of life.
"It's open to anyone in Sheffield, and we hope we can forge international friendships and widen understanding of different cultures. It's a great way for the University's international students to learn more about local customs, taste Yorkshire food, and experience traditional celebrations.
"And the British host has the chance to discover other cultures and ways of life."
With 3,000 international students at Sheffield Hallam University, the scheme can be tailored to fit the hosts and the guests.
Andrew said: "Sheffield's multi-cultural nature is one of its strengths. It's a very vibrant, friendly place.
"The scheme takes advantage of this and is tailored to allow people interested in hosting a student to request international students from specific countries, or that speak specific languages, so the host can benefit from the experience too.
"For example, the scheme could be a great way to practice that bit of Spanish, or any other language you might have picked up while on holiday."
Students Hajar Fatorachian and Hadi Kazemi, originally from Bonab and Tabriz in Iran, were very excited about being the first students on the scheme.
Hajar said, "I love Sheffield because I can be calm or have a really lively life, there are friendly people and their accent is easy to understand."
The Local Friends Scheme, run by Sheffield Hallam University, is a project open for everyone to join. To request to host an international student for a couple of hours or for the day please contact Andrew Bromley at localfriends@shu.ac.uk or phone 0114 225 4127.
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