Every day four Chinese students can be found in a conference room digging into lunchboxes filled with leftovers from last night’s dinner. The scent of microwaved rice, fried beef and tofu with carrots lingers around the once-empty room. Hui Ma, Fei Ye, Wei Shi and Luo Ling chat about basketball, their studies and life back at home in China before returning to the Fundamentals of Networking Lab (FUNLAB) to continue research.

The electrical engineering graduate students in the FUNLAB are from a variety of countries. Most of them speak different first languages.

Hui, Fei and Wei, however, are all from the same university in Beijing, China. Luo is also from China, but he studied at a different university. A special community of friendship has grown in the lab for these international students.

They came to the UW at different times and separately applied to work in the FUNLAB. While in Bejiing, Wei’s adviser coaxed him into studying at the UW by telling him that two other Chinese students from his university were already working there.

The four students have a lot in common: “badminton, watching basketball games, politics, social issues, our major and Chinese culture,” explained Luo, who is working for his doctorate degree in cognitive radio.

A bright red banner on the front of the FUNLAB door in golden Chinese characters reads, “Happy New Year.” Hui, a doctoral student, said, chuckling, that the banner has been up since last year. The banner serves as a preface to the diverse culture found within the lab. Computers are neatly placed at desks throughout the gray room, and the window reflects dim weather. Fluorescent lighting casts a usual department store glow around the room. Cubicle walls separate each person’s space.

All the desks are bare and naked. No picture frames, postcards or personalized decor differentiate each person’s space from another. At a quick glance, just an endless abyss of neutral cabinets, carpet and foam walls fill the room. On the left as you enter, a microwave, small fridge and coffee maker sit on the table. Though the space itself is drab, an international world takes root in the room.

“Two Caucasian males, three Chinese males, two South Asian males and one African American male,” listed Sumit Roy, a UW professor of communication and networking, when describing the cultural makeup of his team of graduate students.

Fei, also a doctoral candidate, has found his niche in this place.

“I feel lucky to have Ma, Shi and Ling here with me,” he said about his friends.

During winter break, Wei was the only Chinese student in the lab who was able afford a trip home for the holidays. Luo, Fei and Hui spent the break together because they had no relatives to stay with.

“In Chinese culture the sense of family is very important,” Luo said. “We have become like family.”

They spent five days at Mount Baker together skiing, hanging out in a lodge, relaxing and playing cards. A local Chinese church donated the cabin for them to stay in free of charge. After the trip they came home for Christmas and spent the day together “to make it feel more like home,” Fei explained.

These get-togethers happen frequently within their community of friends. When having small parties they send out mass e-mails to get the word out, and they meet up at someone’s house.

“We play Chinese cards games like Majiang,” he said. “Or we play video games like Nintendo Wii bowling or car racing.”

For Chinese New Year the group of students celebrated by cooking dumplings.

Sofia Kenny, a Greek barista at the Tully’s in the electrical engineering building, said it’s not uncommon to hear several different languages being spoken in the seating area.

The most frequent language she hears is Hindi.

The electrical engineering graduate school at the UW is diverse, with 107 out of 262 total students being international students, explained Stephen Graham, an electrical engineering academic advisor.

Chinese-speaking students make up about 50 of the 107 international students in the program, he said.

Hui joined the lab three years after he was accepted into the UW. On the day of the interview he wore khakis, a dark brown sweater and a large smile stretching from ear to ear.

“I’m the oldest Chinese student here and used to be the only Chinese speaker,” he said. “Two years ago I was restricted to speaking English all the time in the lab.”

When the second Chinese student, Luo, came to the lab, Hui took him under his wing. He took him to the best Chinese restaurants around, recommended books that would help him be a better English writer and was always there to answer questions. Fei and Wei have also had the companionship and assistance of Hui.

“We share the same experiences, work on projects, and often have similar problems we can face together,” he explained.

Jerome Montant is a French foreign exchange student who has been working in the FUNLAB since January. At first the diversity of the lab was challenging for him to get used to.

He often feels left out when his coworkers speak Chinese and he can’t understand them.

But Jerome identifies with the draw of having native speakers to talk to.

“When I hear French being spoken, I immediately gravitate toward it,” Montant said. “It’s just how it is; people group by language.”

Montant finds his niche at Foundation for International Understanding Through Students (FIUTS) functions, where he mingles with other French speakers.

Despite differences in first languages, communication is strong between the teammates in the FUNLAB. Each study abroad or international student must pass the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). They must read, write, listen and speak in English at a high level of proficiency to meet the requirement.

Roy believes the diversity of his lab is a major benefit. His students constantly collaborate, so acculturation to different viewpoints and work methods are educational. Roy emphasized that engineering is a global field, and engineers must be attuned to this.

Luo, Fei, Hui and Wei eat Chinese leftovers together in the conference room day in and day out. During their meal they sometimes talk about places in the United States they want to visit. Their conversations are typical of American students — the largest difference is that they take place in Chinese. And for these international students, lunch isn’t just about filling their hungry stomachs.

It’s time with family.

[Reach reporter Chantal Anderson at features@thedaily.washington.edu.]