Roommates

Seniors Na and Leidy have been friends since meeting as roommates in freshman year. After bonding over K-pop and K-dramas, the pair helped each other adjust to their new environment. “We struggled together,” says Na. “I remember staying up working on our papers. Leidy was always helping me with my grammar and run-on sentences.” Meanwhile, Leidy was “new to Chinese, new to China, new to everything!”  “It was so funny in the beginning,” says Na. “She didn’t know how to pronounce Chinese pinyin, but we were both familiar with Korean hangul, so I used it to teach her Chinese pronunciation.”

During freshman year, Leidy visited Na’s hometown in Xiamen. “We walked around Gulangyu Island and had great food. It was good to escape from the city for a bit.” She then invited Na to spend junior year winter break back in Atlanta. “I had fun spending Christmas with Leidy’s Colombian family,” says Na. “It was so different!”

After studying away together in New York, and a semester in Prague, Leidy has moved back into dorms, this time as a Resident Assistant supporting the new freshman class. “I like the convenience of the dorms, and being an RA is fun. It’s helped me bridge back into the community.”

Leidy Tapasco

Home: Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Major: Business and Marketing

First impressions: Na's first ever email to me started: ‘Dear Tapasco Leidy Tatiana…’ a mixture of all of my names, which was funny; and I thought her first name was Sun! When I arrived at the dorm it was 1am and Na was still up waiting for me. She’d brought me comic books, and her mom got me a blanket that I still use in my room. I thought she was really sweet.

Hanging out: We love doing karaoke, although Na always tells me I get the pitch wrong!

Best thing about Na: Her honesty. She tells you what you should hear, not what you want to hear.

Na Sun

Home: Xiamen, Fujian Province, China

Major: Business and Marketing

Best thing about Leidy: She always takes care of me, emotionally and physically. She’s a good mom.

Favorite place to eat: We both enjoy hanging out in malls and local food plazas. We still go to Mr. Pancake House. It’s our tradition after every semester final.

Anything you didn’t agree on? The AC! In summer she makes the room super cold and in winter she wants it super hot!

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Want to share your roommates story? Send us an email at shanghai.social@nyu.edu. 

Read Lauren Benedict and Mi Zhou (Dora)'s roommate story here. 
Read Matthew Couch and Liu Tianwei's roommate story here.