Kansas University’s international reputation often lures students from afar to study on Mount Oread. And sometimes, their love of KU and Lawrence causes them to stay, even after they’ve walked down the hill.

Teddy Duarte, 33, came to KU in 1992 from Paraguay and stayed. Bob “Soey Bow” Bong, 82, made his way to KU from Indonesia in the late 1940s. He still lives in Lawrence.

“The people are friendly, and I was treated well here,” Bong said. “I was happy here.”

Duarte, who graduated from KU with a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1998, is business manager in KU’s Networking and Telecommunications office. While going to high school in Asuncion, Paraguay, Duarte began thinking about going to KU to study.

“I had a few friends who were here (at KU), and when they came back home they talked about it and how much they really liked it,” Duarte said.

Bong started thinking about leaving Indonesia after World War II when it became obvious that his country would gain its independence from the Dutch. Bong was of Chinese descent, and native Indonesians were prejudiced toward the Chinese, he said.

Indonesia did become independent in 1949, but Bong had been living in Melbourne, Australia, since World War II and had attended high school there. He also met an American who was a friend of Fred Ellsworth, one of KU’s most distinguished alumni, who recommended that Bong consider KU.

Bong did, arriving in Lawrence in 1948. He lived with a KU physiology professor and initially majored in business.

“I decided I didn’t like that,” Bong said of his original major. “I decided I was an English literature person, instead.”

After graduating in 1951, Bong returned to Jakarta, Indonesia. In 1955 he married Sylvia, an Indonesian who also was of Chinese descent. By the time they decided to leave Indonesia for the United States in 1969, they had three sons, ages 12, 7 and 5.

Bong ended up going to work for Allen Press, 810 E. 10th St., in the personnel department. He retired in 1995.

“I’ve enjoyed it here,” Bong said. “I’ve lived in this house for 32 years. I have no regrets.”

Duarte came to KU through an international student exchange program. After graduation he went on to earn a master’s degree in business administration from Washburn University.

Duarte and his wife, Diana, now have a 2-year-old son. Duarte plans to become an American citizen.

“I like KU and the diversity of it,” he said. “I like the fact that there are several libraries in the area that I can go to. I like reading about American history.”

Duarte said he also liked the mixture of urban and rural atmospheres in Lawrence.

“I don’t have anything against cities, but I like Lawrence because it has wide-open spaces,” he said.