How do grad students find community outside their departments?
As an international student, I find little to no joy in watching college football on weekends. So, left with a lot of idle time, I have been wondering how grad students fraternize. I have been in A2 for over a year, and in my first year my cohortmates were fairly close. So, I didn't feel the need to make friends outside my department.
This year we are no longer forced to take classes together and nowadays I barely see most people. Everyone is busy with research, family or new friends.
Something I didn't anticipate was that some of my friends were secretly tired of interacting with me because they weren't comfortable with English and would have rather made friends who spoke their own language. I am aware that It is unreasonable of me to expect them to overcome the language barrier, but it is still disheartening to see supposed close friends exclude you from their lives. Moreover, English also isn't my first language, and there aren't many people in A2 who speak my mother-tongue.
I have looked up school clubs, but most of them are just undergrads. While it is fun to talk to them, it can get awkward because they are in a very different stage of life.
I have tried going to Hadley for open sports, but the insurmountable language barrier remains a problem.
Also, I am a non-religious person, and am not open to Christ or any religion. So, going to church to find community is not an option.
Is there anyone else who is in a similar situation? Does anyone have any recommendations? I would rather not reveal my hobbies for fear of exposing my identity. It is also more fun to see criticism when it is aimed at a hypothetical third person.
P.S. It is not that I cannot find people to hang out with, infact I may have overcompensated and made too many superficial friends. It is just that I do not feel close to most of them. There is a post like this every couple years, but I hope this one answers my questions or is able to get useful advice. At the risk of being overly repetitive, my goal is to find friends, outside my department, who are grad students and comfortable speaking English and like to play racquet sports.