My co workers are annoying

I work with a group of 13 women and one man who are from a different country. The man is pretty nice and mellow. The women are so loud when they’re having a conversation with each other in their language that it sounds like they’re always yelling at each other. I love to read, and I’m a college student, so I study a lot during our downtime. If I’m around them, I can barely hear myself think. I can often hear them through my earbuds too. I started distancing myself from them except for one period when I have no choice but to be around them.

Not only are they loud, but they become unaware of what they’re doing when they’re engrossed in a conversation with each other. For example, they’ll stand in a group of about five, talking in their language and blocking the walkway, even though they know other employees use that path. Or they’ll walk so slowly while having a conversation with each other that, if we’re behind them, we have to ask them to move so we can get through. It’s like they don’t see anyone else except each other.

There are also some things that have nothing to do with their language or culture that bother me. They’ll cough and sneeze without covering their mouths, and I’ve seen them blow their noses and then not wash their hands afterward. It’s no wonder they’re always sick, they sit in eachothers faces sneezing and coughing. That stuff drives me crazy because it affects everyone else in the workplace.

When I have a conversation with them, they’re chill, and I love learning words in their language and about their culture. It’s just that, together, they are annoying. I know it’s probably weird being in a country where you don’t speak the language or understand it very well, so it’s only normal to gravitate toward people from your country. But all I want is for them to have some consideration for the rest of us. I also know that I can’t expect my cultural norms to be their cultural norms, but damn.