International students reflect on what they thought America and Linfield would be like — and what they found
For international students at Linfield, Thursdays mean one thing — International Tea Hour. Students gather weekly in the International Programs Office to chat, drink tea and enjoy treats from around the world. At a tea hour last fall, international students were asked what they thought America would be like before they arrived, and what has surprised them most since:
“I was thinking it would be like ‘High School Musical.’ And it somewhat is! People are very energetic and speak up in class often. Classes are very different from my country; in Japan, usually only the professor speaks and the students listen. Here, professors and students often communicate. I felt shy to speak up in class at first, but now I’m used to it and I speak up — at least a little bit.”
— Moeri Sugimura, marketing major visiting from Japan for the fall semester
“I was expecting the full American university experience, maybe a bigger university? But now I prefer Linfield because it’s smaller and we have a huge sense of community. After one semester, I felt like I would often come across people I knew to wave and say ‘hi’ and [talk with] in class. Having friends who offer me rides or that I do weekend trips with — I didn’t expect that.”
— Alice Jeannerot, graduate teaching assistant originally from France
“I did not have that much culture shock because I’ve been exposed to a lot of American media, so it actually seemed pretty normal. But the thing that surprised me most was how nice and helpful people are here. And people have a lot of energy! I don’t know if it’s a West Coast thing, but people are so energetic, and they go all out to help you. Also, no one uses umbrellas.”
— Rabea Qaiser, visiting from Pakistan for the fall semester via State Department exchange
