Remy Iapteff, an exchange student from France, will soon have to say goodbye to the fried food, southern hospitality and American lifestyle he has gotten used to.

Iapteff, along with many of the foreign exchange students at N.C. State this spring, will have to return home after exams finish. The U.S. college experience can be drastically different for exchange students, from living on campus to studying and even dating. Iapteff left the comforts of home, as well as the security of his culture, language and customs.

However, he found that assimilating into American culture was easier than he thought it would be, as people were eager to befriend him.

“When I arrived, I was impressed by how people were very nice to me,” Iapteff said. 

For David McKenna, a native of Newcastle, England, the biggest challenge was getting people to understand what he was saying.

“I found it surprising how difficult it was for some people to understand my accent,” McKenna said. 

Iapteff said he had the choice between a variety of colleges, but picked N.C. State because of North Carolina’s proximity to other major cities along with the coast. Traveling to America has both broken and strengthened many media-produced stereotypes that students held back home. 

“One thing that people [back at home] say is that Americans don’t know much about other cultures around the world,” said Max Halty, a native of Uruguay.  “I found that it’s true for some people, but not for all Americans.”   

Most foreign students shared one specific stereotype prior to arriving in the United States: Americans eat too much fast food and are overweight. However, McKenna said he was surprised when he saw many students were physically active as well.   

“American students here do far more sports than back home,” McKenna said.   

Foreign students’ most common adjustment to classes dealt with the level of in-class participation professors required. It came as a surprise to some foreign students that participation was a part of their grade.  

“Last semester I earned high marks on my exams in one class, but ended up a grade lower as a result of supposedly inadequate participation,” McKenna said. 

Many students also had to adjust their learning styles after seeing the differences in the education systems between N.C. State and their home universities.

“In Uruguay, we have exams at the end of the semester that are worth the majority of your grade. Here, there are many tests throughout the semester,” Halty said. 

McKenna said it was interesting to see students take courses outside of their specific field of study, as the United States often puts more emphasis on a liberal arts education than other countries.

“People seem so much more in control of their own learning here,” McKenna said. ”They also tend to [take] more variety of courses than we do back home.”   

Living on campus was another component that enhanced their cultural experience at the University. 

“In Uruguay we live in our homes and [commute] to school,” Halty said. 

Many also found living in Alexander Hall, the international dorm, to be a rewarding experience.

“The setup is really good; with all the internationals and the locals together, it’s quite easy to make friends quickly,” McKenna said.

Halty agreed, saying he had never been out of his native country for this long. 

“Living in Alexander made me realize the other ways people live and think,” Halty said. “In Alexander, you don’t just have American culture, but a little bit of everything. It’s great.”