Etsuko Yamashiro

Japan House

Fukushima, Tohoku region of Japan

24 years old

How is the U.S. different from your country?

I was surprised by the amount of work the students receive. In addition to the workload, the frequency of quizzes and tests also surprised me too. Although it may sound harsh, I am fond of this demanding education system because it eventually yields a positive consequence.

I’m also impressed by the preciseness of the syllabus for each class. In Japan, the content of the syllabus is broader and does not include the grading policy.

I was also surprised by some of the incidents that happened on campus. For example, the hate mails that were sent to certain people were disturbing. I mean, anyone could have been suspected. I just don’t understand how people could carry such an act that could harm the whole community.

Do you like it here?

Yes. But I haven’t experienced winter yet, so we’ll see about that … I love living in the Japan House because it’s so cozy! Right now my life is a little too busy. I would like to go out more often, but unfortunately I don’t have the time. What surprised you the most here?

The fact that the students looked older than their actual age.

What do you miss from home?

FOOD,FOOD, FOOD!!!

Sergei Kondrutski

Korenovsk, Russia

23 years old

How is the U.S. different from your country or what you are used to?

In Krasnodar you only get to live in the dormitories if you are coming from more than 40 miles away.

We don’t have clubs promoting awareness of this or that issue. We had too much of it back in the Soviet Era, so people got tired of others telling you how to look at things. You mainly go to college to study and social life is not the focus of college life.

The food here sucks. We don’t process food like you do here (meat and cheese). Your food tastes dead to me. At home we just pack it so the food is fresher.

You got it way better. You have phones all over the college, phones in every room- at school in Russia you have to pay for that. Restrooms are nicer here because back home people smoke in the restroom, because it’s where you’re allowed to smoke while in public buildings. Voicemail and free Internet access are so unbelievable.

I have never seen such clean streets. I have never been able to walk into a house with my shoes on and not leave footprints on the rug. Back home we have a lot of dust on the streets because of the urban areas.

Paula Adamo

Spanish House

La Plata, Argentina

24 years old

How does the U.S. compare to Argentina?

My university at home has about 60,000 people. There are up to 200 people in one class. We don’t have as many resources; we don’t have computers, we don’t have TVs, we don’t have carpeted floors, we don’t have toilet paper in the bathrooms. It’s harder to study there. If you take four classes, you are busy all the time. It’s really hard to work and study, and that’s why a lot of people, even though it’s free, can’t afford to go to University. You need your parents to support you, and if your parents can’t, even though you don’t pay any money at all, for some people it’s impossible.

In Argentina, I cook everything with meat. The meat here is not what I am used to, and it is really expensive. I can’t afford eating meat twice a day here as I do in Argentina.

Here you can talk to your professor if you have a problem and cannot take a test and usually they try to understand and give you another date. That doesn’t happen at home.

What is your impression of Macalester?

The classes that I’ve taken here are good. I’ve taken all classes from the Spanish Department. There are good choices here. One of the best things here is there are tons of international students, and that’s something I never see in my country. That’s one of the best things about the US, that you can meet people from everywhere, from all over the world. At Macalester you have a lot of international diversity and I think that’s great.

PaulinoAyala-Brener

SantoTomé, Argentina

27 years old

How does the U.S. compare to Argentina?

There is a difference. I was born in Argentina and the things that I do here are easy for me because I grew up there and when you grow up without things around you, it’s not a big deal if you don’t have them. There is a big cultural thing, just because it’s different.

A big example. I am at the office, and I need to staple something, and there is only an electric stapler. I think it’s funny. You want to put electricity to everything. For me, it’s more than fine to have a manual thing, but I understand that people try to make things as easy as possible. It’s okay, it’s a different culture, but an electric stapler for me… it sounds a little funny.

What is your impression of Macalester?

I’m very happy to be here; I think I’m really lucky. I applied to other places for similar positions. Like St. Olaf. But their Spanish house was not co-ed. I’m glad I couldn’t go, because here I’m in a city and it’s really nice. I admire the resources you have here. I like the place, I like the people, the faculty is awesome. I’ve only been here 2 months, and I think I need more time to understand where Macalester is presently and where it is going in terms of internationalism and multiculturalism. I think there is a lot of that going on, but I think there could be more, or it could be done differently.

Emilie Bonnet

Provence,France

22 years old

How do you like Macalester?

The small school is very nice. I went to the University of Avignon in France which was also very small. I love it so far. I haven’t had any problems. It’s been a great experience because I want to be a teacher. How does the U.S. compare to France?

The food is too salty here. There are so many parties here. In France, not much goes on on campus. It’s easier to attend the conferences, events, dances and parties because they are right here. Sandra Vende Hemonet How is the U.S. different from France?

I would say that the big difference is the price to register. You pay such an amount of money, but it’s good in a way because, you have everything you need, and so many tours, nobody can get lost, and you have a big library, you can borrow everything.

In France, on the other hand it’s [education] more available. It costs about $100.00 to register. What do you miss from home?

Well, my family of course. But other than that, nothing really. The internet is such a great thing, everyone is around me all the time. If I want to see landscapes from my home, I just click and there they are.

Bernd Weber

Austria

28 years old

How is college life here different from in Austria?

The campus is very different because we don’t have this campus system. And what they’re trying to do right now in Austria is create this sort of campus and corporate entity with a corporate structure, everything centered, with a campus-like environment, but basically you’re on your own. Whereas here, you’re just pampered and babied and supervised. You’re closer to real life in Austria. Like you live in a apartment, you have to fight with your landlords, you have to fight with weird neighbors.

What have been your best and worst experiences here so far?

I think you could say, the worst experience here was the aftermath of this attack, and all that chauvinist politics that was played out. That was really bad; I didn’t like that. I didn’t know whether it would affect my stay here, as far as I knew I could be sent back, you know. I thought that maybe with some more attacks, maybe they would send us home after only two weeks, and that would really suck.

Leonore Neuwirth Graz, Austria

27 years old

What do you think of the food here?

Yes, I miss Austrian food. I could make everything here if I wanted to, but I haven’t been finding the time. Next weekend I want to bake bread, my own bread. I’m surprised that you have Breadsmith’s-they have nice bread-and I like the Whole Foods, it’s nice. It’s a European style supermarket, I hate the big ones like Cub Foods and Rainbow’s. Cafeteria food is very good here, I think. I love beef jerky; I don’t know why, it’s just so good. I miss Austrian tap water the most, because our tap water is like spring water. Even in the shower, I smell of chlorine after the shower.

What is your impression of Macalester?

I like the college. It’s very clean, it’s very green, it’s nice, it’s well looked-after, and the students-I like the diversity of the students here. You want to know what my first impression really was? This is where the money is. Compared to Eau Claire, a state school, everything-you can really see a difference. I think the students are-they tend to be a little Europeanized for me. They look like people I would meet in Graz. Like, there are people who dye their hair, who wear ethnic clothing-this is stuff I hadn’t seen in Eau Claire. Everybody wears jeans and t-shirts. .