What kind of expectations international students have about the US?
Some students come believing that everybody's rich here and that they can be rich, too, and that they can easily get a job and they can easily get permanent residence, and most of them begin to realize after a very short time that this is not always true.

There are possibilities to work, but they're not everywhere around you. It's not easy and we have problems, too. And, some of our problems have to do with poverty and high health care costs and various and sundry things. So, I think most international students begin rather rapidly to get a better realistic view of what life is like in the US. And, in fact, what the US is like. It's not always like the movie and TV.

How international students usually adjust to the American culture?
I think a lot of students follow something that's known as the U-curve of cultural adjustment, and that is when you're first here you're very excited and everybody is being particularly nice to you because you're a newcomer. And, some people call this the honeymoon stage, you're feeling great at the beginning.

A lot of students then after that and at varying times, experience sort of a downturn, maybe because of weather, maybe because of academics, maybe because of exams or missing friends, missing family, missing home food, missing home. Many students experience that. Some very soon and some longer, and some seem to experience over and over and over again this sort of downturn, most students at a certain point begin the critical stage, and that is starting to come up again and recognizing that there are good things about here and there are good things about home, and that neither one is perfect.

And, at this stage, I think that's the most important stage, because the student then can be sort of a transition between the two cultures. And, can help new students coming in as well as translate to home culture the points about the US culture. I think a lot of students go through that.

How have you seen international students to change during their studies in the US?
I've seen international students become much more open and much more social, I don't want to say aggressive, but learning how to assert, to take part in things, even to the point of being able to speak and argue in class, and interact more with the professors. I think a lot of it depends on where they came from originally and how open and how flexible they were to change once they got here.

What else international students can learn addition to their academic studies?
I think part of the benefits of studying here rest with the great diversity, people from all over the world sharing knowledge. I think that's extremely important. I think students learn a lot about communicating across cultures, especially if they don't spend their whole time in the United States with other students or other people from their own culture. I think people learn very much if they're willing to come out of that, speaking their language and staying with their own kind all of the time.

What advice would you give to a new international student?
I like the writer Stephen Covey and I like what he has to say when one is beginning something new, and that is begin with the end in mind. So, I recommend that students start with how they would like to see themselves at the end of two years or at the end or four years or longer if they're doing a degree. Start with where you want to end up and then prepare yourself in that fashion.

One thing I'm not sure a lot of students do is do the proper leave taking of home and of family, and of friends at home. And, I think that's important to get started, too. Talk about, talk with people about whom you care a lot and properly take leave of them, and discuss with them the possibilities of keeping in contact while the student is away.

Another thing I suggest and this is not exactly in preparation, but I think it's very important and that is to keep a record of your thoughts and your experiences while you're here. So, I always recommend that to students when they first come. And an easy way to do it is to if the student is sending e-mails back to the home country, just keeping the e-mails is a very good record without having to write in your diary every night.

The things I recommend are to get involved with as many things as you can possibly get involved with, clubs, extra projects in classes, to be very active. To try not to stay with your own culture all the time, but try to have friends from the US, certainly, and from many other cultures, and be active and also be flexible if things are not exactly the way you wanted them to be, and if they're not exactly the way things are at home, well, they're not supposed to be. I think that the students who best succeed are those ones who are most active. And, those who are most flexible and can try to see the good as well as the bad, and go somewhere for in the middle.