Exchange Students Enter the Santa Clara Bubble

By Mileen Zarin

Nesrin Negm

Upon arriving at Santa Clara, one thing shocked 23-year-old Nesrin Negm, an international exchange student from Baden, Austria, more than any other. "The food!" she said. "Everything is so big!"

Negm, a senior environmental engineering major, wanted to study in California in order to explore the state, "broaden my horizons and improve my English." Fortunately, Santa Clara and her hometown university, the University of Leoben, were exchange partners.

According to Negm, Santa Clara's students and professors were "incredibly friendly" and helpful during her transition to the U.S. The International Club, in particular, provided Negm with the resources and put her into contact with the right people when she had a question.

"The club helped me with my transition a lot," she said. "Barbara (Colyar, director of study abroad in the Office of International Programs,) was really a big help."

Santa Clara's International Club, housed in the university's Office of International Programs, is open to all students, but particularly aims to bring together international students, exchange students and students who have studied abroad or are planning to study abroad.

The club hosts both formal and informal events throughout the year, including barbecue lunches, international dessert lunches, and trips to the beach, San Francisco and Lake Tahoe.

For Negm, the traveling has been an exciting part of her time in Santa Clara, but she would still like to come back to the Bay Area and California some time in the future. "Due to the fact that (the quarter is) only 10 weeks, it's so stressful," she said. "(There's) not much time to do things in between (classes)."

When asked what she would bring back with her to Baden, she couldn't decide: "Everything here plays a part (in) the whole picture, which I learned to love in the short time that I was here."

Bonnie Krantz

Bonnie Krantz's favorite experience while studying at Santa Clara is something pretty ordinary: her first week in California.

"It was my first encounter with people from America and just to go grocery shopping was a new experience for me," said Krantz. "It was so hard to find what I was looking for — but exciting!"

Krantz, a 22-year-old junior marketing major from Malmö, Sweden, decided to study at Santa Clara after hearing good things from her peers back home. "The location in California and Silicon Valley was also very attractive," she said.

While on campus, having other exchange students around made Krantz's transition much more pleasant. "The International Club made it easy for me to meet other international students that I could share my experiences with," she said.

"We are all in a new place, without friends and family, and to have the possibility to meet other people in the same situation makes the transition so much more pleasant and educative," she continued.

Krantz has had the opportunity to check a few destinations off her traveling bucket list, including cities in Southern California that she visited on a road trip.

While exploring various cities, she was pleasantly surprised by how open and friendly strangers can be.

"In Sweden, it is not common that strangers in stores ask about your day, or that people come up and talk to you without knowing you," she said. "I have met a lot of people in different places here in California, and we've exchanged stories about everything. I love it!"

In addition to the weather — which she admitted she would bring back to Sweden with her, "no doubt about it" — Krantz said that she'd miss the general friendliness that she had encountered after returning to Sweden. "(Talking openly with strangers) is a great way to meet new people," she said. "I will probably miss it when I get back to Sweden."

Ander Esnal

Ander Esnal, 21, chose to study abroad at Santa Clara for one reason: the California sunshine.

"In Europe, we have a nice image of California: sun, ocean, great cities," said Esnal. "And since San Francisco is close, I decided to come here."

Esnal, a senior humanities and communication major from Mutriku, a small town located in Basque Country in northern Spain, experienced a dose of culture shock when first arriving in the U.S. "The daily life here (in California) and back in Spain is totally different," he said. "Particularly in California, people use the car a lot, even if they want to go to a close supermarket."

According to Esnal, the International Club helped facilitate new relationships and become more accustomed to life on the Santa Clara campus.

"When you arrive in a new country, you feel lost, you do not know anyone, and it is hard to get used to the life there," said Esnal. "(The club) invited us (to different parties. That way, we had the opportunity to get involved in the American student's life."

While attending Santa Clara, Esnal has had the opportunity to make day and weekend trips to San Francisco, Santa Cruz and Yosemite National Park.

And while he has been able to spend time with his new friends, Esnal expressed concern over "a big problem" in the U.S.: the 21-and-over drinking age. "In Spain, (it) is common to go to the bars with friends almost every evening," he said. "If you are not 21 (in the U.S.), you cannot go to the bars. They are so strict with the age (here)."

Nevertheless, Esnal said that he has had "a great time here." When asked what he would bring back to Mutriku, he responded: "the good friends I have made here; the Californian weather — I have seen the rain only four times; and Starbucks."

Contact Mileen Zarin at mzarin@scu.edu.