By Madison Rastocny
This semester, 12 students made their ways from around the world to study at Bellarmine. Among them are Magdalena Maier from Germany, Justine Falgan from France, Lucia Deano from Spain, and Liezel Dela Cruz from the UK.
Maier said, “I chose Bellarmine because I have to do mandatory semester abroad and this was the only tuition-free university I could choose. Even though the tuition was free, I like Bellarmine.”
Dela Cruz said she chose Bellarmine because it is a private university and she’d always wanted to visit the U.S. “What specifically intrigued me was the campus looked and the activities offered to students. It’s absolutely beautiful and a wonderful opportunity for me to meet new people,” she said.
Maier said the campus feels like “a small village” and she has participated in bingo and mud volleyball and has registered for a camping trip.
Despite the welcoming BU community, Maier said she’s noticed students leave the classroom without a farewell. Maier said: “The biggest culture shock was that not one of my classmates says ‘goodbye’ when they leave the room. They just leave the room, and nobody says anything.”
Deano said she was surprised by sales tax. “When you go to buy something, you have to add tax, and also when you go to restaurants you have to tip for it. In Spain, we have to tip 20 cents and here you have to tip more,” she said.
Falgan said she is shocked that Americans don’t always recycle. “My biggest culture shock was the recycling. There is no recycling thing. In France we separate plastic, glass, card and food, and here everything is in the same trash,” she said.
Maier said she misses cooking her own food. “I like the food here, but the cooking is greasy and often spicy, which I am not used to at home.”
Dela Cruz said exchange students should be active on campus. “They should get involved as much as they can around campus and be open to meeting new people,” she said.
This is easier to do than at many of their home universities.
Lucia said, “The biggest difference is that here, most people live on campus and near campus, and in Spain, no one lives on campus and most people have to drive or take a bus to get there.”
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