Berkeley, a Foreign Place for International Students

While UC Berkeley students search for the best place to study abroad, hundreds of students from all over the world are making themselves at home here as part of their universities' foreign exchange programs.

Though Californians sometimes take it for granted, for foreigners, the Bay Area is a travel destination because of its culture and its natural beauty.

Scottish exchange student Akshay Bishnoi from the University of Edinburgh said he is amazed by how different people are here despite a common language.

"At home in Scotland, people tend to be more reserved," Bishnoi said. "In Berkeley they are more vocal. People are much more engaged."

In fact, he said foreign students here are more unified by their international status than by their language. English, however, is the standard at International House.

Still, exchange students consider meeting Americans as an important part of their experience here.

"It's important to hang out with the locals," said Menan Omar, a junior economics major from Egypt.

Although Omar is a student at the American University in Cairo where she has been exposed to people with a variety of backgrounds, she said Berkeley students have a distinct personality.

"People here are very active and it is a very interactive place," she said. "They are very hardworking."

To make up for the hard work, Berkeley students seem to compensate by partying in their free time, she said.

Yui Horiguchi, a junior from the International Christian University in Tokyo, said she has noticed that drinking and partying are integral parts of socializing in Berkeley.

"International students come here to study so they are not as outgoing," she said.

Elisabetta Tollardo is a second year graduate student studying international relations. This spring is her second and final semester before she goes home to Bologna, Italy.

Tollardo said that while she is quite busy, many of her peers have been using Berkeley as a base to explore California from Yosemite to Santa Cruz and Tahoe.

To get a break from her responsibilities, Tollardo travels to the much-closer North Beach in San Francisco where she gets a taste of home­-Gypsy's won't cut it for authentic Italian food.

Many say it is a great destination for weekends.

"It is always nice to tour the city and do some shopping," Horiguchi said.

Omar said that Berkeley itself has been a great place for an exchange student to spend their time. She said she appreciated the diversity of the people she met and wants to come back one day.

"I made some good friends and I would want to see them again," she said.

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