Man on the street: International students explain culture differences
October 12, 2017
“In school, you get more help here than you do in Mexico,” said supply chain management junior Paul Sarrapy from Monterrey, Mexico.
“Language is one of the last tools where people can be present obstacles in a way that is socially acceptable,” said French senior Bianca Salinas, who’s originally from Texas but has spent time in France, Germany and Mexico. “There’s still a lot of stereotypes, specifically with different cultures.” Salinas believes free English tutoring would benefit international students.
“The biggest difference I’ve found in my own culture and American culture is that we greet people differently,” said Shu-Yuan Yang, a computer science sophomore from Yunlin, Taiwan. “For example, we’ll probably give another person an embrace or a very warm greeting here in America, whereas in Taiwan, you’d probably just say, ‘Good morning’ or ‘Hi.'”
“In Egypt five years ago, we had a revolution, and since then, the majority of people think Egypt is not safe anymore,” said Omar Ali, an electrical engineering sophomore from Alexandria, Egypt. “It’s safe now. It’s not in chaos anymore.”
As one of the most diverse universities in the nation, the University of Houston is home to students from across the globe.
According to the University, international students made up 9.1 percent of its diverse student population in fall 2016.
The Cougar interviewed students with international backgrounds to talk about their home countries and how the University can improve when it comes to supporting the international population on campus.
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