American living can bring culture shock, but a rewarding experience for exchange students

Conal O'Brien is a 21-year-old marketing major from Dublin who decided he wanted to get in some traveling while he could.

So he looked into an exchange program that brought him to Southeast Missouri State University.

"I'm here just for the first semester, just until December," he says in his lilting Irish brogue, but, "I'm really, really enjoying it so far."

Although the local area's blistering humidity was a surprise to O'Brien, who is used to a much colder climate, he's been enjoying the general friendliness and helpfulness of everyone he's met on campus.

"It's been a pretty easy transition to make," he says.

But for some international students -- college age or not -- confronting a whole other culture far from home can be daunting, says Dr. Chu-Chuan Wang-McGrath, who not only advises international students at Southeast, but who once was one herself.

Conal O Brien, left, and Scott Sullivan, both students from Ireland, hang out inside their Cape Girardeau home on Monday, Sept. 26, 2016.Laura Simon

Originally from Taiwan, Wang-McGrath left home for boarding school at age 13, studied in England during her undergraduate years, and then spent time at Southern Illinois University as a 26-year-old graduate student.

When she first arrived there 18 years ago, Wang-McGrath says she locked herself in her dorm room for two weeks and ate nothing but cereal, mainly because she didn't know anyone and had no idea where to go for necessities.

But once she began making friends, Wang-McGrath started emerging from her shell, learning where to find things and how to decipher the local dialect.

"Those are the factors that will affect you," she says.

Nowadays, Wang-McGrath splits her time between teaching Chinese and her advisory role at Southeast's International Education & Services office. She also hosts international students in her Cape Girardeau home.

Shoes are set inside the front door at the home of exchange students.Laura Simon

For many foreign exchange students, being hosted in the U.S. can be a major culture shock if they haven't done their research beforehand.

That's why Wang-McGrath says she strives to make sure they feel welcome.

When she's cooking dinner, she invites her guests to take part. She also encourages them to invite their friends over.

Wang-McGrath also goes out of her way to answer any questions they might have, and encourages them to talk about their homelands.

Tyler Brune feeds his cattle on his farm in Bollinger County on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016.Laura Simon

For anyone considering hosting an exchange student, she advises them to be as open-minded as possible and to make sure the young man or woman feels a sense of belonging.

"Treat them as your family, because you are their family now," she says. "Think of how you would feel in another country and how you would like to be treated."

As for students thinking about studying abroad, having an adventurous nature is a must.

It's the kind of yen that sent German exchange student Verena Brueck and a group of her friends to Las Vegas recently.

"It was fun. It's crazy (there)," she says.

Brueck is a graduate student majoring in international business, and she's also a guest at Wang-McGrath's home.

She says she always wanted to come to the U.S., especially since it's a major trading partner for her native Germany.

"It's very different than home, but I got used to it and I really like it," she says.