Becky Worth ­— Bournemouth, UK
Junior, Journalism & History

“Eau Claire wasn’t my first choice. I picked Oregon, but only because it was above California and I thought everything was really close — I was wrong because (the U.S.) is so huge. But I’m glad I came here, because it’s lovely. I really like it. It kind of reminds me of Winchester just because everything is so green, but obviously Eau Claire is a lot bigger.

(My English friends and I) wanted to travel, but the flights to New York are ridiculously expensive. But we are going to Chicago for Thanksgiving, which will be cool — I’m excited for that.”

“There is a lot more work to do here in Eau Claire and it’s constant as well. Whereas in Winchester you got, maybe, a few essays per semeter. Here it’s like every week. We have at least one day for each class and we get midterms and finals. It’s kind of stressful, but I think I’m getting used to it by now.”

Harry Wildhoelzl ­— Innsbruck, Austria
Senior, Management & IT

“The (Murray Hall) building here reminds me of my time in the army, because it’s very old and the bathroom is too. We have to go to the Army in Austria; it’s

mandatory — I was six months in training. You have the choice to go after high school or after college. I didn’t like the army — there was a lot of yelling, a lot of discipline.”

“I like the people in Eau Claire ­— they are very nice and forthcoming. It’s very different from Austria, because there, people are more narrow-minded. But I wouldn’t stay in the U.S.; Austria is my home, where I was born.”

Ali Mohamed — Asyut, Egypt
Junior, Islamic Studies in English/German

“The United States and Egypt are very different. But I found Americans to be very acceptive; I had a few stereotypes because I’m Arab and Muslim, but they are friendly and kind. If I’m late because I was doing my prayers, the professors are very understanding and don’t mind me coming a bit late for class. ”

“Everything is far away here. I was trying to find a place to get a haircut and I could only find a couple of salons on Water Street. In Egypt there are shops everywhere. Here they lack in public transportation, too.”

Arrita Arzuallxhiu ­— Prizren, Kosovo
Junior, Economics & Public Policy

“Eau Claire is totally different from my country. I’m used to more crowded cities, maybe not in bigger area, but more populated. So, here it’s kind of quieter.

I don’t think there will be something that I don’t like about Eau Claire. I usually look at the brighter side of things. There is always going to have something good and bad. But the only thing of all this is that I don’t have my family, friends and food ­— the three Fs.”

“When I go back (to Kosovo) I will work and study in the meantime. After I finish my studies, I’m planning on continuing working in order to have more experience in my field and then get another scholarsship for a master’s degree. Because for us in Kosovo it’s too expensive to go and get education abroad, I will probably go to Europe, but if I find a scholarship in the U.S. again it would be fantastic. But I don’t plan on staying here. America doesn’t need me, Kosovo does.”