Boise State University’s foreign exchange program is one that connects our campus to other universities internationally, and diversifies our campus. The knowledge and new perspectives that foreign exchange students bring to Boise State’s campus culture sets it apart as unique from other programs.
From Japan, Paraguay, Egypt and Sweden, there are countless possibilities of exchange for students and many opportunities to encounter new friends with different insights.
Students from all over the come to Boise State to pursue higher education in the United States, and many from Boise go into the international sphere to gain new experiences and change their worldly perspective.
Boise State’s Global Learning Opportunity program “offers opportunities for students to participate in study abroad, the National Student Exchange and other international opportunities.”
Bassel Attia, a current junior from Egypt, transferred to Boise State University for the fall 2022 semester to continue studying computer science. Bassel’s interest in studying abroad came from wanting to explore more of the world and seek new international opportunities.
Attia shared that his transition from Egypt to Boise was smooth, but he found the city’s culture to be “lackluster.”
Graphic by Sasha White
“I don’t think Boise is very culturally rich … it’s mainly a very specific group of Americans … there is no massive diversity in Boise, it’s pretty small,” Attia said.
When asked about any cultural differences or culture-shock moments, Attia shared that only a few things really surprised him.
“The first thing was people’s hair, the colors! Some people dye their hair pink, blue or green. I mean … that was completely shocking for me, because I’ve never seen anyone dye their hair these colors,” Attia said.
Fashion differences between the two nations shocked Attia as well.
“Seeing men topless, in public … in Egypt, no one would go out topless in public,” Attia said.
Attia’s biggest challenge fitting in here socially was the difficulty of gaining true friendships.
“Boise is very friendly in general … but this friendliness comes with a cost, I think. You can easily talk with anyone here, but it would just be superficial,” Attia said. “It’s really hard to make a deep connection with anybody here, since everyone is so nice,” Attia said.
Yunosuke Morimae is a third-year student at Boise State who transferred from Kindai University in Japan to study business for the fall 2022 semester.
He said he knew almost immediately that he fit in and could see himself studying and living in Boise. He explained that he saw Boise as a combination of a school and city, illustrating what he viewed as a standard American college experience.
“I like[d] the atmosphere of it and I thought I could learn what I want to learn here … Boise is also safe and with an active downtown,” Morinmae said. “I feel welcomed. My roommates are nice and I hang out with local and international friends a lot.”
Morimae shared that he feels very safe in the city of Boise and spoke fondly of the general friendliness of the people here, similar to the experience Attia shared.
When asked about what he misses the most about Japan, Morimae talked about his house and his pet.
“My house is a restaurant so I miss all the foods in my house, especially miso soup. I miss my cat a lot,” Morimae said.
Morimae and Attia have some differing views on Boise’s culture and the city as a whole, but both are appreciative to be part of a program that is beneficial to their learning and growing experiences.
Boise State’s Global Learning Opportunities program offers opportunities in Denmark, Spain, New Zealand, India, Thailand, Ireland, Brazil, Costa Rica, France and many more countries across the world. The program works to bring in all kinds of students from foreign countries to enrich the culture of Boise State!
