It was a distance of more than 5,000 miles from her home country of Portugal, and everything here in the United States seemed strangely bigger — the roads, the cars, the campus. After a frantic search for her first class in the oversized buildings, she walked into her classroom a minute late only to hear the professor say, 'You're standing up, you can (give) the prayer.' For someone who was still learning to speak English, had never been to BYU and had spent practically her entire life not knowing what a Mormon was, she was shocked. Such was the story of Cláudia Aparício, a foreign exchange student from Lisbon, Portugal.
Aparício is one of 2,200 students from 120 countries around the world who come to BYU and are surprised by its unique culture. The students all have their own stories and will leave BYU with experiences they will never forget.
British-born and Australian-raised Aaron McReynolds has been at BYU for about three years but is still adjusting to the high-strung lifestyle.
'So many people work too hard,' McReynolds, an advertising major, said. 'I’ll be in the office three hours and get stuff done when others are in the office for eight because they feel they just need to look busy. I feel like there’s a reason why Utah is one of the highest rates of anti-depression pill (users) because everyone’s in each other’s business and more competitive.'
He also shared that students in Australia would never compare their grades on tests or assignments because there wasn't a need to compare themselves to others to feel they were doing well.
McReynolds has still benefited from this cultural phenomenon despite its stresses.
'It’s pushed me up a gear because people tend to coast a lot in Australia to get by,' McReynolds said.
Grace Choi came from an entirely different backgroud from her home town of Gwangju, South Korea. Through middle and high school, Choi would study from 7:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. each week and occasionally on Saturdays and Sundays as well.
Ironically, Choi feels she has learned more responsibility while here at BYU.
'I think it's just because (in Korea) the teachers tell us what to do,' Choi said. 'At this hour, at this time you need to study this (or) go do that, and (afterwards) sometimes we hire a private instructor, and we pay them like $50 per hour and they tell you exactly what to do. So you're busier, but your schedule is just laid out for you.'
Choi was surprised that there were so many students here who pay for school themselves, since the norm in South Korea is for parents to pay for school. However, Choi is getting a taste of this American phenomenon.
'My parents want me to pay for everything, so I'm not like a typical Korean,' Choi said. 'I have two jobs right now, and I go to school.'
Despite her busy schedule, Choi says she feels more relaxed here because she doesn't have to worry about Korea's standardized tests.
'I'm here to learn, not for a good grade or a good score,' Choi said.
Just a few countries away from Choi came TaiChen Lin, an MBA student from Taipei, Taiwan.
American food has been a significant change for Lin.
'I have involuntarily, and unconsciously taken (in) a lot more high calories than I used to, and therefore I have gained some weight since (being) here,' Lin said.
Lin also remarked on the Taiwanese tendency to be out during the night, but people in Provo tend to do more activities like sports during the day.
Language is a barrier for almost all foreign students but was especially a problem for Russel Ochoa, an advertising major from Monterey, Mexico.
'I didn't want to speak because I would make a lot of mistakes and had a very thick accent,' Ochoa said about the beginning of his time in the United States.
Ochoa said he still has difficulties fully expressing himself in English, which he says has been a great trial for him. For this reason, Ochoa hopes to marry a girl fluent in Spanish so that he can fully express himself, but his search has made him realize that dating in Provo is different than dating in Monterey.
'Over there you only go on a date with a girl that you're really interested in,' Ochoa said. 'Once you go on that date, it's very serious. It means that you really, really like her. ... It was weird for me to see that everyone was dating everyone and every weekend was a different date. If someone did that in Mexico, it would be really bad, they would have a really bad reputation.'
Like many exchange students, Aparício's time at BYU is coming to a close, and she will soon return to Portugal, but there are things she will miss about the culture here.
'Here all the people are so kind and they want to help and they are willing to show you wherever you need to go,' Aparício said.
The only opportunities for charity that she knew of in Portugal were to donate food to small charity boxes in grocery stores. She says that BYU has inspired her to do more than that.
'I think it opened my eyes to (knowing) there are people outside who need my help,' Aparício said.