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Studying abroad is often described as an exciting experience full of new and unforgettable opportunities 

But if we go deeper, what challenges do international students face every day? In the 2022/2023 academic year, international students studying in the United States numbered 1,057,188, which corresponds to 5.6% of the total U.S. student population.  

Pietro Piacenza and Giulia Lucarelli, two Italian students attending Grand View University, provided their perspectives on challenges and experiences, between the struggles with food, language and friendships.  

When asked what the biggest cultural difference they had noticed compared to Italy, they answered in unison: Food. Food is a fundamental part of everyone’s daily lives, and we often don’t think about how difficult it can be to change eating habits or see our body change until it gets used to the new cuisine.  

Lucarelli, a freshman at GVU, said that out of all the difficulties she is experiencing in these months, food is the biggest challenge she still cannot overcome.   

“The food here is often fried, similar to fast food, and the healthy solutions do not reflect my idea of healthy,” Lucarelli said.   

Piacenza also recalls that as soon as he arrived in the United States two and a half years ago, the difference in eating habits struck him.  

“The biggest cultural difference I saw was that [U.S. Americans] don’t cook. The first year I lived in an apartment and tried to cook as much as possible. Last year, I lived in a college where there was no possibility of having an apartment, so I learned to appreciate U.S. cuisine. I ate in the cafeteria, but this year I have the apartment again. Last year was tough,” Piacenza said.  

Language, for some students, is another difficult step to overcome.   

“Going to school is negatively affected by the language; I can’t fully understand the teachers when they speak, or at least not completely, and I might miss some assignments given in class,” Lucarelli said.   

Lucarelli reveals how language barriers are also difficult to overcome in the social context.  

“Friendships are influenced by the communication point of view. Personally, I am scared of speaking English, even though my knowledge is maybe more than I think,” Lucarelli said.  

However, she does not feel completely alone in this experience, partly due to the presence of other international students.  

“Since I arrived here, I’ve mostly made friends with Italians, who speak my same language, so I’m free to express myself and be understood 100 percent. Also, with people who speak Spanish, because even though I don’t have great skills in Spanish, I understand it much better than English,” Lucarelli said.    

She made a special mention of Isabella Steiner, a U.S. American teammate by whom she felt understood despite language and cultural barriers.  

“As for the [U.S.] Americans, I became friends with someone from my soccer team […] This girl has been more open to making new connections, joking about my difficulties with English instead of making me feel bad about them,” Lucarelli said.  

For Piacenza, however, the experience was different from the beginning.  

“As a person, I’m very sociable, so language doesn’t hold me back. During quarantine, I started playing video games and so I learned basic English,” Piacenza said.    

One piece of advice he has for all international students who may be frightened by the language aspect is to jump in without thinking about it.  

“In the end, no one here judges you for the English you have. They know you are from Italy and that it is not your language. Even if they judge you, you have to show that this doesn’t affect you at all,” Piacenza said.   

Despite the challenges that have been a part of Piacenza and Lucarelli’s U.S. life journey, both of them are happy and proud of the choice they have made.  

“It’s a life-changing experience. […] I would never go back. In fact, if I went back, I would do the same thing again. It is an experience that few people go through,” Piacenza said.   

Piacenza and Lucarelli have two pieces of advice, the first for international students and the second for local students.   

“I think the biggest problem with the language is overcoming the fear of speaking it. It’s not about not knowing English, we all study it at least a little. It’s really the fear of speaking a language you’re not fluent in. […] My advice is to speak it, with conversation you learn English; studying it is useless,” says Piacenza, rich with his two and a half years of experience.   

Lucarelli, on the other hand, new to the experience, asks [U.S.] American students for an outstretched hand toward international students:  

“I would definitely tell [ U.S. Americans] to talk with international students, and not just ask, ‘Hi, how are you?’ but really try to have a conversation, in an understandable way, without using slang. Don’t leave them out of outings or parties. I know it’s hard for many to be far from home,” Lucarelli said.  

Being an international student is a great opportunity that exposes students to life-changing experience. If you are an international student, you have already done the most difficult part: leaving home. Now, take a breath, start that conversation, go to that party, and create bonds. As Lucarelli and Piacenza said, you will not regret it.