Washburn welcomed 28 Japanese students for the International Summer Institute in order to learn English June 26.

Some of these students shared what they like and dislike about coming to the United States, along with their expectations of America before they got here.

“Everything is bigger than Japan in America and the people here are very friendly too,” said Yuta Watanabe. “I thought that the people here are not very punctual.”

These students will be staying for six weeks before leaving Aug. 5.

“Before coming to America I thought that all the Americans are really kind and more friendly and they accept everybody regardless of their race,” said Kaede Inuma. “After coming here I gained more confidence about my body and the way I dress because people in my country don’t consider me skinny, but here I feel like no body judges my body type.”

Other students had the same expectations of America before coming here. They expected the people here to be very kind, friendly and helpful and they had great things to say about Washburn and America.

“There is more respect, freedom and individualism in America and the level of education is also very high,” said Rui Ota. “The teacher in Washburn is very kind and helpful, also the friends I made here are very kind and I’m very grateful for them.”

They didn’t have as much to say about dislikes and they seem to be enjoying their time here at Washburn. Still, not every experience has been positive.

“I feel like we are a minority here in Washburn, so it makes me feel uncomfortable at times,” Inuma said.

Some students experienced difficulty adjusting to U.S. cuisine.

“I don’t like American food because, in comparison to Japanese food, American food is very strong in taste,” said Ayaka Suzaki.

Sayaka Kine, program assistant, eats meals with the students, takes them to and from classes and helps them with their English.

“The Japanese students enjoy their time here and they really like their professors and trips to Kansas city and downtown Topeka, but I think that they have difficulty with their classes because they have a lot of assignments every day which keeps up till midnight,” Kine said.