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Thibault Corens

 

 

Thibault is a 19 year old freshman from Hamme, Belgium. He is here at Purdue to study polytechnical manufactoring engineering technology.  We sat down with him to ask him questions about his experience as an international student. 

  • Home Country:

    Hamme, Belgium

  • Native Language:

    ​Flemmish

  • Other Languages spoken:

    English, Dutch, French, German

  • Major:

    Polytechnical Manufcturing Engineering Technology

  • Living Arrangements:

    Harrison Dorms

  • Is this your first time in America?

    I've been here before for vacation when I was 8.

  • What made you choose to come to school in America?

    My parents travel a lot and they went to the Rockwell Automation fair and Purdue was one of the universities there with a booth. I looked up all the universities in the states and I applied to two: Purdue and Georgia Tech. I never even checked to see if I got into Georgia Tech because I got my acceptance letter to Purdue and that's where I wanted to go.

  • What was your home life like compared to what you've seen to life in America?

    I would say that the culture from West Europe is almost the same as it is in America. The major difference is everything here is bigger.The food is mass produced, less fresh. Mostly the food. I miss my own food. It is mostly the same, just more fresh.

  • What was the hardest part of leaving home?

    I actually didn't have much of a problem with it. I had been in boarding school so I was used to it. I skype my family a lot so that helps and it isn't too bad.

  • What has been the biggest shock to you in this transition to college in America?

    I would say the food.

  • How do you think the experience of going to college is affected by attending university in a new country?

    I think it depens on what environment you grew up in. Some people find it hard to move away from home. Back home, Belgium is so small, traveling to another country isn't that big of a deal. So for me, coming to America for school was not that big of a deal.

  • Give us your definition of empathy.

    Being able to feel what someone else is feeling in a certain situation

  • What is your view of empathy at Purdue.

    There are a lot of people that are interested in other cultures but I don't know if you can feel how it is to be an international student. You can only get an idea.

  • What would you like to share about your background?

    High school is hard in Belgium. It's really tough. People in Belgium like studying aboard but it takes a lot of work. The people who get to study aboard put a lot of effort into it. It's different in Belgium then it is here. The driving age is 18 there but the drinking age is 16. It's almost backwards than it is here.

  • What do you wish Americans understood about your perception of things?

    I know English but sometimes I can't find a word so I'll just say a similar word that might not work. Sometimes I can't express myself the way I want to express myself. The humor is different. Where I am from, we have dry humor.

  • When you were making your decision to come to America, where did you see yourself after graduation?

    I have no clue.

  • How often will you get to go back home?

    I will go back during winter and summer break. Next year, I will only go back summer holidays.

  • Has meeting people with a similar culture and background helped with the transition? Has been it helped with being away from home?

    I am the only one from Belgium! There is no one else. That's a good thing though because now I have friends from all cultures and backgrounds.

  • Is it easier to make friends with people of you own culture than it is to make friends with Americans?

    I am the only Belgium. Because I am the only Belgium, I think it's easier because its rare and people are like "oh that's cool you are from Belgium."

  • Do you think you will stay in America after gradation?

    Maybe. It depends on if I get a job here or something else comes up.

  • What was your view of America before you came? Americans?

    I thought in America everything was bigger and there are all these fast food chains. I thought that high schools sucked and colleges are great. All the differnt states have different accents. I thought Americans were kind because the only ones I knew were friendly people.

  • How did your view change since getting here?

    Nothing about my view changed.

 

Thibault is a guy with many surprises. He is cultured by many influences and knows many languages. For him, coming to America wasn't as scary as most would assume. Upon his arrival here, he was welcomed with acceptance. He made a good point during the interview. He commented on how you can truly never know what it feels like to be an international student unless you are one and that you can only get an idea. That is the whole idea of building up the empathy at Purdue. Empathy is trying to understand someone else's position, what they are going through, and what their perception of things are. We are trying to improve how people can empathize with our international students, and hopefully by reading about these students, you will be more empathetic next time you interact with an international student.

International Empathy
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What do we see for the future of this Project?

We are actively working on this project. We hope that we can continue to interview students and post more about them. We hope to help students relate to one another and also to educate students from America about students from around the globe.

 

 

 

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