For two Ohio State students from Indonesia, coming to the United States has been about more than just book smarts at an American university. The journey has also been about experiencing a different culture.Novita Gan, a senior majoring in operations management, said she came to the United States for a better education.”My sister had been in Columbus for five years and I knew that Ohio State had an excellent business program,” Gan said. “Ohio State was also not as expensive as other schools.”Gan experienced culture shock but she at least had a relative here to take some of the pressure off.”There were different attitudes, and different foods that I had to adjust to,” Gan said. “It took me one quarter to get adjusted. I like the university. It’s big and it offers a lot of diversity and more opportunities.” Gan believes students who want to make a successful transition to life in the United States and to OSU should join support groups in which they can meet people from their country.”Students should join groups of people from their country to get adjusted,” Gan said. “Then try to start relationships with American students. This will improve your English-speaking skills.”Andi Taufiq, a senior majoring in computer information science, came to the United States to seek opportunities and gain experience in international relations.”I wanted a better opportunity to find a good job after graduation, and to learn more things and open my mind. I wanted to learn more about a different culture, and how to interact more,” Taufiq said.He also believed coming to an English-speaking country would help him improve his language skills.Taufiq said when he arrived in the United States, he experienced culture shock and had a hard time making the transition from Indonesian culture.”When I first came to OSU it was scary,” Taufiq said. “People weren’t as friendly as they are in my country. People would just come to class and take their seats. They weren’t very cordial to one another. The first few months were very hard. I had no friends from my country.”Through programs at the Office of International Education, Taufiq was able to meet people from his country, and eventually he made some American friends as well.”After six months I had adjusted,” he said. “After two years I was really enjoying myself.”The Office of International Education also helps students when a crisis affects their home countries. Recently, the Indonesian economy was hit hard when a huge portion of it was bought and then sold to the money market.Sherif Barsoum, adviser at the international education office, said because of the the Southeast Asian economic crisis, the Office of International Student Affairs has offered loans to students so they can stay in school.”OSU gave us $400,000 to help the students,” Barsoum said. “The students can borrow money at a 7 percent interest rate, and they have to repay the money in three months. This money was provided for students from Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.”