By Debra Crowther

She seems like a typical 23-year-old girl.

She is a full-time college student at Utah State University, majoring in communicative disorders. She's getting ready for graduation; only one more semester. She works a part-time job at the Utah State Bookstore, and she often catches herself staring at the clock that seems to have a dying battery, as time drags by while she's at work.

She enjoys exercising. She likes hanging out with her friends and family. She gets stressed out about her future--and guys. She loves to dance. She lives on her part-time salary, which means she is often forced to eat food such as the $1.39 rice bowl from the Teriyaki Stix for lunch, even though she is sick of it. And she loves to shop.

She seems like a typical American 23-year-old girl--except she's German.
Her name is Daphne Hartzheim, and she was born and raised Duesseldorf, Germany.

In January 2000, Daphne moved from the comfort of her home in Germany to a new world in Logan, Utah.

"I used to dream about coming to the United States when I was a little girl," said Daphne. "I always loved the English language, music and culture. But I was especially interested in coming to America because of its reputation of wealth and success."

With all these dreams and hopes about the opportunities waiting for her in America, why did she decide to come to Logan, Utah?

She came to visit her friend, Jamie Prince, who lived in Farmington, Utah when she was 16. Daphne initially became friends with Jamie because their fathers were mutual business associates. After spending six weeks in Farmington during the summer of 1996, Daphne discovered she really did love living in America as much as she always thought she would.

"I loved it so much I just wanted to stay and finish high school here. But the paperwork got stuck in the loop holes, and I had go back to Germany and wait until college," she said.

Even though Germany and the U.S. have many modern-day similarities, Daphne learned a lot about the cultural differences of both America and Utah during her six-week stay in Farmington. And she loved every bit of it.
Most significantly, she was able to develop a better understanding of the English language during her visit. Although she started learning English in seventh grade, she only had a basic foundation of it at that point.

"I wasn't good at English when I first got here. I carried a dictionary with me everywhere I went," she said. "It was my best friend."

Now, over six years later, her English has improved greatly. So much, that she will be earning her bachelor's degree in speech pathology, an area of study that would be severely hindered without a concrete understanding of the English language. She is optimistic that her understanding of both the English and German languages will aid in her future career successes.
Other than the language, Daphne said one of the biggest cultural differences between Logan and Duesseldorf is how friendly people are here.

"My job at the bookstore is customer service oriented. They have jobs in the U.S. that are specific to helping customers. I get paid just to be nice to people," said Daphne. "Things aren't like that in Germany."

Religion was another deciding factor for Daphne's choice to come to Utah. She is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and appreciates living around people who share similar values and beliefs as her.
However, there is one negative stereotype that seems to be true about living in Utah. It's called running on "Utah Standard Time."

"People are never on time here," said Daphne, with a roll of her eyes. "It drives me nuts."

In general, people in Germany are very punctual, said Daphne. "I miss being able to make plans and not have to worry if everyone will show up when they said they would."

Aside from the inconsequential likes and dislikes of the two cultures, living in Logan has made significant impacts on Daphne's life. Her educational experience is at the top of that list, and the experience at Utah State has influenced her academic education just as much as her social life.

"One of the hardest parts about being here is not being able to go home for a weekend or go hang out with old friends from high school, like many of my roommates do," said Daphne. "I don't really get too homesick, but it's times like that when I really start to miss my family and friends."

Daphne is more fortunate than most other international students, however. Her older brother, Ragnar, also attends school at Utah State.

"It's great having Daphne here with me," said Ragnar, who is a junior majoring in business information systems. "Even though we don't hang out too often, it's comforting to know that she is just down the street whenever I start missing my old life back in Germany."

Other than being away from family and friends, the social aspect of Logan is much like that of Duesselldorf. Most spare time is spent hanging out with friends, going to movies or attending other school activities.

A major difference is that people in Germany typically go to clubs and dance until 5 or 6 a.m. for a conventional weekend activity. Here, clubs generally close at 1 or 2 a.m., and that is only of significance if you can find the time to drive to Salt Lake because there aren't any clubs worth going to in Logan, she said.

Even though the social life in Logan and Duesseldorf are much the same, the academic side of college life is much different than Daphne initially expected.

"I hated my first semester here," she said. "The scheduling process was very different from Germany, I didn't know anyone and my counselor was absolutely worthless."

Daphne's off-putting experience as an international student was not uncommon from what many new students go through. According to Utah State's International Student Handbook, students experience a general cycle of emotion when entering a new culture, especially if the student intends to remain there for a lengthy period of time. Understanding the stages of this cycle and realizing they are a normal part of the experience may help in adjusting to the new environment. The five stages include the novelty period, efficiency period, frustration, adjustment period and acceptance.

Daphne's experience, like many other international students, followed these stages. Luckily, after the uncertainty and newness disseminated her enjoyment of university life shot off like Olympic runners in the 100-meter dash.

Daphne described being in Utah as her first opportunity to have real independence and gave her a feeling of being entirely in control of her life.
"I could do what I wanted, when I wanted and I didn't have to check in with anyone," she said. "I loved knowing that I could do something totally spontaneous if I wanted."

These experiences are similar to those which most students experience when they leave home for the first time. However, Daphne's experiences are quite different from the average student at Utah State because she is not an American citizen.

According to the USU homepage, www.usu.edu, there are currently over 22,000 students enrolled at Utah State. However, the International Students and Scholars department at Utah State reported there are only 1,100 international students currently enrolled in classes.

Those international students may be the few individuals who can completely relate to the experience Daphne has had. Even though each individual's experience differs slightly, being a stranger in a foreign land is not something just anyone can understand. Nonetheless, after all the pros and cons are measured, "I wouldn't change it for the world," said Daphne.

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