Last fall, University of Idaho seniors Bernadette Beeman and Ashley Buzzini, both studying interior design and architecture, became two of the roughly 350 University of Idaho students who study abroad each year. The two said they experienced varying levels of culture shock when over seas— encountering a world much different than that of the U.S. Though they said they appreciated the slower pace of life, the cultural contrasts became even more stark back home.

Travelling to Italy was easier, Buzzini said, because most people were curious about America and American culture. When coming back to the U.S., however, she said people were uninterested in Italian food, culture and what they had learned. “People are going to ask you how your trip was, but they don’t really care that much, not enough to listen,” Beeman said. “There, everyone listens and wants to know you and really engage in who you are as a person and what you love. And so it was so refreshing to be there, and then coming back it was like ‘oh hey, how are you?’”