By Karla Reyes

Staff Writer

Hosted every month, CSUSM’s International Coffee Hour is a great opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with students from all over the world.
Besides providing free snacks and coffee for the midday blues, it is a great source of information for those considering traveling abroad in hopes of getting first-hand experience about what it is like to live and study in a new country.
Students who have traveled abroad, as well as those currently in the exchange program, can answer questions and share their experiences to those who attend.
At the Feb. 7 event, students from Japan, Germany and England gave fresh perspectives about our school and the city of San Marcos. It’s intriguing to hear what international students found weird or likeable about our city. Several of them said that they are keen on Mexican food and were recommended some local restaurants. Students who came from larger a city, such as Tokyo, found it hard to adjust to the lack of public transportation here.
International Coffee Hour also allows students to use and practice their foreign language skills that have been learned as part of the Language Other Than English requirement, LOTER, which requires every student to be proficiency in a language other than English.
For students who want more information on studying abroad, practicing learning skills or even making new friends from a different country, the International Coffee Hour is a good start to getting that information.
The next International Coffee Hour will be hosted Thursday, March 7, from  noon – 1 p.m. in Craven 3200.