There is a saying that professor Mohamed Sulaiman, a visiting professor at Ohio University, is fond of.

"You should not be a frog under the coconut shell," he said.

Frogs, like people, should be open to experiencing and learning new things rather than living in their own small world, he said. Learning and experiencing is exactly what international students do, but the trip back to their own coconut shells - home - can often mean some adjustments.

Jida Mohamed, a senior from Malaysia, has experienced some of these adjustments first hand.

"I'm a lot more outspoken," she said, which she noted is not typical of Asian culture.

"A lot of people were taken aback (in Malaysia)," Jida Mohamed said. "That's a positive point. That's very progressive. They need to learn how to accept that."

Mohamed Sulaiman, her father, agreed that his daughter has become a much more open person.

"She has always been very obedient, but now she argues a bit more," he said. "Of course we used to tell her how to dress and now she demands the right to dress how she wants to dress. Before, she comes home early in the evening. Now, 12, one o'clock."

Jida Mohamed even noticed differences while walking the streets of her hometown. In Malaysia, women still find themselves submissive to men, she said.

"When they walk in the streets, they don't even look men in the eye," she said.

Jida Mohamed took a women's self defense course at OU and was told the importance of looking men in the eyes while walking in order to better defend herself against a possible assault.

"Men really looked down on that," she said. "Men had a hard time accepting that."

Also going home for the summer was Vinod Kumar, a second-year master's student at OU.

"I was thinking I would have a reverse culture shock, but no," he said. "I perfectly blended in the environment again."

Kumar said he tried his best to be the same type of person he was when he left India, especially for his family and friends.

"They expect us to be as we are when we left home," he said.

Kumar stressed that it's not that western culture is necessarily bad, but rather it's good to keep one's own culture, even when away from home.

Although this can cause challenges, the students agree both the experience of studying abroad and the trips back home in the summer are beneficial.

"It's not something to stress about," Jida Mohamed said. "My parents knew what I was getting into."

Mohamed Sulaiman said although it is costly, going home for the summer is a good way for students to keep in touch with their roots. He also stated the importance of experiencing other cultures, no matter how different the coconut shell might be.