Roughly 200 new international students came to UF's Grand Ballroom to meet and greet each other and faculty scholars.
"In Holland it's very common to live in the center of the city and here you live only with students," said Jasmijn Onderstal, a political science graduate student from Utrecht University in the Netherlands.
"That's the big difference. We don't have school spirit so that's very fascinating to see here," he said.
Lynn Frazier, executive associate director of the International Center, said there are about 250 undergraduate international students, about 140 of whom are only visiting for the semester.
The reception helps new international students and faculty adjust to the UF campus. It also introduces them to international groups and centers on campus such as Volunteers for International Student Affairs, foster family organizations and UF Counseling Center immigration support groups.
