“I fit into the culture and community better here in the U.S.,” Cui said. “I want to stay here because I feel like I can have a better future.”

According to the Office of International Students and Scholars, or OISS, as of fall 2012, Cui is one of the 3,712 Chinese international students enrolled at MSU who might have faced dramatic differences between life in the U.S. and in China — one being political involvement.

Last Thursday, following the U.S. presidential election, former Chinese President Hu Jintao was replaced by Xi Jinping — a power shift that only happens once every 10 years.

Changes in political leadership can draw much attention in the U.S., but have a much lesser effect in China, several Chinese students said.

Supply chain management senior Yufei Ye, also a Chinese international student, said in his daily life, he has not noticed any significant changes in his freedoms while living in the U.S. or China, except during election time.

In China, many citizens do not vote and are not involved in the political system, which is very different from the U.S., Ye said.

Ye also said in his home country, there are limitations on his freedom of speech in terms of talking about the government.

“In China, we generally would not say bad things about the communist party in public — you might get in trouble,” Ye said. “But in the U.S., you talk about everything in public. That’s a big difference.”

Peter Briggs, director of OISS, said changes in political climate are some of the differences international students might come across when moving back home.

Briggs said they will have to adapt to the major changes in their freedoms and the rules they abide by, sometimes referred to as “reverse culture shock.”

“You’re a changed person, you’ve got an experience outside of any local communities’ perspective and they go back and try to fit it in (and) they struggle,” Briggs said.

Although there are some resources the OISS offers to transitioning students, Briggs said this is an area they can definitely improve in.

After spending a few years at MSU, Ye said he is not sure whether or not he will go back to China after school, acknowledging the obstacles he would have to overcome, such as family expectations and structure.

These obstacles exist for all students who study abroad and away from home, even American students, Briggs said.

“The issue of who people are adjusting to here and then when there is a readjustment … It’s true for anybody who has a significant experience in another culture,” Briggs said.