Can M. H. Knaut, from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, echoed Themessl-Huber’s feelings, reflecting on the unavoidability of such incidents.

“You cannot expect a few thousands of people to have that high a moral standing, and not do that kind of things,” Knaut says. “[Students] are all human.”

Chu noted with fondness the fact that he encountered neither dishonesty nor carelessness throughout his time at Harvard in spite of the cheating scandal.

For Barbosa, the most surprising part of the scandal was not the cheating itself, but rather the administration’s severity in responding to the incident.

In February, administrators indicated that roughly 70 students had been asked to temporarily withdraw from the College in connection with the scandal.

“If caught cheating in my home university, you would just get a zero in that exam. The worst thing that could happen might be getting expelled from the class,” Barbosa reflected. “I think what happened here was good. I am not used to so much strictness, but it was fair. I would like to see something like that happen in Brazil.”

TERRORISM UP CLOSE

April’s Boston Marathon bombings and subsequent manhunt, however, came as more disturbing to many of the visiting students interviewed for this article.

Chu described his experience with the bombings from the vantage point of Harvard as “more or less like getting a close taste of what terrorism is”—a terrifying episode dissimilar from anything he had seen back in Hong Kong.

“It’s shocking for me to know that a horrible incident can be found near your community, especially coming from a society as safe as that of Hong Kong,” he said.

Knaut, an enthusiastic runner, remembered sending an email to his parents back in Europe soon after the bombings to assure them, even from a distance, that he was safe and unhurt.

Chu said he was also very scared during the manhunt for the suspected bomber, which shut down the University and the larger Boston community for a full day on April 19.

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but not in a good way,” Chu reflected.

During the manhunt, Themessl-Huber dared to venture onto the deserted streets of Cambridge for a few minutes with a group of friends.

“Everything was empty, only a couple of people walking around. It was actually very tragic. I had never experienced something like this,” he said.