Although most Brenau University students won't step on campus until next week, 30 international students earning their master's degrees are making their surroundings feel like home.

Getting an early start on meeting local faces, the new cohort of international students met at the Northeast Georgia History Center on Thursday afternoon to get to know each other and explore their surroundings.

Van Peeples, who volunteers with the center, offered to take the first group of students to the grocery store and church a few years ago, and he keeps extending his hand each year.

"The first group, which I met here at the history center, had no way to go to the grocery store, and when I offered to help, they took me up on it," he said.

"I took them to lunch, football games and church. Then I met the second cohort through the first, and it keeps going."

Peeples welcomed the students and introduced them to several history center and Brenau staff.

Gainesville City Council member Myrtle Figueras also welcomed the students, some who took their first steps in the United States a few days ago.

"I really get thrilled when I see anyone who chooses to see us in our tiny town, which I think is one of the most beautiful in the world. I chose to live here and will for the rest of my life because I have a ball," she said.

"The history center is a good place to start, but there's so much more. Everyone in Gainesville is open to explaining any questions you may have, and if you find someone who won't, come tell me."

Brenau's one-year master's business program in project management appealed to Avo Lee when her educational agent in Taipei, Taiwan, told her about the university.

"I really want to finish in one year and maybe work here," she said. "During the breaks, we can travel around. I've spent a few days in California and Florida before, but this is different."

The small city atmosphere is a shock.

"Taipei is a capital city, and this is a small city," she said. "I need my friends to give me a ride places, but I hope I can get a driver's license eventually."

Jessie Lee, a master's student from Beijing, China, hopes to learn about health care and take her knowledge back home.

"I first came here with the idea of studying project management, but then I learned about the health care classes," she said. "I want to go back to China and work in a hospital."

Lee heard about Brenau through friends who attended in the past, but this is her first time in the states.

"On my first day here, I was so nervous, but I'm finding how suitable it is," she said. "It's better than I was thinking. The food is delicious, and it's beautiful. It's also clean. China sometimes has bad air and pollution."

For Iben Nielsen, who hails from southern Denmark, it's like coming back home.

She was a Brenau exchange student in 2006 in international studies and is returning for the master's project management degree. She's looking forward to digging into sustainability issues on campus and in Gainesville.

"It's what I'm working on as a graduate assistant, actually," she said. "There's a sustainability initiative on campus, and we'll be trying to develop solutions with electricity and waste and more."