People are people everywhere.
When you open your heart to them in genuine interest, you will find most people will respond and enrich your life beyond measure. Remember that at least the INS course will require ocular proof of some aspects of your experience, and that does not mean merely snapping a picture in front of the Palais de l Europe. Culture expresses itself in language above all else. Think of your new environment as a laboratory where you live what you are learning. The actual classroom is just a part of the whole.