From the airport, it is a very beautiful yet busy scene, looking to find your agent or anyone else that you have arranged with to pick you up at the airport. Subways are normally busy, especially with lines that enter and exit the airport terminal. Foreign students usually share a common hostel, and you would meet a lot of students of different races from different parts of the world.
Students are normally expected to settle easily into life in China as there are a lot of exotic restaurants and cuisines that students can enjoy whiles slowly getting used to local ones. Groceries do not cost much either for those who fancy cooking their own meals. Students can save a lot through this means and it is therefore more advisable. Where there are utility bills to be paid, rest assured they would be very cheap and affordable.
The Chinese people are a friendly type, always happy to have foreigners around, and listen to them speak their indigenous languages, especially English, most would try to engage in a conversation the least chance they get.