are you really asking us how to converse with them? pffff. Ask them what kind of classes they are following, why they joined that particular university, if they're in a student group or smthn (don't know the right translation from Dutch lol), if they're happy with the study they've chosen, what they want to do when they graduate, talk about the weather, last night's soccer game, the inhumanity of Western conglomerations raping the third world, whether Kennedy was assasinated by Bill Murray, if tanktops are sexier than regular t-shirts. Whatever. The hard part isn't the conversation my friend, but to grow the balls and initiate one.
On really romantic evenings of self, I go salsa dancing with my confusion...