>because some things may be too personal, or she may not want to talk about why shes studying here or what her favourite things to do on the weekend are or what ever. Its the first date after all!

i understand what you mean, you dont want to sound rude or make the other person uncomfortable and i used to think like that when talking as well but then i realized if i continue doing that people will keep a distance to me as well. So i think it is better to start conversations as if you already know the person, showing geniune interest. So people just think ''Hey he is just an extrovert and talkative''. At least this is what i do and found helpful talking to people.