Travel Resources

Adjusting to Life Overseas

You’re There, Now What?

Once you’ve stepped off the plane, you will experience ups and downs during a period of transition to new surroundings. This is normal.

Give yourself at least two weeks to get used to your new surroundings. Even if you hate it at first, you may have serious regrets if you jump on the next plane back home. Remember the months of planning you put into your study abroad experience. Don't give up after only two hours, as tempting as it may seem!

Your Overseas On-Site Coordinator
Once you have settled into your new home, you will meet the on-site coordinator. This person will be a resource and advocate for you. He or she will give the orientation, campus and town tours, and may provide advice on everything from where to find a good cafe to what types of student clubs you may expect to find on campus.

If you ever have any questions, problems, or concerns of any sort, go to your on-site coordinator before contacting your academic counselor. He or she will possess knowledge of local resources and will have contacts that the SPU staff won’t have. If you feel that the on-site coordinator is not fully attending to your needs, first discuss the matter with him or her. Don’t forget that cultural differences may come into play even with someone trained in cross-cultural communication.

Contacting Home
In the past, some students have told parents that they will phone them at a specific time (i.e., just after their planned arrival). But a lot can happen to make that phone call impossible:
• Plane or train delays
• Unavailability of an international phone line
• Inability to use an American phone card, etc.
Instead of giving your family a precise time, we suggest you tell your parents you'll call “as soon as it is convenient,” saving them considerable worry.

Before you leave, make arrangements with your family on how often, and in what way, you will keep in touch. Which option is best for you: email, fax, phone calls, or letters?
• Aerograms can be purchased from post offices and are convenient because they fold into postage-paid envelopes.
• International calls will quickly run up the phone bill.
• Pre-paid phone cards are helpful in keeping calls within a budget. But make sure you know how to use the card overseas. One student who tried to use her international AT&T card in Paris wound up calling a French fire department instead of her parents.

First Impressions
Remember why you are going on a study abroad program. You embarked on a journey to experience a culture unlike your own. However, you must go out and make things happen. Not every experience will be positive, not everyone you meet will like Americans. Try to understand the local viewpoints, and avoid comparisons with home.

While it may seem difficult at first to make friends with local people, make an effort to get involved with activities outside classes. Many students who have joined local sports, theater or hiking clubs, for instance, have found them to be excellent ways to immerse themselves in the local culture, and have made many lasting friendships.

Try to avoid venting frustrations on your parents unless it is a really serious concern. There is usually nothing they can do about it, so save them the worry. In times of trial overseas, keep this saying in mind, “This, too, shall pass.”

Making and Creating Memories
The best way to evaluate your experience abroad is to keep a journal. By writing down your reactions to people, events, monuments, etc., you will not only build a collection of memories, but you will also have a tangible record of your own growth and cultural awareness.

You could also include in a journal new words you learn, hidden restaurants you find, or exotic dishes you want to try again … or avoid! Many students have found that the writings they put in their journals have often formed the basis for thought-provoking commentaries in classes they have taken at SPU on their return.

Even though you may want to avoid looking like a tourist, don’t be afraid to take a lot of pictures. You will undoubtedly want to show people what your daily life was like and pictures will help.

Culture Shock

Culture shock is not a single event; it is a cycle of personal readjustment you will experience when you encounter challenges to your own cultural beliefs, values, and behaviors.

In the book On Being Foreign, author Tom J. Lewis defines culture shock as “the feelings of frustration and anxiety which arise when familiar cultural cues are suddenly removed and replaced by new ones and seemingly bizarre behavior.” According to author L. Robert Kohls, “Some time ago people began to recognize that there were distinct stages of personal adjustment which virtually everyone who lived abroad went through (no matter where they came from or what country they were living in).” Here is what to expect:

• Initial euphoria. is the excitement you feel during the first few weeks of living in a different country. You often feel that this new way of life is similar to yours, and you are charmed by any cultural differences you experience.
• Irritation and hostility. After a while, these differences turn into annoyances, and “culture shock” sets in. You may feel homesick, wanting to spend all your time with people of your own culture, speaking your own language. Other symptoms include extreme tiredness, boredom, confusion, and a tendency to stereotype host nationals and talk negatively about them.
• Gradual adjustment. As time passes, your attitudes will change as you become more accustomed to the new culture. You will feel less isolated and more comfortable.
• Adaptation or bi-culturalism. Finally, you will arrive at the stage where you feel comfortable in both cultures, even to the point of wanting to continue some host country customs when you return home!

How to Handle Culture Shock
Make a genuine effort to learn as much as possible about the country and its people, preferably before you leave home. Your expectations should be realistic. Remember, you will be in this new culture only a pre-determined length of time.

If you have any problems, don't isolate yourself. Go to a friend or counselor, and try to solve the difficulties quickly. Stress can bring on headaches, stomachaches, and other physical problems, so tell the doctor or counselor if you are experiencing any stress-related symptoms.

Knowing what to expect, and being aware of the differences, will help you cope with culture shock. Sometimes something as simple as complaining to another American about your host culture can make you feel better about dealing with the dissimilarities.

Before you have an experience of culture shock, consider how you typically deal with stress. Do you exercise, eat, take long walks or runs, read, or talk to friends? Being aware of how you handle stress, and knowing that you can use those same methods overseas, will further help you deal with the physiological and psychological stresses of culture shock.

Be open-minded and flexible!
Be adaptable! Don’t wait for people to seek you out; make the first move yourself. Don’t worry about speaking the language perfectly – the fact that you are making a genuine effort to communicate with people in their own language is always appreciated, and you make friends quicker this way. A study abroad experience is mostly what you make of it, so take advantage of the opportunity to make the most of it!

Living Abroad

There are several types of housing arrangements abroad: university housing, apartment living, or homestays.

• University housing. In many study abroad programs, students are housed with other Americans or international students. Some study abroad programs offer opportunities to share a room with a host national student.
• Apartment Living. Many study abroad students live in off-campus housing shared with other international students, as on-campus housing is limited or, in many cases, unavailable.
• Homestay. Homestay programs are an excellent way to get to know people in your host country. Although host families are paid to provide your homestay, don’t forget that you are still a guest in the home, and that you are expected to follow the family rules.

Please remember that what you would consider necessities (constant hot water, private bathroom, washer and dryer, unlimited access to a telephone, and to the refrigerator) are often luxuries in other countries. Your host mother may be very protective of her refrigerator! Please do not assume that you have access to it, or other household items, unless told so very specifically.

Special diets are often extremely expensive for host families to provide, so please be willing to try all local foods first, and do not demand meat with every meal, or fresh vegetables out-of-season. If you crave a certain food, you might want to purchase it occasionally yourself and ask your host mother if you could prepare an American dish for the family.

Telephone costs are much higher abroad than in the US. Even local calls are often charged by the minute and distance. If you have access to a phone, be sure to keep very accurate records of your calls and pay your host mother promptly when the bill comes. Using a phone calling card may be cheaper and the bill will go on your home phone number rather than your host family's phone number. Please do not expect to have a private phone in your room. Residence halls often have only one or two telephones in central locations; lobbies, hallways, lounge areas or stairwells.

Whether you live in an apartment, with a homestay family, or in a university dormitory, you may well find that you have to travel some distance to classes. In some countries it is not unusual to spend between one to three hours commuting to and from classes.