Your time abroad will be a wonderful way of enriching and diversifying your education and a fun experience. You will learn a tremendous amount simply from living and learning in a new social and cultural environment as well as from the local people you meet, your fellow classmates and from life as it unfolds.
It is very hard to know what life is really like in a country or region whose culture one has never experienced directly. But it is very easy to have the illusion of knowing what it will be like--from images furnished by the media, from reading, or perhaps after having met a few people from 'there,' here on home ground.
Simply 'knowing about' another culture, however, is not the same thing as knowing what it will feel like to be learning and living there, on its terms. Every culture has distinct characteristics that make it different from every other culture. One of the difficulties students and other travelers have in adjusting to foreign life comes from bringing too much of their own 'cultural baggage' with them. Misleading stereotypes and preconceptions about others, coupled with a lack of awareness of that part of themselves which was formed "back home" can result in feeling like a fish out of water. This is not an uncommon experience. It is in fact something, which should be anticipated as normal and likely, at least for the first few days.
The golden rule is be patient, don't panic and allow yourself to settle slowly into the culture. When traveling things don't always go as planned: missed flights, long delays, getting lost, not being able to communicate and setting unrealistic expectations are common experiences.
Minor problems may quickly assume the proportions of major crises, and you may find yourself growing somewhat depressed. You may feel an anxiety that comes from losing all our familiar signs and symbols of social interaction, a kind of psychological disorientation. You will indeed be experiencing what has come to be referred to as "Culture Shock". Such feelings are perfectly normal, so, knowing this and with a bit of conscious effort, you will soon find yourself making adjustments (some quite subtle and perhaps not even noticeable at the conscious level) that will enable you to adapt to your new cultural environment.
When it comes to language, most people will be extremely flattered rather than amused at your efforts to communicate in their native language. Do not be intimidated or inhibited when practicing your own limited command of the language. A couple of words of caution might be in order: do your best to avoid slang expressions, which are usually unique to the particular culture, and which may therefore be totally meaningless or inappropriate in the context of another culture. Be aware of the differences between the "familiar" and the "polite" forms of address and be sure to use them properly.
Accommodation abroad is very different to what you are used to in North America. Expect your room to be smaller, sometimes the water is not hot and you may have a bath instead of a shower. Forget air conditioning, this is very uncommon around the world, even in Western Europe, fans are the norm.
When staying with host families, your day should adapt as much as possible to theirs. Expect local dishes and not "American" styled food for your meals. This may mean pastries or cold cuts for breakfast or it might mean lots of rice and potatoes. Meals may be prepared much later than you're used to and have smaller (or larger) portion sizes. Phone calls should be limited since, other than North America, most people around the world pay for all their calls, even local ones.
Be sensitive in your dealings with others and try not to let your own self-image and habits become a preoccupation when facing new situations, such as opinions, behavior, body language, expressions and addressing those in authority or those whom you have not met before. Use correct formalities in title such as Mr. or Mrs. and in many cases the formal form of address. Some topics of conversation in public are taboo: abortion, casual sex, social politics, etc. Listen first to discover what is acceptable. Enjoy the change and take everything with a bit of humor. Have a sense of adventure and remember why you are studying abroad in the first place.
Open your mind and be patient and curious. Take it all in and have the time of your life!
