Study Abroad Handbook
ARE YOU READY FOR YOUR ADVENTURE?
Dear Student,
This orientation handbook is meant to be used as one reference tool to assist you in preparing for your exchange or study abroad experience. Used in conjunction with the orientation workshop, this handbook should help you explore basic exchange issues like credit transfer, travel arrangements, and culture shock. However, you should anticipate doing your own exploration
into many related areas. This holds true for country specific information. This handbook is in no way a substitute for your own research about your host country. It is time for you to become greedy for information!
There are so many ideas on how to ensure a good exchange experience. Even though it is not possible to guarantee anything, you can plan to make the most of your adventure and have a positive experience. Characteristics that play vital roles are patience, flexibility, adaptability, sense of responsibility, and perhaps most importantly, sense of humor. Avoid rigid ideas of "right" or "wrong" ways to do things. You may find new way to define yourself and the world. Take a look at what one former international exchange participant wrote:
I would like to share with you a few reflections about what I think should be given a strong emphasis in your orientation…that is students' self-preparation and responsibility. These qualities are often understated because of the widespread idea that it is up to the exchange program to provide for students and to anticipate their expectations.
This is not only impossible but, undesirable, because, beyond the planned goal of studying abroad, there is the life experience of being a minority in a new environment. Being a minority: fear of being neglected, fear of being rejected. This is a situation exchange students will have to face. They may choose universities bearing strong resemblance to theirs at home; [but] the culture contrast, the shock caused by being a minority is inevitable…
Each time we are in contact with someone or something that chal-lenges our thinking, it is an opportunity for us to put our beliefs to the test. And maybe to relativize or even discard these opinions that are not truly ours, but the product of our education.
Each time one of our expectations is thwarted, there is a possibility to go beyond it and discover what our frustrated expectations or our missed goals prevented us from seeing. Such an experience may bring us to a constructive reassessment of our priorities…
Each time we don’t receive the comfort, the attention, and the respect we are used to, there is an opportunity to extend our flexibility, to explore unknown regions of ourselves and of human relations.
We students of the Western world have a natural tendency to take our beliefs and natural talents for granted. The feeling of being a minority puts them in perspective; it leads us to embrace other points of view, it stretches our minds, and not only at the academic level; and this is an invaluable exercise, particularly for those who are likely to be the decision makers of tomorrow.
Here are some recommendations I would make to [prospective] international exchange [participants]:
- The success of your adventure depends more on your attitude than any other external factor. This is what exchange students should be convinced of when they land in their new country of adoption.
- Accept changes, do not expect to find in your new life what you have left in your country; and be aware of comparison between your "home" and present environment; doing so you focus on the past and close the doors of the future.
A beautiful saying encapsulates this idea. I heard it at the funeral of my New Testament professor's mother; it reads, 'It is easy to pray that certain circumstances be changed, but God may be using those very circumstances to change you.' For students who feel uneasy about religious references, this statement can be rephrased as follows: 'Rather than complaining about your new environment, consider how this environment can shed a new light on your life.'
My last advice would be:
- Expose yourself, consider your exchange studies as a unique field of experiments where you can discover numerous fresh perspectives on life. This is why I believe that exchange students must deepen their sense of responsibility when they undertake their exchange journey towards self, other, and life awareness.
"A Renewed Perspective on International Student Orientation," presented at an International Student Exchange Program (ISEP) conference by François de Vargas, past ISEP participant.
As you read the rest of this handbook keep in mind that it will not tell you everything you will need to know. Sometimes a little ignorance is a good thing. Part of an overseas experience is facing challenges, dealing with ambiguities, and learning who you are through small mistakes.
Study abroad is not a vacation, although too many students go overseas without thinking beyond the fun and exciting aspects of the experience. Study abroad is fun and it is exciting. But it is also true that there will be difficult times; many challenges lie ahead of you. There can be no doubt that your experiences will help you to grow, and sometimes just knowing ahead of time that you may face some difficulties makes the inevitable hurdles easier to cope with when they appear. Keep an open mind, experiment with things that you cannot do or see at home, try to enjoy the differences that you encounter, and remember that you will only be overseas for a relatively short period of time, so make the most of it.
Good luck with your coming adventure!