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Preparing to Leave
By the time you are ready to read this page, you should have taken care of all
administrative details relating to your time abroad, and you are doubtlessly
very enthusiastic about your upcoming study abroad experience. Before you become
affected by the stress of finals, you should begin thinking seriously about
what you need to do to prepare yourself to travel. On this page we want to
give you a couple of suggestions about how to get started thinking about the
new culture you will be encountering, and how best to make the most of that
encounter, and to offer some links about health and safety while studying abroad.
During the entire time you are studying abroad you will be learning
about the world and about yourself, in ways you may only vaguely have imagined
before. We also believe that learning about the culture you are visiting, and observing some common sense rules about health and safety while you are there, will make your experience all the more valuable. Please take some time to consult the web sites listed below before you leave for your study abroad destination.
The two sites, What's Up With Culture? and Culture Matters both
provide work book-like primers on cultural encounters and culture shock. If
you spend a little time preparing for your trip, you will enjoy your experience
that much more.
In addition, you might also find the three brochures produced by Glimpse helpful when thinking about the issues of culture shock, dealing with anti-Americanism abroad, and learning a foreign language.
- Culture Shock (Please enter password "g5csv" when prompted)
- American Identity (Please enter password "g5aiv" when prompted)
- Language Learning Abroad (Please enter password "g5llv" when prompted)
The websites listed below provide additional or complementary information of various sorts about some of the health and safety issues that could come up while you are studying abroad. The student handbooks of the Center for Global Education as well as the International Student Exchange Program both provide important general information about health and safety that you should read before you leave. You might also want to consult the following for additional information: