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Living Abroad
Knowing the details about your study abroad
program is just as important as knowing where you’ll be
going. Your program sponsor should provide you with detailed information
about your day-to-day living arrangements while you are overseas.
Hopefully, you found out most of this information before choosing
your final program. However, ask specific questions about your
living situation, housing and meals, on-site support, excursions
and activities, opportunity to travel independently, etc. Ask
any questions that might affect your every day life.
Housing
Living with a Host
Family
Living with a host family is your chance to transcend the tourist’s
visit and become a participating guest and member in a family
and neighborhood community. Homestays often can be the most meaningful
part of your international living experience. The success of your
homestay depends a great deal on how you approach the situation.
Consider the hospitality of your host family and some of the adjustments
all of you must make in order to live together amicably. Offer
to help with household chores. Find out what their daily routines
are and how you will fit into them. Communicate with your family.
Talk up-front with your family about expectations. Inform them
of your intentions to be out late, to bring someone else home
or to miss a meal. Avail yourself of their offers to visit relatives,
join in local celebrations, sight see points of interest, etc.
Share yourself – tell them about your own family, your school
and your interests. Photos of family and friends are particularly
appreciated.
Most families will take their cues from you. If you are withdrawn,
they will think you want your space. If you are open and friendly,
they will think you want to belong and will respond accordingly.
Most students find that a good way to break
the ice is to bring gifts from home for your host family. Local
jams or jellies, coffee-table books, and other regional items
(e.g. maple syrup) are always a good idea. If you’re going
to a country where gift giving is an important part of the culture,
you may want to stock up on small items like novelty pencils,
pens, or other college-logo items to give as "friendship"
gifts. Before giving flowers in a foreign country, be sure to
find out if they hold any cultural significance. For example,
you wouldn’t want to present your host with chrysanthemums
in France, as they are associated with mourning and funerals.
Other Living Situations
In some cases, you may not be living with a host family. You may
be in an apartment or dormitory, with other students from your
program or with students from your host culture. Living on your
own comes with a unique set of pros and cons. While it lends to
a great amount of independence, it places greater responsibility
upon you to take care of your daily needs and integrate yourself
in the host culture (especially if you are sharing an apartment
with other students from the U.S.).
Paying utility bills, grocery shopping, doing laundry, and cleaning
can be a challenge and are time-consuming. Discuss how these things
will be handled with your roommates early on. Things that you
take for granted (like using an electric clothes dryer to dry
your laundry) may become a big deal if you have roommates from
the host culture. For example, because the cost of electricity
is quite high in New Zealand, Kiwi students forego using the dryer
in favor of air-drying clothes outside – even in the middle
of winter. You can imagine how our casual use of a dryer would
be perceived (and cause some friction) in this situation. Communication
is always critical and can help to fix or avoid any conflict that
might occur.
Communicating with Home
Phoning the U.S.
International calling is big business and can be confusing and
expensive. It is worthwhile to do a little research before you
leave the U.S. Contact your phone company for information on how
to get a calling card with international access. All major carriers
offer international calling cards. Rates on U.S. calling cards
can be less expensive than dialing direct.
When you’re traveling, AT&T
USADirect service is one of the easiest ways to call directly
to the U.S. via an English-speaking operator anywhere in the world.
Other advice: Avoid long-distance calls from hotels; they sometimes
have a 150% surcharge! Also, in many countries public phones are
no longer coin operated. You must purchase a local telephone card
to make them work.
Find out from your sponsor the specifics of your country. If you
decide to use your host family’s phone, please realize that
local calls often are not free and may be charged by both time
and distance. If you must use your family’s phone, always
ask for permission and offer to pay for your call. Don’t
be offended if they ask you to use a pay phone or only allow you
to receive but not place calls. In some countries itemized bills
are not available making it impossible to know the actual cost
of your call.
Mobile phones are becoming very accessible
in most countries. They are a good way to ensure you have access
to a phone at all times. Also, they are a good way to receive
calls from your family and friends. It allows them to call you
direct rather than on the family phone. Imagine how difficult
it might be to receive calls on the family phone in the middle
of the night because of the time difference! It is a good idea
to find out about cells phones once you arrive.
E-mail
Although the availability of e-mail and the Internet have increased
throughout the world, it is likely that you will be studying abroad
in a location that does not have e-mail access to the extent that
you are used to in the U.S. Many foreign universities charge a
fee to students for e-mail access and/or have limited hours when
computers are available. Other students find that their best Internet
availability is at an Internet Café. Please remember that
one of the reasons you chose to study abroad is to experience
a different culture. This means adapting to the use of technology
as it is used in the host culture.
E-mail can be a mixed bag when it comes to
study abroad. While e-mail has proven to be an inexpensive and
convenient way to stay connected with family and friends back
home, beware of the temptation to spend too much time chatting
with friends in the U.S. Although it exposes family and friends
in the U.S. to the new culture you are experiencing, the time
you spend chatting and surfing the net is time that you are not
interacting with the new culture. (Isn’t this why you are
studying abroad?)
A suggestion that we would make in response to this situation
is that you consider e-mail a part of your cultural experience.
If local students only use e-mail for 15-minutes once a week,
you should too. It will be a challenge, but will provide you with
a richer understanding of the culture and its approach to technology
in comparison to the United States.
You will not need to set up new e-mail accounts
while abroad. If you have Internet access, you can access your
Skidmore account through Webmail.
Most of your programs will provide you with a university issued
e-mail address. Or you may set up an account on a free server;
Yahoo
and Hotmail
are examples of some of these options. Instructions for having
your email forwarded can be found on the Skidmore
IT Web site. (Please note that this forwards new e-mail. Any
mail currently sitting in your inbox on Skidmore's server will
not be forwarded.)
Communicating with Your Family
It is totally understandable that your family
will have questions or concerns about the fact that you are studying
abroad. This is a moment that you have been waiting for your entire
life! Your family, however, might not be quite as enthusiastic.
While you are worrying about what to pack and how to survive jet
lag, your parents are worrying about whether you will be able
to call them in case of an emergency, who will take care of you
if you get sick, and whether you have enough clean underwear!
(I guess they are worrying about what you should
pack…) Family and friends will worry about your safety.
This is especially true during this time of global unease. Just
think of the concerns that are going through your own mind, and
you are excited about this. Most parents will be excited too;
but, they will also want you to share your own fears and expectations,
and most of all, knowledge with them.
Here are some suggestions about how to deal
with your family and friends to help put them at ease as you take
off over the ocean.
- Communicate openly. Tell your parents,
family and friends your own feelings, hopes, and fears. Don’t
hide what you’re experiencing to try to “protect” them. This
will help them realize that you too are feeling a flurry of
emotions. By opening up to them, you will then allow them to
open up to you. This type of communication will then give you
the opportunity to educate them about the realities of the country
and situation you will be part of. It will also show them you
have thought hard about this decision and are prepared to take
on this challenge.
- Study abroad also includes a significant
social aspect. Although your parents might want to hear that
study abroad is an entirely academic pursuit, and academics
are a key piece of the puzzle, it is important that they understand
that you will be pursuing other interests also. Study abroad
is about the whole experience and the social interactions lead
to other learning that is essential as well. Make sure your
parents are aware of this fact.
- They can’t believe everything they
read or hear through the news and other media. The media has
a tendency to sensationalize the news. On the other hand, there
is some truth in what the media reports. The problem is that
your parents are not in England or India or any other country
with you and do not know what is really happening where you
are. With this in mind, always make sure you stay in touch with
your family and friends during times of trouble. You are the
one who can explain that the bombing they heard about was actually
five hours drive away from where you are living.
- Safety is an issue that is real but
manageable. Some parents believe students are in more danger
while overseas than they are while in the U.S. This misconception
can be difficult for you to work against. The truth is that,
in most countries, theft, assault, and violent crimes are far
less frequent than they are here in the U.S. Many people living
overseas consider the States to be a very dangerous country
and have trouble coming to terms with the idea of worrying about
the types of personal crimes we encounter here on a regular
basis. Having said that, make sure you take appropriate precautions
to protect yourself against crime and violence. We have given
you suggestions in the section on safety.
Share this information with your family.
- There is someone overseas to help
take care of you. Not that you need to be taken care of, but
to your parents you are still their son or daughter. They will
worry about you and wonder what will happen should you catch
a cold or break a leg. Reassure them that you have chosen a
program that offers on-site support in the form of a director
or staff who will be available to help you with any personal
or academic issues. You are not alone. (And, let’s face it,
sometimes you might need to be taken care of…)
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last updated
November 4, 2005
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