Ash Pickett is a Business Administration Junior and opinion columnist for Mustang News. The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Mustang Media Group.
To all of the Mustangs considering studying abroad in the future, those who have already begun meticulously planning, or even those immersed in another country seeking guidance through this transformative journey: welcome to the complete guide to your international experience.
In the last article, we talked about how to best choose a location for your study abroad experience. Now let’s dive into what you’re supposed to do when you step off the plane into a brand new country with different people, culture, customs, values, and a jarring lack of Trader Joe’s to keep you sane.
In his 1979 hit novel The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the Earth is decimated, so protagonist and ex-Earthling Arthur Dent is thrown into an intergalactic journey far from his home planet. Author Douglas Adams wrote, “Don’t panic.”
That’s my first piece of advice when you’re faced with culture shock. It’s inevitable that you’ll eventually meet some kind of unforeseen hurdle that you’ll have to work with.
My most daunting adjustment lay in the transition from small-town outdoorsy San Luis Obispo to big-city (“but we have great parks, though!”) London. I went from living within a 15-minute drive to the beach to facing a 50-minute walk to class. Your adjustment might be a language barrier, unfamiliar foods, figuring out public transportation, or missing your loved ones.
Business Administration Junior Jason Siu is studying in Taiwan this quarter – a far cry from my English-speaking study abroad destination in the UK.
“Being in a big city only knowing bits of the language made my first days nerve-wracking, and I worried about judgment. However, I learned that making the effort to communicate with locals was all that mattered. As I made my way around the city, I understood how to politely ask for help learning through each conversation.”
Language is one of the more common barriers for students abroad, but culture shock also materializes in smaller, day-to-day activities. Grocery shopping is vastly different, any kind of routine will be difficult to maintain, and you’ll be forced to use WhatsApp (the horror!). Just as Jason made a conscious effort to communicate with locals, you’ll have to push yourself to remain open to new ways of going about life.
While abroad, I encourage you to remain curious, and to challenge your beliefs about the way things “should” be. Adjusting to an unfamiliar culture goes beyond just being open-minded: you must actively recognize when you’re feeling uncomfortable or confused and reflect on your biases.
Most often, something new is not synonymous with something bad. Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelis said it best in his book Meditations, “If you are pained by external things, it is not they that disturb you, but your own judgement of them. And it is in your power to wipe out that judgement now.”
Arthur from The Hitchhiker’s Guide was faced with the mass devastation of planet Earth. You, on the other hand, have the privilege to live and learn through a global lens, and the USA remains for you to come home to. Culture shock will be difficult at times, but remember that home is just there across the pond, and for now you can focus on navigating this fascinating journey.
“This is still just the culture shock. You wait till I’ve settled down into the situation and found my bearings. Then I’ll start panicking.” – Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.