Book Description

This book is designed to help students through the challenges that they encounter when they cross cultures for college study abroad. In addition to giving students some “heads-up” on the sorts of cultural and emotional upheavals to expect, this book provides simple exercises that allow students to adjust to their new cultural surroundings while discovering new things about themselves. As students use this book, they also create a journal that records the details of one of the most important experiences of their college years. We have made this book small, by design. We want it to be easy to carry, easy to engage with. We have also designed exercises that are focused and easily accomplished. (As college students know better than anyone, when a task is too large it can be overwhelming, but completing a small obtainable goal is gratifying). Colleen Ballerino Cohen is an anthropologist who has 25 years experience teaching students how to adjust to and learn about different cultures. Grace Myhill is a social worker who has extensive experience counseling college students, and has developed workshops for students returning from study abroad. We both know that going away and returning home again presents intense and surprising challenges. We have combined our experience and knowledge to help students with the emotional and social fine-tuning that living and studying in another culture inevitably requires provide useful exercises for getting to know and becoming adept at living in another culture help students make the transition back into their own culture, and apply their study abroad experience to the rest of their college experience. On a more personal note, it is our hope that you, our reader, will enjoy reflecting on the questions and ideas presented in this book. As you use this book to become familiar with the new culture that you are living in, and to discover the person that you are changing into through the study abroad experience, you are also writing your own story. This story will become an important touchstone to you, as you write it, and will continue to provide you important insights and rich memories years after your return from study abroad. Enjoy!