Managing Culture Shock

As mentioned earlier, there is no way to completely avoid culture shock- it is a natural learning process. However, it is possible for students to manage the process. Here are a few suggestions:

For Students:

Focus on positive things that happen every day.
Minimize your contact with family and friends from home- the more contact that you have with them, the longer that it will take for you to adjust to your new home.
Make sure that you get enough sleep.
Exercise- it is a great cure for stress.
Stay active- if you are active then you will have less time to think about home or worry about things.
Spend as much time as you can with other people- it is good to have some time alone to think and reflect on your experiences, but too much time alone can make you sad or lonely. Even if you don't feel like it, get out and do something.
Keep a journal

For Schools

Communication is the key when dealing with exchange students.
Your exchanges student might be used to different rules in his or her school back home. It can therefore be very helpful to sit down with the student and explain the actual rules in an American classroom. You might be surprised to find out that your exchange student had never heard of a hall pass before.
Also, it is very helpful to write all rules and expectations down. Most students need time to get their “ears used” to local American accents and might not understand everything you say right away. The written rules will provide the student with the opportunity to read them again and to possible look up unknown words in a dictionary.