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study abroad with ciee - parents

Practical Preparations

Encourage but don't push

Before your student leaves, offer your full support. Let him or her know that you will be there throughout the experience if needed, including that you can still be reached from overseas.

Time abroad often begins with a honeymoon period during which students are excited to finally be in the setting that they have dreamed of. After facing realities such as unfamiliar university procedures, unexpected difficulty with the local language, commuting woes, and the absence of usual support groups, culture shock can set in. At the same time, the student is away from on—campus medical, psychological and advisory services they may have come to rely on (a major change in university life since we attended college is the degree to which students rely on these resources). Expect to hear some tales of frustration, though your student will likely be experiencing many wonderful things as well, even if you are not the first to hear about them. In most cases he or she won't expect you to solve problems—as much as you may want to—and is just looking for an understanding ear.

If studying abroad was your idea to begin with, be sure not to push too hard. Every year, program directors hear complaints from students who didn’t want to come in the first place—and those students experience more difficulty than others adjusting to the new environment. In fact, some never do.