Learn as much as you can about your adopted country before you leave the country. ‘You will be less likely to embarrass yourself or offend somebody else by doing something that’s not appropriate,’ says Colleen Graf, an administrative assistant at Willamette University’s Off-Campus Studies Department.

Take classes that will enrich your understanding of your experience abroad. Consider signing up for history, politics, literature, religion, or art history classes that focus on the region where you will study. General anthropology and sociology classes can be helpful, as will ‘anything that will give you a cultural context,’ says Wiedenhoest.

Above all, advisers recommend studying the country’s language. Most programs require at least two years of relevant foreign language study at a college level. But Margaret Wiedenhoest, operations coordinator at Kalamazoo College’s Center for Experiential Education, stresses that when it comes to language classes, ‘the more, the better.’

Immerse yourself in your adopted country and culture. Rent movies made in the country. Visit online communities to connect with students living in the country. Read books, newspapers, and magazines from and about the country you plan to visit. You can find them at any good bookstore, and many foreign media are online. To prepare for his studies at a German university in Leipzig, Scott Galea, a junior from American University, logged onto the Internet to listen to radio stations and watch television programs from Germany.
Source: GoAbroad

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