While Abroad

Studying abroad is both an exciting and challenging time! You will be embarking on an adventure and navigating a new culture, country, and academic system. Understanding the common phases of cultural transitions is important as it will allow you to recognize that what you are feeling is entirely normal and a part of the cultural learning process.

PHASES OF CULTURAL TRANSITIONS

According to Paige Butler’s Cultural Transitions Model, there are six phases of cultural adjustment. See below for definitions of each phase as well as common responses during each phase.

1. CULTURAL SURPRISE:

   An early phase in which you become aware of new, exciting, visible surface-level and striking differences as you transition to a new culture.  While this may be initially energizing, it can also lead to overstimulation and fatigue.

   General Responses: Excitement, newness, superficial judgement, overstimulated, overwhelmed

2. CULTURAL EXPLORATION:

   An early and ongoing transitional phase focused upon seeking out understanding of a new cultural context. This could include seeking out visible cultural elements (e.g. visiting landmarks) and works toward deeper examination of a culture (e.g. food, history, etc.) including more invisible aspects of culture.

   General Responses: From superficial to deeper encounters with culture (food, people, history, language, etc.), a wide range of emotions may occur.

3. CULTURAL ADJUSTMENT:

   This is a trial-and-error phase in which you may make conscious decisions that help you to navigate daily life and build relationships in the host culture.

   General Responses: Experience of trial & error, daily living, recalibrating expectations and energy

4. CULTURAL STRESS:

   This phase can occur in response to encountering difficulty in daily living can lead to frustration or annoyance.

   General Responses: Frustration/annoyance, extended overstimulation, withdrawal/stress response behaviors, and breakthroughs in learning

5. CULTURAL FATIGUE:

   Cultural fatigue often happens when you have to continuously process the new culture. Individuals may feel disconnected from home culture and/or their own cultural identity.

   General Responses: Perfectionism or defeatist attitudes, decline in engagement, increased irritability, homesickness, physical fatigue, psychological fatigue that impacts decision-making, reasoning and language expression.

6. CULTURAL CONFLICT:

   This phase may manifest in response to observable behaviors in the host culture perceived as ‘different’ from one’s home culture, particularly those that may irritate or annoy an individual (e.g. street harassment, staring, etc.).

   General Responses: From minor to critical incidents, confronting values, heightened emotional responses, feeling critical of home or host country, critical of self or others

While these are commonly experienced phases, not all individuals will experience all of them; individual responses to each phase will differ as well. Furthermore, each phase may elicit emotional responses that can be perceived as positive, negative, neutral, or somewhere in between.

For more detail about the Cultural Transitions Model, please reference:

Butler, Paige E. (2019). The cultural transitions model: Moving beyond culture shock to enhance student learning abroad. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 30(4), 67-93.https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1247599

COMMON REACTIONS TO CULTURAL ADJUSTMENT

• Exhaustion, fatigue or changes to your appetite.
• Major concern over small health problems.
• Increased use of alcohol or drugs.
• Craving things from home (food, amenities, etc.) and homesickness.
• Strong desire to interact only with students on your program or non-locals.
• Fits of anger and frustration or depression alternating with elation.
• Superior attitude toward host nationals. You find yourself complaining about and criticizing everything.
• Feelings of rejection, isolation, and loneliness.

TIPS FOR CULTURAL ADJUSTMENT

• Take care of yourself physically
• Give yourself permission to feel bad
• Don’t make any big life changes while abroad
• Be open-minded and curious
• Use your observation skills
• Recognize that culture is relative
• Find cultural allies and ask questions
• Give yourself (and others) permission to make mistakes
• Be patient – don’t expect yourself to understand everything immediately
• Try to establish new friendships

MENTAL WELLNESS ABROAD

If you have ever experienced a mental health condition, or are concerned about mental health abroad, consider disclosing this information to your Global Education Advisor, and speak to a health professional about your upcoming travel. Disclosing mental health concerns will not affect your application to participate in an education abroad program. Before any international experience, be sure to:

• Meet with your mental health professional to discuss how you will manage your health abroad. As applicable, consider how you will travel with prescription medicine.
• Understand that pre-existing conditions that you have successfully managed here at home may flare up while you are adjusting to a new culture and life in your host country.
• It is important to have a support network and realistic communication plan in place. Work with your health professional to discuss your options and consider how you will stay in communication with your friends, family and support network.
• It is normal to encounter some difficulty when adapting to your life abroad. Consider the differences between cultural adjustment, which commonly manifests itself in symptoms that mirror mental health concerns, and more long-term and pervasive depression or poor coping mechanisms, such as excessive alcohol use.

*Adapted from Colorado State University’s Health page.

Please make note of the resources available to you to maintain your mental wellness abroad:

• Mercer CAPS
• NCAA – Mental Wellness Modules
• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Crisis Handbook
• Now Matters Now international mental health chat lines
• WellTrack Interactive Self-Help Therapy

SELF-CARE AND WELL-BEING ABROAD

Studying abroad can be exciting, exhilarating, and full of adventure, but if you are always go-go-go, you can quickly wear yourself out. That’s why it’s more than okay to take a break and practice some self-care.

Read on to find out common sources of stress while abroad, and they suggest and take time to figure out what self-care looks like for you.

COMMON SOURCES OF STRESS WHILE ABROAD

• Loneliness: Loneliness is common, and you are not alone in feeling lonely.Ways to help with this source of stress are:
  • Deep breathing: Deep breathing fosters regulation and self-soothing. It can be used as an in-the-moment coping strategy for distress and can make the other skills more meaningful.
  • Thought distancing: Also termed cognitive diffusion, thought distancing recognizes thoughts and emotions as internal constructs that should be acknowledged, but should not be the basis for behavior.
  • Reflection: Reflection focuses on taking the big picture into account. To be reflective is to have a balanced perspective of the past and present, as well as thinking about opportunities for future change.
• Cultural Adjustment (aka “Culture Shock”): Feeling out of sorts or dealing with emotional ups and downs is normal as you begin adapting to the unfamiliar and the uncomfortable while abroad. These feelings are signals that you are going through a cultural transition.Ways to help with this source of stress are: 
  • Mindfulness: Mindfulness means being fully present in the moment, with a curious, non-judgmental stance.
  • Reflection: Reflection focuses on taking the big picture into account. To be reflective is to have a balanced perspective of the past and present, as well as thinking about opportunities for future change.
  • Values-based action: Values-based action constitutes taking action based on your values. Instead of reacting to our own thoughts and feelings; it can be used with the other skills to help us respond in a way that is in accordance with our values.
• Group Conflict:  This is common as you make new friends abroad and have differences within the group.Ways to help with this source of stress are: 
  • Reflection: Reflection focuses on taking the big picture into account. To be reflective is to have a balanced perspective of the past and present, as well as thinking about opportunities for future change.
  • Assertiveness: Assertiveness means communicating and asserting our needs. It is important not only to be aware of our needs, but to be able to effectively communicate these needs while strengthening a relationship.
  • Values-based action: Values-based action constitutes taking action based on your values. Instead of reacting to our own thoughts and feelings; it can be used with the other skills to help us respond in a way that is in accordance with our values.

To learn more about common stressors while abroad and how to build resiliency skills to combat those stressors, please visit the University of Michigan’s Resilient Traveling page.

SELF-CARE TECHNIQUES

• Eat well, exercise keep a mood journal
• Breath! Slow Down
• Build in personal time or breaks
• Expect Fatigue
• Consult with mentors & peers
• Develop a support network
• Stay alert to the signals as a sign of change
• Minimize catastrophic thinking; turn “What if’s” into “What else”

RESOURCES, GUIDES AND PERSONAL STORIES

• Diversity Abroad’s Managing Mental Health While Abroad page 
• For a student’s perspective read:  Why I Chose to Study Abroad Despite my Mental Illness
• IES Abroad alumni have gathered tips on self-care while abroad. Find these tips at IES’s How to Practice Self-Care While Abroad page.
• Read about how one student balanced her mental health while studying abroad. 
• Go Abroad’s Meaningful Travel Tips and Tales: Mental Health and Self Care

For resources on sources of stress and coping techniques while traveling, visit the University of Michigan’s Resilient Traveling page.

Going abroad to study, intern, volunteer or teach are exciting experiences often filled with many firsts and memorable moments. You may want to document your memories because they will fade quickly once you are back home.

While the memories fade, that does not mean you can’t document the important events, the good days, and every experience in between. Whether you want to share your experience with your family and friends at home, remember exactly how you felt at a specific moment abroad, or enter a photo contest, there are several ways to document your time abroad. To help you get started, here are three methods to document your time abroad.

TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words! Photographs can help you communicate your experiences to friends and family. Sometimes it will feel as if you’re speaking another language, but your pictures will help them to understand what you’re talking about.

Practical Ethical Photography

You’ll want to capture moments and memories that are precious to you but don’t forget to practice ethical photography. This means asking yourself the questions to the left before you take photos and post them. Follow these important principles when taking photos and posting them to social media.

BLOGGING

Blogging allows you to easily keep in contact with lots of people while still being able to focus on your time abroad (not on the 30 people who want an email from you). You could even link your blog to Facebook or Instagram to distribute it widely. We recommend using one of the following platforms: WordPress (an online blogging platforom), Wix (an online site builder), and Blogger (an online blogging platform).

Blogging helps you:

• Communicate to the world with minimal effort and time expenditure
• Share your experiences abroad candidly
• Let loved ones know that you are safe
• Share photos AND videos
• Take your family and friends on your trip with you through thorough descriptions of sights, smells, food and emotions
• Reflect on and process your study abroad experience

Here are some blogs you can use for inspiration:

• The Pin the Map Project
• The Culture-ist
• Flora the Explorer

JOURNALING

PRIOR TO DEPARTURE:

Global Education asks that all international travelers (including faculty) register their travel.

If Global Education sends you check-in requests by email, or by phone please respond!  These are extremely important so we know that you are safe during emergencies and so we can assist you if assistance is required.

Global Education advisors (studyabroad@mercer.edu) must receive from all international  travelers (including faculty leading Mercer students abroad) prior to departure:

• Itinerary information, including international and in-country travel details; housing, hotels, and hostels; and program details
• Emergency contact information in the US for the student/faculty member in the US (parent, sibling, spouse, etc.)
• Passport information
• Waiver of liability form
• Medical questionnaire

Additionally, the U.S. DOS’s Travelers website provides a variety of travel safety resources, including country-specific Travel Advisories.

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY:

Take whatever actions are necessary to ensure your immediate safety.  Contact local emergency services.  In all cases, contact your lead instructor in the case of a faculty-directed program abroad or host organization/program provider you are working with, if applicable.

In case of dire situations, or if you need more guidance, contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate.

If necessary, contact Felix Jelen, Assistant Vice President of Global Education or emergency designee (From abroad: 001-478-301-2363 from 8:00 a.m. – 5 p.m. MST or MDT.  After hours or for most holidays, from abroad: 001-478-301-2363)

COMMUNICATIONS WHILE ABROAD:

If an adverse event occurs in the country or region of travel, as soon as possible after ensuring immediate safety travelers should contact designated Mercer personnel and look for inquiries from Mercer personnel through email or phone contact, or other methods as arranged prior to departure (via social network sites, for example).  In the case of a class, it is sufficient for the lead instructor to make the contact, provided that person has accurate information about everyone traveling in association with the class.

AT MERCER:

• First point of contact: Emily Dunn, Assistant Director of Global Education or emergency designee (From abroad: 001-478-301-5964 from 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. EST.  After hours or for most holidays, from abroad: 001-810-772-8229)
• Secondary points of contact:  Felix Jelen, Assistant Vice President, Global Engagement (From abroad: 001-478-301-2363
• Urgent point of contact: Mercer Police (from abroad: 001-478-301-2911)