Living Abroad : Study Abroad

Student Life Abroad

Safety

Safety is understandably foremost in the minds of students and of their families. Concern for student safety abroad has always been of primary importance to The College, and it remains an integral part of our standard procedures and practices. Most study abroad destinations are statistically less dangerous than the average American city. Our approach to promoting safety abroad is founded on communication, information, and cross-cultural sensitivity.

No university can guarantee the safety of its students overseas, any more than it can guarantee their safety on the home campus. The staff of the Center for Study Abroad has access to varied resources for information about the relative political and economic stability of host countries. We are in regular contact with our overseas partners who, in turn, work closely with American consulates and embassies. We monitor international conditions daily, with information from the U.S. Department of State, our overseas partners, and our colleagues here at the University of Rochester.

Students who are well-informed about the international context of their study abroad host country will be best equipped to ensure their own safety. To that end, we provide students and families with the latest announcements and travel advisories from the Department of State. Also, prior to departure, all prospective study abroad students attend a mandatory orientation seminar. This seminar serves as the first meeting of a required online course. Students meet representatives from different campus offices, Center for Study Abroad staff, and peer advisers who present important information about safety, managing money, packing, transfer credit, health issues and much more. Through good preparation, we make the transition to living overseas as smooth as possible. At the same time, students have responsibility for their own safety by monitoring developments on their own through public sources and by not intentionally putting themselves in harm’s way.

Students should learn to exercise a high degree of cultural sensitivity. Those who are easily identified as Americans, either through appearance or behavior, may be more likely to be targeted for petty crime and other acts of violence. We advise students to blend into their host country culture as much as possible by striving for fluency in the local vernacular and by adjusting their habits and dress to conform to local cultural standards. This does not mean abandoning your own national identity; in fact, study abroad normally heightens that awareness. Understanding that there are adjustments to be made, and taking them seriously, will result in a more profound and safer educational experience.

It is important that University and program representatives are able to reach students’ families quickly in case of emergency. Before students leave for the overseas program, we ask that families provide us with up-to-date contact information, as well as a written acknowledgement of the students’ overseas study plans.

Health and Wellness

In order to have a successful and productive study abroad experience, students need to take steps to ensure good health. Depending on your destination, study abroad does not necessarily present more health risks than you would encounter in Rochester. Three keys to staying healthy are:

knowing the health and safety risks present in your host country (or countries);
preparing adequately before your departure;
avoiding risky behavior that could jeopardize your health.

If you are on prescription medication, have a chronic medical condition, or are under treatment for any physiological or psychological conditions, be aware that overseas travel may complicate matters. Even past conditions that are under control may be aggravated by changes in diet, climate and social environment. Consult with your doctor or therapist about the availability of medication and continued treatment overseas. Study abroad programs require you to disclose any health conditions prior to your departure, so that they can be prepared to help you find treatment or accommodation.

Cultural differences, laws, and standards of behavior create an environment that can have a profound impact upon your health, particularly with respect to alcohol use and sexual habits. Alcohol may be more readily available and might be a normal part of daily meals. Before reveling in this newfound freedom, pay attention to the nuances of the local customs, and be respectful of them. Remember that you always remain a guest in the country, and will be held to a higher standard of behavior.

If you choose to be sexually active during your time abroad, knowing your partner takes on a whole new meaning. Dating practices will be vastly different; take time to learn about them. People in your host country may take longer to get to know, or they may be more outgoing and friendly than you are used to. They are likely to have media-based images of Americans as sexually promiscuous, and may expect that you will conform to this image. If you choose to be sexually active, practicing safe sex is as important as it is in the United States.

All students should be aware of the risks posed by diseases such as hepatitis and bacterial meningitis, which occur in developed countries and developing regions alike. Some students study in locations where diseases such as cholera, malaria, or yellow fever may be endemic. You may need to get vaccinations, beginning as early as ten weeks prior to departure.

Insurance

You must have adequate health insurance while abroad. Becoming ill or having an accident overseas can ruin your study plans, and can even be life-threatening. Insurance can help you manage risks.

Check your existing insurance policy to determine if it will cover you while abroad. If so, find out exactly how the coverage would be implemented overseas. Would you have to go to a particular hospital, clinic or doctor(s)? Would you have to pay the costs up front, and then wait to be reimbursed by the insurance company?

If your existing health insurance will not cover you overseas, or if you aren’t satisfied with the level of coverage, you may want to purchase an additional short-term policy specially designed for U.S. students abroad. The Center for Study Abroad can provide the names and contact information for companies that provide this coverage. While we strongly advise you to obtain adequate health insurance, we do not endorse any particular company or policy. The College provides insurance for medical evacuation and repatriation of remains for all students who study abroad during the academic year, with the exception of IES and UR-affiliated CIEE programs, since they provide similar coverage. However, life insurance coverage is not included. If your study abroad program does not provide such coverage, then make sure that you have proper life insurance coverage before traveling abroad. In addition, you may want to consider purchasing property insurance to cover theft or loss of any personal property, such as a laptop computer, camera, or jewelry. Avoid taking items of great value with you; the possibility of loss or theft often outweighs the value of having them. If you must pack valuables, property insurance may help replace their monetary value. Follow this general rule: if it’s irreplaceable (e.g. heirloom jewelry), leave it home in a safe place.

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Daily life

“Campus life” is generally an American concept, although you may find a similar milieu at some British, Australian, Israeli or Irish universities. But normally, academic buildings are in the heart of a city, and may be scattered over a considerable area, separated from each other by residences, restaurants, and shops. You may live in one part of the city, attend classes in another part, work in the library somewhere else, and eat your meals in a student restaurant. You will participate in everyday city life: mass transportation, pollution, strikes, impersonal attitudes, different gender issues, etc. Generally, expect less planned or “pre-packaged” student life, fewer student clubs, fewer social affairs, and fewer organized sports than in the United States. An exception would be campus-based universities, and those in smaller cities, so this might affect your choice of where to study. On the other hand, study in a larger city will offer greater varieties of independent cultural and social activities.

Most study abroad programs do not have a full array of student service offices, but all have a program or site administrator. This person variously serves the roles of academic adviser, residence hall director, counselor, and tour guide, and will be an invaluable resource throughout the course of your program. Get to know your program director and the local staff. They are your first contact for anything from a routine question to an emergency.

Housing and Meals

Most overseas universities in large cities do not have residence halls available for visiting students. Where they are available, they tend to have fewer amenities than those at the University of Rochester. You may live in a room in an apartment, a furnished room in a pension, a student hostel, or a room with a “family.” Some programs offer a choice of housing options; others do not. Many programs offer housing or provide assistance in finding housing. Participants in some programs, such as the University of Cologne Exchange, are responsible for finding their own housing. If this is the case, you should begin your search for housing options as soon as you have been admitted to your program.

Note that your housing may not be on a university campus and that you may have to walk or take public transportation to get your classrooms or program center. Commuting times can be as long as an hour each way. Due to unforeseen circumstances, such as change in program size, renovation of housing, or other reasons, housing options may be different than what was listed in your program guide or at the program website. Prepare to be flexible.

If your UR-sponsored program provides housing, you are required to live in that housing. You may opt out of program housing only if you plan to live with relatives in the area. You will need to discuss this with a study abroad adviser well in advance of your departure.

Few study abroad programs offer meal plans such as those that are available on campus at UR. Your university or program may have a dining hall (as is often the case in Australian residential colleges, for instance) or--more commonly--a variety of on-campus eateries. However, in many cases, you’ll have a greater degree of independence and flexibility in planning your meals. You may be able to choose from a number of local restaurants. This can be a great way to try out the local cuisine but it can also be a very expensive way to feed yourself, depending on the cost of living and the caliber of the restaurant.

Pay attention to the sanitary conditions wherever you eat. For example, the food stalls at the local market in a developing nation might be very cost-effective and culturally authentic, but they might also serve up a sure recipe for traveler’s diarrhea. In many cases, your best bet will be to prepare your own meals. This is usually the most affordable option and a good way to stay within your budget.

If you’re living in a homestay, your host family will typically provide at least one meal per day. This is a wonderful way to sample some home cooking typical of your host country. Sometimes it can also present awkward dilemmas which require you to balance sensitivity against dietary requirements. It’s important to be clear up front about any special diet, particularly if you are vegetarian or vegan. Also, your program staff will usually provide the host families with guidelines for food preparation, since foods that seem ordinary to them might present gastronomical challenges for someone newly arrived in the country.

It may sound intimidating if you’re accustomed to relying on a campus meal plan, but most students find cooking and food shopping a fun aspect of overseas living. Your program staff can give you advice about the best places to buy groceries (don’t expect to find a Wegmans nearby), and your housing will often include kitchen facilities. Particularly if you’re staying with other students, it makes sense to share meals and to take turns cooking. Preparing your own meals allows you to regulate the sanitary conditions of your food preparation. For example, you can avoid raw vegetables if you’re not confident about the quality of the water used to wash them. And while you might be able to find boil-and-serve comfort foods such as macaroni and cheese, you can experiment with local delicacies, too.

If you are a vegetarian, click here to learn more about being a vegetarian abroad.

Local Students

Since there are study abroad programs in over 100 countries, it is impossible to characterize local students. In some countries the host country students you will encounter will have gone through a more specialized system of education. As a result, they tend to be somewhat older and better prepared to meet the academic demands of their university education.

Most likely they will have begun studying their major subject earlier than their American counterparts, so expect them to have a much more extensive knowledge of the subject. They may seem more serious, tending to act with formality and reserve, even among their peers. It is conceivable that you might sit next to a local student in class for a year without ever striking up a conversation. On the other hand, in other locations, local students may be surprisingly like the American students you are used to. Your program director is a good source of information about local student customs.

Students in your host country will be politically knowledgeable, so it would be wise for you to work on improving your own knowledge of U.S. history and politics and those of the host country before you go. We recommend reading The Economist, Washington Post, Asian Wall Street Journal, or The International Herald Tribune, all of which can be found on the internet or in the Messinger Periodical Reading Room at Rush Rhees Library. See news.yahoo.com.

Class schedules on study abroad programs are often organized differently than those at UR. For instance, classes may meet only once each week for three hours at a time. In many cases, the class may involve fewer exams and quizzes than at the University of Rochester. At the same time, expect to do more independent learning.

Talk to Peer Advisers who studied in the countries you are considering. They will be able to give you more insight into host country student life.

Meeting people

In many societies, particularly in western Europe, it is not as easy to make friends as in the United States. The concept of a “friend” is quite distinct from the concept of an “acquaintance” and it takes months to make a “friend,” but once a friendship is formed, it may last a lifetime.

If you are living with a family, your relationship may start off as that between boarder and landlord/landlady. It will be up to both of you to create something more than the initial formal relationship. It may take time to adjust to the customs and habits of the family and to develop a warm relationship. Be patient; it does happen, but it takes time and flexibility.

Culture Shock

Be prepared to undergo a fairly typical adjustment cycle during your stay. Expect some ups and downs. You’ll start out with a great deal of excitement; the host country seems to be the most fantastic place on earth, and you will be high with enthusiasm. After a while the novelty will wear off and you may feel lonely, frustrated, depressed, homesick, and irritable. How to get simple things done, such as buying stamps, accessing email, doing laundry, and buying food may seem so different as to be complicated, even overwhelming. You and your fellow students will complain about everything and everyone; you may wish you had never left home and long to be back in Rochester “where everything works.” Listen, learn and be patient! Things will get better. The petty frustrations will disappear. As you complete your adjustment cycle, you will come to accept and then to enjoy everything including the academics, food, drinks, habits, and customs of the host country. By the end of the term, you may not want to leave, and you will try to figure out how to get back again as soon as possible.

A note about re-entry: When you return home after your time abroad, you may find yourself going through through a process similar to culture shock; it’s referred to as “reverse culture shock” or “re-entry shock.” It is perfectly normal, and we’ll provide information and opportunities for dealing with it when you return to campus.

Communication

Most students abroad will have access to telephones, the internet, and fax machines. We are accustomed to relatively inexpensive telephone calling, faxing, voice mail, and free University email accounts. In many overseas locations, these services may be more expensive than you are used to, or not as available. They may be considered a luxury, rather than a given. Email access provided by your program may be limited to certain hours. That said, keep in mind these points: be courteous when using telephones, faxes, and voice mail, especially if you are living with a family or in a homestay. Local telephone calls from land lines may be more expensive than in the U.S. On the other hand, you will find that in many countries, the public telephone system is more sophisticated than that of the United States. Card systems simplify using public phones for local or long distance calling. Pre-paid calling cards are another method of international long distance; they can be purchased at stores and over the internet. Your program director will be able to help you choose from the many available options.

If you are bringing a laptop with a webcam, you may want to use an Internet-based communication provider like Skype, which will allow you to call your family and friends for free. Visit www.skype.com for more information.

Find out before you go abroad if you will have regular access to services such as faxing or email. If not, plan accordingly. Above all, do not abuse any privileges given to you by your host family or by your program directors.

Cell Phones and Email

Most programs will help students to acquire cell phones, either by selling used phones or directing them to purchase a new one. If you already own a cell phone, check with your service provider, since most American phones do not work outside the United States. As you would here, be sure you’ve read (or get help to read) the fine print on the contract. Failure to do so can result in staggering phone bills. Be sure to get in writing how much services on your cell phone such as voice mail, receiving international calls, and text messaging will cost.

Likewise, be aware that few American students (normally only those directly enrolled in an overseas university) have free and relatively unlimited access to email. Computer labs and internet cafés may not be open as late as they are here. Shopping around can save you a lot, because the high demand is lowering prices everywhere. You may also find that pre-buying hours is your best option. You’ll need to strike a balance; stay in touch, but don’t live vicariously back at UR.

Periodically during the semester, the Center for Study Abroad will communicate with you via email. You are responsible for maintaining and checking your UR email account on a regular basis.Check in with ITS to be sure your password will not need to be changed while you are away.