Newsletter #1 – Just Departing or Recently Arrived Abroad
How This Newsletter Works: Each section below has pertinent information. Read through all of this information and completing the “Action Items” listed on some of the sections. If you have any questions after reading through this information, please let us know.
If you have any questions after reading through this information, please let us know.
Follow and tag us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter!
Would you like to share your study abroad experience? We’d love to feature you on our social media with an Instagram takeover! Email Bond St John (hstjohn@butler.edu) if you’re interested in showing the Butler community what a day in the life looks for you in your host city.
Also, make sure to follow @butleruabroad on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter, tag us, and use the hashtag #BulldogsAbroad! We’d love to keep up with your adventures while abroad and share your wonderful experiences.
You should have completed all portions of your pre-departure orientation prior to your departure. This includes completing your online application, getting your courses approved with the Course Approval Form, and submitting your Letter to Self to the CGE. If you did NOT complete everything before leaving, they must be done as soon as possible.
Haven’t logged into your online application account lately? Make sure you’ve completed everything ASAP because 1. it’s important and 2. you’ll stop receiving annoying reminders from the system if you take care of them!
You should have submitted your Housing Cancellation form at the link on the Housing Portal so you were not charged on-campus housing fees during your semester abroad. Forgot to do that? Email reslife@butler.edu.
The Center for Global Education’s (CGE) Study Abroad Pre-Departure course will remain open for the duration of your semester abroad! Did you forget whether or not your courses count towards your GPA or are wondering where you can find health information regarding your host country? You can log into Canvas to refresh your memory.
STUDENT STATUS & CREDITS
You must maintain full-time student status (a minimum of 12 equivalent Butler credit hours) while you are abroad. Credit hours may be counted differently in other countries, so make sure that, when converted back to the American system, you will have the proper amount of credits when you return home. For example, most European colleges use the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), where 2 ECTS credits = 1 Butler credit.
You had to get the courses you are interested in taking (plus a few extra!) approved before you left campus. These approvals required the signatures of Department Chairs.
GRADES ABROAD
Studying abroad is not a semester off – remember, your grades will show up on your official transcript (study abroad courses are NOT pass/fail), even though the grades will not be factored into your cumulative Butler GPA. If you are struggling in your classes abroad, reach out to someone on-site who can help! Talking to a professor, someone in the international office, or your resident director is a great first step in getting help in the classroom abroad.
COURSE APPROVALS WHILE ABROAD
If you end up taking a course abroad that was NOT pre-approved, you must report it to your academic advisor immediately and a request for course approval should be submitted via email to the appropriate department chair. Once you receive the official approval, please forward that to Calie Dickey (cadickey1@butler.edu) and Judy Malarney (jmalarne@butler.edu) so they can update the course approval spreadsheet.
If you choose to not get your courses approved while abroad, upon return to Butler’s campus, you must pick up a Study Abroad Course Approval Form from the CGE and get the official signatures from department chairs for any courses that were not approved prior to your departure.
Whatever process you choose ensures that your previously unapproved courses will be added onto your Butler account and count towards necessary degree requirements. Hold on to your syllabus and coursework, as you will likely need to submit the course description and other materials to the department head for his/her use when considering approval. The department head is not required to approve your course without appropriate documentation.
FALL STUDY ABROAD – PROFESSOR PERMISSION
Do your host university’s fall semester dates go into January or February? Make sure that you talk with all of your professors on the first day of class to let them know you will be returning to the U.S. in December and will not be on campus in the new year. You want to ensure this is okay with every professor and that you are able to take your finals (or complete any final papers) prior to your departure. If a professor is not okay with that, you should choose another course.
In addition to verbally confirming this information on the first day of class, you should send a follow-up email to each professor that evening reminding them of what you discussed so you have documentation that they approved this.
Butler cannot guarantee or ensure students’ safety either at home or abroad, but the University will attempt to provide you with as much relevant information as possible to help you make your best decision for studying abroad. We will be pleased to work with you toward that end.
We receive all routine and emergency postings from the U.S. Department of State’s listserv, which issues periodic “Public Announcements” and, when appropriate, more serious “Travel Warnings” about situations that pose potential dangers to Americans abroad. We strongly recommend that you consult the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs website on your own as you plan your study abroad or when you make travel plans while you’re abroad.
We recommend that you spend some time researching your host-country before you leave.
STEP ENROLLMENT
While you’re on this website reading up on important country-specific information, you should also register for STEP (Smart Traveler Enrollment Program). You should have done this during your pre-departure Canvas course.
STEP is a free service to allow U.S. citizens and nationals traveling abroad to enroll their trip with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. Benefits of this program are:
- Receive important information from the Embassy about safety conditions in your destination country, helping you make informed decisions about your travel plans.
- Help the U.S. Embassy contact you in an emergency, whether natural disaster, civil unrest, or family emergency.
- Help family and friends get in touch with you in an emergency.
This was part of your Canvas class – if you did not complete this, please make sure that you do this ASAP.
STEPS TO TAKE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY
- Remain calm.
- Get help. Contact your on-site program staff (Resident Director, local institution, or study abroad organization) for advice.
- In a medical emergency, go immediately to the nearest medical facility.
- If you become a victim of a crime, contact local police to report the incident and obtain immediate help.
- Get in touch. Update others in your program about your whereabouts and safety, as well as the Center for Global Education. In the event of an emergency involving a Butler student abroad during Indianapolis business hours, please contact the Butler University Center for Global Education at (317) 940-8473. For any emergency occurring outside of business hours, please call the Butler University Police Department at (317) 940-9396. Butler University Police are available 24 hours/day. When calling from abroad, please remember to add 001 to the phone number (001 + 317 + 940 + 9396).
ACTION ITEMS:
- Research your host country on the State Department’s website.
- Check out your country-specific information on Global Road Warrior – they include information on culture, health, history, points of interest, etc. that will be helpful!
- Register for the Safe Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).
In addition to reading more about your host country and registering for STEP, you should also go to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) website. There is a lot of really useful health information on this website for your host-country, including:
- How to drink & eat safely,
- How to get medical care,
- How to select safe transportation,
- … and more!
There are also health notices for the country to keep up with current health issues to watch out for and a The Healthy Travel Packing List. The Healthy Travel Packing List is particularly helpful, because the last thing you will want to do when you are not feeling well is try to navigate a pharmacy abroad. A few examples of things the CDC recommends you bring are diarrhea medicine, a decongestant, and medicine for pain and fever (like acetaminophen, aspirin, ibuprofen).
PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION
If you have a prescription medication that you are taking, make sure that you get enough for your entire time abroad. Your doctor can usually write a prescription for that and you will have to talk to your insurance company. Make sure the medication remains in the original, labeled bottles and pack them in your carry-on.
HEALTH INSURANCE
Also, check to see if your current medical coverage is valid outside of the United States. Find out how you would file a claim from abroad and how the insurance company would handle the claim. Ask your insurance company if they provide benefits for medical evacuation and repatriation. Although it is not a pleasant subject to think about, you need to be aware of what would happen if you were to fall seriously ill while abroad and had to return to the US for medical treatment. For example, some policies provide an air ambulance with accompanying nurse or physician for instances where the patient must return to the home country. Without insurance this service may cost up to $10,000. If your current policy does not provide such coverage, consider purchasing some form of supplemental insurance coverage. It is to your benefit to thoroughly research your options prior to committing to a specific insurance carrier.
AS A REMINDER – You have health insurance that is provided through the Center for Global Education! To find out more information about that health insurance, as well as how to use it, look in your online application under the “Health Insurance” material.
ACTION ITEM:
- Check out the CDC’s country-specific travel recommendations for your host country.
UNDERSTANDING THE LOCAL CURRENCY
It is worth the time to familiarize yourself with the local currency used in your study abroad destination. What is the currency? What are the denominations? What is the current exchange rate with the US dollar? Taking a few minutes to learn about the currency can make it easier to understand how much you are spending on your various purchases.
NOTIFY YOUR BANK & CREDIT CARD COMPANIES
Notify your bank and credit card company of your travel plans. If you don’t, unfamiliar spending patterns may raise suspicions that the card is being used fraudulently, which could cause a suspension of your account until you call and verify the charges – and in a foreign country, this can be a major inconvenience.
DEBIT CARDS & ATMS
In many countries you can use your debit card at an ATM and withdraw cash in the local currency. Usually you will get a good exchange rate, but you need to be aware of the following fees which you may be assessed each time you withdraw money from an ATM in a foreign country:
- Your bank’s foreign ATM fee
- The foreign ATM’s fee
- Currency conversion fees
You should also be aware that your bank has a limit on the amount of money you can withdraw per day. We encourage you to contact your bank and inquire about their ATM fees, understand your daily withdrawal limit and get a sense of how easy it will be to find an ATM where you will be.
CREDIT CARD ABROAD
In many countries you can use major credit cards and they are a convenient way of paying for items. In addition, most credit cards offer the added security of not holding you liable for fraudulent charges.
Depending on your credit card you may be charged certain fees when using it abroad. It’s important to contact your credit card company and inquire about these fees. Some of the common fees include:
- A conversion fee for each purchase (usually 1-3% of the purchase price)
- Cash advance fee and interest rate (for withdrawing cash through an ATM)
It is recommended to inform your credit card company that you will be traveling as some companies may become alarmed when they notice foreign activity on your account and may freeze your card until they can ensure that it is you who is withdrawing the money.
In some countries, credit cards are used much less frequently than they are in the US. Ask your program director what types of businesses are likely to accept credit cards. You may also want to see how easy it would be for you to use your credit card abroad. Mastercard and Visa offer tools to help find ATM machines abroad that work with their system.
CHIP & PIN CREDIT CARDS
Countries in Europe use a Chip and Pin system for the credit and debit cards issued in their countries. It is a more secure way of paying with credit or debit cards. Instead of using your signature to verify payments, you will be asked to enter a four-digit Personal Identification Number (PIN) known only to you. You may encounter some challenges abroad trying to use a standard US credit card without a chip. It may be possible to get a chip and pin card from your current credit card company and it may be worth your time in asking depending on where you are going. Additional information about the system is available here.
ACTION ITEMS:
- Call your bank and credit card companies to let them know when, how long, and where you will be abroad. This includes the countries that you will (or may) travel to!
- While you’re on the phone with your bank, be sure to ask what the withdrawal fees will be and how much money you can withdrawal from your account per day.
- Research your host country’s currency. Oanda has a good currency converter that you can use and you can also see historical and projected conversion rates.
For more helpful information, visit this website.
So, how do you fit your entire life into a suitcase for four months? It sounds impossible, but we know you can do it!
You can find a TON of study abroad packing checklists – these are some of our favorites:
- GoOverseas The Ultimate Study Abroad Packing Guide
- StudyAbroad.com Packing List for Going Abroad
- TheAbroadGuide What to Pack for Study Abroad – A Study Abroad Packing List
If you still have questions about what to pack, I recommend turning to Google! Type in your host country’s name + packing list and see what comes up.
ONE FINAL ACTION ITEM:
Sit down and take a few minutes to figure out what you want out of your study abroad experience. Set reasonable goals that you can achieve during your semester abroad, like “Travel to at least 3 countries outside of my host country” or “Attend a religious service in my host country’s language” and write them down. One good way to keep track of your goals is to email them to yourself to check in on later. You can set as many or as few goals as you would like, but setting these goals and allows you to check in during your semester abroad and make sure you’re getting all that you wanted to out of your wonderful experience.
CULTURE SHOCK
As you ready yourself to study abroad, you have gone through a number of preparations: making sure that you were academically prepared, securing necessary finances, saying good-bye to the comfort of family, friends, and familiar surroundings, and booking travel arrangements, acquiring language skills, to name but a few. Once you get abroad, things should go smoothly, right? You should immediately fit into your new routine in a totally new education and living environment, right? If that actually happens, then you are among a rare group of individuals, indeed!
Most people who move between cultures (for study, work, tourism, or to take up a new permanent residence) experience a period of adjustment as they establish themselves in their new environment. The adjustment period may be accompanied by dramatic manifestations of symptoms such as anxiety, headaches, digestive problems, and sleep disorders, or may bring less severe symptoms such as discomfort and a more volatile temperament. Research shows that most people who sojourn outside their home culture experience cultural adjustment in similar ways which, when charted, have come to be known as The U Curve of Cultural Adaptation. It is called a “U Curve” because people generally start at a high point, then experience a decline, or depression, before a leveling off period, then go through a critical “recovery” stage and end up more or less balanced, where they began.
If you should experience any of the difficulties of learning to live in a new culture, it is important to recognize that you are not alone! You are in step with thousands of others who have crossed cultures for whatever purpose.
CULTURAL ADAPTATION IS A NATURAL PROCESS
Your worth as a person, your strength, your stamina, and your flexibility are not in question! You are not lessened by the cultural adaptation process; it is simply a natural phase in the overall cross-cultural experience.
CULTURAL ADAPTATION IS AN INDIVIDUAL PROCESS
You may not experience the adjustment process in exactly the same way as your classmates. Each person’s experience is shaped by what s/he brings to it. In the same fashion, the rapidity with which you go through the adaptation is highly individual. For some it is a question of weeks, for others, months. And some experience the process more than once during their sojourn!
Some people find cultural differences interesting and stimulating, and they want more! Others, when experiencing discomfort or confusion, have a tendency to judge or evaluate other people and to reach negative conclusions. Surely the first type of person has the greater possibility to gain the most benefit from his or her stay in a host culture. Perhaps this information will assist you in making your experience an adventure, rather than an ordeal!
If forewarned is forearmed, then certainly you will be ahead of the game if you THINK about what you are experiencing, and if you have some idea of what to expect. The “U Curve of Cultural Adaptation” may help you understand your transitional stages.
THE HONEYMOON STAGE
Common thoughts during the Honeymoon Stage include:
Isn’t this exciting? I can’t wait to tell _____ about this.
Aren’t they interesting? Everything here is so _____!
Characteristics of the Honeymoon Stage:
- You are busy taking care of business (registration, housing, bank account, etc.)
- You are observing the new culture and familiarizing yourself with the new environment
- You are meeting useful and friendly university staff
- You are making your first social contacts with members of the host culture
- You are seeing and doing new things and enjoying a new world
THE CONFLICT STAGE
Common thoughts during the Conflict stage include:
We would never do that in my country! Why can’t they just _____?
I only have __ months before I go home. These people are so _____!
Characteristics of the Conflict Stage:
- You begin to desire more personal relationships with members of the host culture
- You find you have little time or opportunity to make friends
- You are feeling isolated, out of place
- You may feel tired, sick, depressed, angry, or frustrated
- You have a growing awareness that your home culture’s behaviors may not be accepted in the host culture, and you may have to give up, suspend, or modify your own behavior
- Your high expectations remain unmet
- You blame the host culture for your problems
- You spend lots of time with members of your home culture complaining about the host culture
- You experience problems with the subtleties of the target language
THE CRITICAL STAGE
Common thoughts during the Critical Stage include:
Why shouldn’t they say/do that? We say/do that too, but differently
Characteristics of the Critical Stage:
- You choose to become an “explorer” in the new culture
- You accept the challenge of self-reflection
- You assume responsibility for your own cultural adjustment
THE RECOVERY STAGE
Common thoughts during the Recovery Stage include:
You don’t understand them like I do. I’m beginning to like this.
Characteristics of the Recovery Stage:
- Your language skills improve noticeably
- You begin to understand the actions of members of the host culture
- You have finally made friends and feel part of the community
- You develop a greater tolerance for what is strange and new
- You become a mediator between the two cultures
- You feel proud that you can make yourself understood in the target language and that you can understand native speakers
ASK QUESTIONS
Ask questions of the practical nature, such as “Where may I find foodstuffs from my home country?”, or “Where is the nearest bank?”, but also ask questions about persons’ opinions on things, and about their experiences. Ask for their reactions to happenings, newspaper articles, television programs, etc. You may find that some stereotypes you held about your new host culture are crumbling!
LEARN AND PRACTICE THE LOCAL LANGUAGE
There are regional and local variations to most languages. Learn the version that pertains in your new host culture. Watch television, listen to the radio, read local newspapers, and Talk! Talk! Talk! with persons you encounter everywhere you go during your everyday routine.
OBSERVE RITUAL SOCIAL INTERACTIONS
Notice what people say and how they say it when they greet an acquaintance, when they are introduced to a stranger, when they take leave of a friend or of someone they have just met. Watch for variations with age, sex, and apparent social status.
TAKE “FIELD TRIPS”
A field trip is a visit to a place where you can observe what happens. Yours may be conducted in a visit to someone’s home, at the grocery store, riding public transportation, attending a church service, or visiting a public school. You may be amazed by how much you can learn simply by observing.
TALK WITH EXPERIENCED INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
One of the benefits of studying at most universities abroad is the presence of other international students from different countries. Their experiences can be an invaluable resource for you, the new sojourner. Don’t limit yourself to members of your own culture group: be adventuresome!
KEEP A JOURNAL
Journal-keeping is a time-honored method of coping with a new culture. Writing about your experiences forces you to be observant and to reflect on what is happening to you and around you.
READ
An abundance of materials exist about your new national, regional, and local host cultures. Newspapers, magazines, and the university libraries are excellent resources for your quest.
VIEW YOURSELF AS A TEACHER
You can use your stay abroad to teach at least a few host country nationals about your home culture. Thinking of yourself as a teacher may give you additional patience and help you avoid becoming irritated when asked questions which may seem just plain stupid to you!
REFLECT
An essential part of the cultural adaptation process is taking time to reflect on what is happening to you and around you. Demands of academics are rigorous and reflection time won’t happen unless you purposefully set out to reserve the time for it. As k yourself such questions as “What did I expect from my study abroad experience?” and “How does reality compare with my expectations?” “What can I do to make my experience more constructive and interesting?” and “How is the experience preparing me to meet my goals for the future?”