What You Can Do Before They Go Abroad

Take time to sit down and discuss the plans you and your student have for his or her time abroad.

1. Keep a copy of your student's departure information and passport. Arrange how you will communicate with them (phone, e-mail). Set a time to hear from them within a day or two of arrival. What is the country code?
2. Know the difference in time between the US and where they are going.
3. Discuss the program dates and any traveling they plan to do before the program, during, or after.
4. If you are handling UT affairs while your son or daughter is away make sure you discuss important UT dates and procedures.
   * eProxy provides students with an official and secure method of giving other individuals, like parents, access to the students personal records. eProxy allows the parent to view financial aid, financial bars, UT housing information, registration, pay bills. Basically everything a student can do online the parent will be able to do for the student through eProxy.
   * Does your son or daughter want you to register for classes for them for the semester they return to UT? All financial bars need to be paid before registration can take place. This can be done through eProxy.
   * When are the payment deadlines for UT? Any student going on a sponsored UT program will owe something to UT. Fall semester payments are due in August; spring semester is due in December and summer semester in May.
5. How will you send money in an emergency?
6. A copy of your student's passport, credit cards, ISIC card.
7. Contact in the country (program director, liaison, or someone else).
8. How to contact your son or daughter's UT Study Abroad advisor and financial aid advisor if applicable.

The Stages of Cultural Adjustment

Your son or daughter will be going though a wide range of emotions once they leave home. It is important for parents to understand what your student is going through and to be patient and supportive as your student adjusts to the new culture.

Most international students spend the first few days settling in and getting adjusted; however, adjustment is not accomplished in a few days. Adjustment is an on-going process demanded by one situation and then another. What follows are the four stages of cultural adjustment identified by Gregory Trifonovitch.

The Honeymoon Stage

Characterized by exhilaration, anticipation, and excitement. The international student is fascinated with everything that is new. The students are embarking on their “dream come true,” which is to study in a foreign country. These students are delightful to work with and to work for; BUT in their enthusiasm to please you they frequently nod and smile to indicate understanding when in fact they have not understood. When their misunderstandings pile up, they are likely to experience the second stage of adjustment.

The Hostility Stage

Characterized by frustration, anger, anxiety, and sometimes depression. Following the initial excitement is frustration with the college bureaucracy and the weariness of speaking and listening to another language every day. Students are upset because, although they have studied the language, they don’t seem to understand anyone.

International students react to this frustration by rejecting the new environment in which they feel discomfort. The internal reasoning might be, “If I feel bad it’s because of them.” The students blame their external environment for their bad feelings. Some of these hostilities are translated into fits of anger over minor frustrations, excessive fear and mistrust of locals, frequent absenteeism, lack of interest, lack of motivation, and, at worst, complete withdrawal. Many academic problems begin at this stage.

The Humor Stage

Follows when the new foreign student begins to relax in a new situation and begins to laugh at minor mistakes and misunderstandings which previously would have caused major headaches in the hostility stage. This more relaxed state of being occurs after the student has made some friends and is able to manage the University, understand his studies, and begins to pass tests.

The Home Stage

Occurs when international students not only retains allegiance to his home culture, but also “feels at home” in their newly acquired one. The student has successfully adjusted to the norms and standards of the University, and should be commended for the ability to live successfully in two cultures.