October 2005

Coping with Culture Shock

Eliot C. Heher, MD Students’ coping skills determine the rapidity and degree of success in adjusting to their host country’s culture. To successfully adjust international students must maintain a sense of meaning to their lives, have a sense of competence, have friends and allow time for leisure activities. A sense of humor is particularly important. […]

Coping with Jet Lag During Your Time Off

Chris Ott Copyright 200, RPK&A, Inc The night I arrived, I told my host brother that I’d probably wake up at four in the morning, thanks to jet lag. Actually, I woke up at two. Even if you somehow stayed in more or less the same time zone–traveling from, say, Boston to Buenos Aires–it can […]

Fear of Flying

David Keeling Copyright 2000, RPK&A, Inc For many people, especially students, flying has become a fairly mundane occurrence. Routinely, we jet from home to school and back again, with side trips everywhere from Asia to Iowa. For most of us, flying means long lines, heavy luggage, and high fares, and, after a while, the actual […]

Study Abroad: School for Travelers

Elizabeth Ellsworth, Ph.D. Copyright 2000, RPK&A, Inc “I would really like to take a semester abroad but am unsure when to do it. Is it better to wait until my last year of school to make sure I get the most out of the academic aspects of the trip, or to go earlier to break […]

The Opportunities and Challenges of International Study

Mary Ann Santoro Bellini, Ph.D. International students enjoy three key opportunities and face three key challenges. Opportunities Greater Cultural Awareness The opportunity to immerse yourself in another culture really only comes with living in that country. Many expatriates and students describe this as the most rewarding part of their experiences. Language and Fluency Language fluency […]

Psycholgical Effects of International Study

Mary Ann Santoro Bellini, Ph.D. In 1895, after spending time in Venice, Florence, and Rome, Sigmund Freud wrote to a colleague: “Italy has captured me with the magical delirium of its wonders…this journey is also and above all a journey into my inner world, a discovery of myself.” Those who study, live, or travel in […]