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7 (+1) Things Not To Do When Studying Abroad

by Allison Carter
08/22/2007

Studying abroad was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Traveling to Florence, Italy with 140 students I didn't know, I made some of the fastest (and best) friendships I've ever had. However, those friends I made were five of the sanest, most unspoiled people on my program. We had some grand adventures - and misadventures that left me longing for rest and home - but it was all worth it. I didn't know much when going to Italia, but we learned as we went along and made the best we could of it all. Here are a few things I wish I would have known, in hopes that they come in handy to students going abroad:

1) Do not live with American students if you have the option live with a family.

Living with people you know or at least can relate to can have its advantages, but what if that isn't the case for you? When I went abroad, I would have had more in common with my temporary country's inhabitants than I did in a six person apartment with five sorority girls. (I, myself, am a GDI.) As it turns out, most American students go abroad less to learn about the culture and more to learn which students from their own school got completely wasted at the bar last night. Homestays force you to become acquainted with your new country by learning their traditions and customs from the people who practice them daily.

2) You might be of drinking age abroad, but that doesn't mean you should spend your nights in a drunken haze.

Since in Europe most every college student is of drinking age, most go all out, drinking every night and sharing with their new country the true meaning of drunken debauchery. Each night is a night to celebrate because "you are abroad," but let's be honest: that can get old quick. Instead of drinking your night away in the discotheques, go listen to the Italian singer on the Ponte Vecchio. It's a guarantee that you will remember more from the latter, and it will provide nicer memories than singing DJ Assault's "Ass 'N' Titties" on the way home from the bar.

3) Remember in kindergarten when the teacher told you to keep your voices down? Same rules apply.

The number one dead give away that you are an American is the amount of noise you are making. Even the least boisterous American is louder than the Europeans I encountered. Almost every word the Italians spoke was beneath my hearing range, but feeling hard of hearing is much better than hearing a random person yell, "I'M SO DRUNK!" while you are trying to enjoy your late night gelato.

4) Most likely you will get harassed a bit. Don't make eye contact and don't freak out. They will go away. Later on it will be fun to joke about.

After going abroad I've learned to not make eye contact - and certainly do not make any sort of facial movement that might look like a smile - to the stranger passing by you on your walk. Even so, without eye contact some words can be exchanged. Sure at the time it doesn't seem great, but if you keep your cool and your eyes in any direction but theirs, the perpetrator will go away. Afterwards the once threatening person is made into a joke. Some of my personal favorites are:

"I like dees one. The one in the green dress."


"One..Two..Tree..Four..Five..Seeex. Seeex Beeches" (a man counting my friends and me.)

"God bless your mothers!"

And of course the classic Italian "Ciao Bella."

5) Explore the culture. Don't just stay in your American culture shell.

Too many times in study abroad programs the participants don't leave their circle of friends that came with them. They go to American bars or discothèques that are known for the numerous amounts of Americans who flock to it every night. Instead, go to a more obscure bar that doesn't pass out flyers to everyone who passes in the street. When you're craving that hamburger, fight the urge and go to a restaurant with your new country's best cuisine. Accept that in a different culture you can't get everything you want. Embrace their laid back work style instead of demanding things be done faster. Maybe they have discovered something about time we haven't.

6) Not everyone speaks English. So don't go to a foreign country and then get pissed when they don't understand you.

English is a language spoken worldwide, but there are still some people who don't know how to speak it. If you are going to a country whose native language is anything other than English, expect most people to not speak it. And if they do, expect them not to speak it well. And even if a person does speak English, try to not speak to them rapidly. A Polish boy I met abroad could speak three or four language, English being his weakest, and I've never seen anyone more irritated than when I started chattering away to him in English. He basically stopped listening. Then after I had finished he told me he understood nothing and that I needed to slow down. This is frustrating on both sides.

Next, the best advice I can give you, is that when going abroad have at least elementary knowledge of the language your temporary country speaks. Even a small amount is better than none. At least when you are standing in line you can have a conversation with the two year old speaking Italian beside you.

7) U.S. Dinner time = 6:30. European dinner = 7:30, earliest. Don't show up early.

This is a lesson my friends and I learned through experience. We were in Cannes, France and hungry around six. We sat down at the restaurant that looked most appealing and asked for the dinner menus. Our French waiter looked at us strangely, but brought us what we requested. We placed our orders and, as we waited for our food, began to realize that maybe it wasn't quite time for dinner. The cooks were running around with their shirts off, and all the other patrons were snacking on peanuts and having a drink. In order to confirm whether or not we had shown up too early we consulted our travel guide: dinner did not begin until 7:30. Once we received our food, we all agreed to eat pretty slowly to stretch out our dinner time. When 7:30 came around, I was cleaning off my plate while the restaurant was filling up with people in the know on France's dinner time. It is important, when abroad, to remember that not everyone eats as early as we do.

7+1) Be a beastly American...No, really, I'm just kidding.

Def. Beast-ly A-mer-i-can [beest-lee uh-mer-i-kuhn] adjective.- of or pertaining to the ridiculously embarrassing and arrogant behavior of United States of America citizens.

I had never heard this term before my second night in Rome with my study abroad program. A boy from my program decided to get wasted and let everyone know he was American. Apparently, he sat in the lobby of our hotel and ended up soiling himself.

There were also the obscenely intoxicated girls from New Jersey who threatened a lady and smoked on the plane ride over. These girls also terrorized the hotel by accusing an Italian lady of waking them up from their late afternoon nap and practically knocking down her door.

These are the people we call "beastly Americans." To avoid creating this label for yourself, be courteous. Remember that you are a visitor and should respect the rules/culture of your temporary country. Most importantly, don't be dumb.

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