Shock Treatment - Culturally Shocked in Spain.. and what to do about it...

When you arrive wide-eyed and perhaps a little worn for wear after a ten to eighteen hour flight, to your host family's home, and you think that it is going to be the same size as your own family's house, but your new room where you will be living for the next 4 to 8 months is perhaps smaller than the pantry at your own house, take note: this may be just one of many differences that you will confront in the coming months. When your host mom serves you cold tomato soup for your first course at lunch, and follows that with paella, where there are all kinds of never before seen sea critters, and the shrimp still have their eyes, and when your host mom reminds you to please wear shoes in the house and por favor, the showers need to be a bit shorter, well... perhaps this isn't exactly what you had in mind. Finding your way in a world that functions to the beat of a slightly different drum is not for the faint of heart, but can open up a whole new doorway and a way of seeing the world that you could never have imagined. While studying abroad, wherever you are, the most important words of advice: Don't sweat the small stuff. If life gets you down, or you feel lost or confused, or you don't know what to make of a situation, get help. The experience is meant to lift you up, but sometimes you may find that it gets you down. Don't let it keep you down. Here are a few tips to keep you going in the right direction...

1) Talk about it!! If you're puzzled or frustrated by some aspect of your life abroad, let your friends, professors, host family, compatriots, any willing ear, know what you think.
2) Keep an open mind.
3) Don't expect to like everything
4) Don't be too hard on yourself
5) Be flexible
6) Find an outlet, an activity or place that you enjoy and cultivate it! Leave your mark!