Section 7: Preparing for the Job and Going Abroad
Chapter 41: Culture Shock
Understand that when you come to a foreign country you will have many experiences that you could not experience in your own country. You will most likely face a lot of uncomfortable situations that you have never been exposed to before in your own country. However, you will also have many experiences that will be exciting and unforgettable. Living abroad is a very special experience and you will have exciting stories that you can tell to your friends and family for a lifetime.
Make sure that when you arrive in the country that you will be teaching in that you have a plan from the start. Where will you go once you get off the plane? What time are you arriving in the country? Do you have the country's local currency or an international credit card? Does the country's transportation run into the late night? How expensive is a taxi to your school or location where you are living? Do you need to have a hotel booked to spend the night? Is someone from your school going to help you from the airport (usually uncommon and doubtful)? Who and where are you going to meet when you arrive at your destination and how are you going to move into your house? Where is the closest grocery or convenience store? Again, do you have the country's local currency or an international credit card? Did you remember to call your card company and tell them you are going to be abroad? Where is the closest department store so you can go shopping for clothes or other household items? How can you get around for transport in your town or city? All of these questions are very important and you should remember to plan very well when it comes to going abroad. The first step is one of the biggest ones and making sure that you have a good plan will help save you time, stress, and most importantly money.
After you have arrived and have finally settled in you can start to roam around your town and get to know things. We recommend that you quickly buy things for your house such as a drying rack for your clothing, soap, dishes and silverware for eating, things for cleaning your house, toiletries, and other necessary things for your daily life. You should try to go out and try new things in order to have more understanding of the local culture, as well as to help you start adjusting to the new place you have moved to. Always going to the same places, you enjoy can be fun, but it can become monotonous and cause you to become a bit homesick. Constantly try new things, travel around, make silly mistakes, and just be yourself.
Making friends will at first be tough, especially if you do not speak the local language. We highly recommend looking into online apps such as Hello Talk and other online apps that are focused on making foreign friends (usually for exchanging language). We also recommend looking into Facebook groups or at Instagram tags, you can find a lot of other expats living abroad, you just have to actually look for them. As long as you use the tools at your disposal in order to find and meet people, you should have not many problems making friends or meeting up with other people while you are teaching English abroad.