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1. Realize that different does not equal wrong.
2. Barring allergies or religious or philosophical prohibitions on food, make your food aversions the exception, not the rule. Especially if you are staying with hosts. Host families can usually make other food, too--but if they just made the food your mommy did, they why did you need to come here? The point is to experience what the other country is all about.
3. Realize that the American Way (sorry, I know it works among other cultures, too, but I can only speak about my own with any degree of authenticity) is not the Gospel Truth.
4. Realize that some things you may think are the Gospel Truth are really just traditions from your neighborhood.
5. Do not insist that the entire world convert every detail of life into your currency, your language, your measuring system, your schedule. Individuals can make reasonable adjustments, but remember--you are the guest.
6. Learn the language and use it--even if all you manage for a two-week trip is "please" and "thank you." ANY effort goes a long way! (And actually, "please" and "thank you" are good words to use even in your own language.)
7. Please do not embarrass your fellow countrymen by getting wildly drunk and/or rude in public, and then loudly making a spectacle of yourself.
8. A good thing to remember as you try to integrate yourself is to focus on what you share in common as humans, not on the differences.
9. Go easy on taking offense. It's easy to feel slighted because of a misunderstanding and assume it's a slight against you as a foreigner. But often as not, the same kind of thing could occur in your own country, and you would take it as an isolated incident.
2. Barring allergies or religious or philosophical prohibitions on food, make your food aversions the exception, not the rule. Especially if you are staying with hosts. Host families can usually make other food, too--but if they just made the food your mommy did, they why did you need to come here? The point is to experience what the other country is all about.
3. Realize that the American Way (sorry, I know it works among other cultures, too, but I can only speak about my own with any degree of authenticity) is not the Gospel Truth.
4. Realize that some things you may think are the Gospel Truth are really just traditions from your neighborhood.
5. Do not insist that the entire world convert every detail of life into your currency, your language, your measuring system, your schedule. Individuals can make reasonable adjustments, but remember--you are the guest.
6. Learn the language and use it--even if all you manage for a two-week trip is "please" and "thank you." ANY effort goes a long way! (And actually, "please" and "thank you" are good words to use even in your own language.)
7. Please do not embarrass your fellow countrymen by getting wildly drunk and/or rude in public, and then loudly making a spectacle of yourself.
8. A good thing to remember as you try to integrate yourself is to focus on what you share in common as humans, not on the differences.
9. Go easy on taking offense. It's easy to feel slighted because of a misunderstanding and assume it's a slight against you as a foreigner. But often as not, the same kind of thing could occur in your own country, and you would take it as an isolated incident.
