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How to Get Ready for Studying Abroad It was ail so misleadingly simple. I had studied French in college, and my university offered a year abroad in France. My scholarship would apply; credit for courses was assured; advisers were available on campus to discuss passports, visas, shots, international student IDs and driver’’s licenses. A charter flight had been booked and housing had been arranged. There was even a list of suggestions for packing. What could be simpler Of course, we were told at the orientation meetings that it might be difficult to adjust to a foreign language, strange customs, and the European academic system. I remember paying insufficient attention. "The tour is arranged," I said to myself. "Everything works out." And everything did work out--more or less--but I came across some big surprises. If you are planning to study overseas, let me suggest a few key points to consider before you leave the USA. Learn the Language In France, they speak French. Why, then, did I not strive vigorously to learn the language before I arrived The requirement of two years of college French is minimal. One of my teachers warned that I was only marginally grounded in the language. But learning to speak French in the US was hard work, so I put it off until I got to France, where I assumed language skills could be acquired effortlessly. Unfortunately, I was so embarrassed by my poor command of the language that I was afraid to speak. Help came in the form of a Gallic proverb: "In order to speak good French, you have to relax; and in order to relax, you have to drink wine. "At least half of that adage (谚语) proved to be true. The greatest obstacle to learning a foreign language isn’’t vocabulary or grammar or pronunciation; it’’ s self-consciousness. I eventually learned to relax while making ridiculous mistakes. Don’’t Insist on the American Way Adjusting to another country demands changes in behavior and an open mind. Daily bathing, for example, is an American way of life, while many European cannot imagine why anyone would want to shower more often than once a week. Because I lived in a dorm, I could follow my hygienic habits, and the French theirs. But in some student housing, such freedom wasn’’t possible, either because the proprietors (经营者) considered dally showers extravagant or because there were no showers at all. Social interactions can be a lot more complex. In France, for instance, a woman will not let a man pay for so much as a cup of espresso (浓咖啡) --to do so would be equal to inviting amorous (性爱的) advances. American women were assumed to play by the same rules, whether they knew the rules or not. On the other hand, the French see absolutely nothing wrong with a group of young men dancing together. We male Americans were not about to dance without women--until one night when we went out on the town with several male French friends, and the lot of them took to the dance floor. Whenever such cultural customs conflicted, I had to choose to remain aloof and risk offending, or embrace their ways. I dance. Some of these rules and customs can be learned in advance; others are picked up easily abroad. Remaining flexible is the key. Be Prepared for Independent Study The cultural difference that jolted me the most was in the university system itself. In Europe, the professor is a man on a pedestal (显要地位), expecting and receiving deference. His contact with students is minimal. Even in the classroom, students neither question nor discuss the material presented. Attendance at the once-a-week classes is entirely voluntary. No assignments are given. The final exam does not consist of materials presented in lectures. The course is defined not by how much material a professor covers, but by a syllabus which lists the texts, periods, or literary works the student is expected to be familiar with. The classroom is supplemental, a model for the kind of preparation the student should be doing. Classroom discussion, mid-term exams, threats of pop quizzes, an occasional paper--in short, all those methods of forcing the students to do the work--are missing. Go the Tourist Route in Moderation When classes meet infrequently, the lust to wander is hard to resist. Living abroad meant that I could usually take short excursions--a week here, four days there. At Easter I splurged (挥霍) with a 25-day swing (two weeks were a school holiday) through seven European countries. After three weeks, churches, museums, historic sites, even countrysides and people began to run together. I can still recall Florence, one of the first stops on that marathon, in great detail; Munich, one of the last stops, is hazy, indistinct. All in all, the brief trips I made were far more satisfying than my longer expeditions. Moreover, all that art and history can become a blur (模糊的东西) if you don’’t know what you are seeing. When touring Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur and Montmartre, the Louvre, I could respond to their beauty with considerable respect but no much understanding. I wished I had taken a general course in art and history before going to Europe. Stay Loose Because we had come for all extended stay and spoke (at least haltingly) the language, many opportunities for making friends were opened up to us. We met French undergraduates in university classes and at the student restaurants where we ate all our meals. Others came to the meetings of a Franco-American club, which also arranged parties, dances, evenings of entertainment, and sporting events to bring Americans and French together. Some strong attachments were formed, but we naturally met with some anti-American sentiment as well. The best course was to ignore it, but discussions with fellow students about American political actions and policies were inevitable. In France, the course is defined by a ________.