In many countries the prevailing stereotype of American students is that they hang out too much together and do not try very hard to get to know their hosts. While it is important that you spend some of your free time sharing and discussing your discoveries with fellow students who are having similar experiences in cultural adjustment, try as much as you can to forge an identity that separates you from the group of Americans. The staff of Penn Abroad believe that, to be effective, study abroad must be primarily an individual experience that leads to personal intellectual growth. To that end, whenever possible, options are made available for individual placement in a home stay family or in a dormitory with host country students, rather than in group housing. Students are also encouraged and given assistance to participate in language partner programs or become classroom assistants in local schools.
Many students become involved in their local communities through volunteer work.
In some sites, it is possible to arrange unpaid internships or other experiential learning activities. In short, the staff of programs affiliated with Penn Abroad is constantly seeking ways to maximize your contact with the host culture on an individual basis. The quality of your intercultural experience while abroad will be almost entirely in your hands. It is not always easy to make friends with local students and you will have to work at it. You will need to put yourself in situations where you create the likelihood of encounters and exchanges of ideas, for example, by joining clubs and participating in student activities, playing sports, or volunteering.