{"id":1027,"date":"2017-05-12T06:32:44","date_gmt":"2017-05-12T13:32:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ushhost.com\/blog\/?p=1027"},"modified":"2017-05-28T21:45:56","modified_gmt":"2017-05-29T04:45:56","slug":"how-to-learn-about-your-international-students-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ushhost.com\/blog\/how-to-learn-about-your-international-students-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Learn About Your International Student\u2019s Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"

It should go without saying that hosting an international student is going to give you an unrivaled education in a foreign culture. While that\u2019s definitely something to look forward to, take measures so that you\u2019ll have a much easier time asking your student questions.<\/p>\n

Read Up on What Other Students from Their Countries Have Had to Say
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\nLong before your international student comes to stay with you, you can begin preparing by doing some Internet searches for what other students from their country have had to say about staying in America.<\/p>\n

Now, as we\u2019ll cover a bit more in a moment, you have to remember that every student is their own person. The way that one student viewed America isn\u2019t necessarily going to be the way others will.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, this kind of research should give you some pretty helpful insights and an idea into what you can expect from your student.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Make Assumptions<\/p>\n

Another thing you can do is to simply read up on their country\u2019s customs and culture. You don\u2019t want to be completely ignorant of these things when your student arrives. They may be insulted, but they may also wonder how you could know so little about something so important to them.<\/p>\n

That being said, don\u2019t make assumptions. It\u2019s all too easy for us Americans to do that, despite the fact that we hate when others do it to us. Our country is extremely diverse in terms of religion, politics, race, sexual orientation, and more.<\/p>\n

While the home country of your guest may not be quite as diverse, it probably isn\u2019t completely homogenous either.<\/p>\n

Therefore, when you ask questions to learn about their culture, don\u2019t make assumptions.<\/p>\n

For example: \u201cYou must like soccer, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Maybe they do, but maybe they don\u2019t. That\u2019s far from an offensive question, but it would be far better to say something like, \u201cWhat kinds of sports do you like?\u201d If they say soccer, your research will give you plenty to talk about, which will also show your student that you looked into the subject beforehand, which they\u2019ll appreciate.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Overwhelm Them with Questions<\/p>\n

There\u2019s nothing wrong with wanting to learn about your international student\u2019s culture. That\u2019s one of the best parts about the entire experience. As we mentioned earlier, your student will most likely be flattered you\u2019re so curious.<\/p>\n

At the same time, don\u2019t overwhelm them too much, especially at first. Let your questions come naturally over the course of a conversation. Don\u2019t get so excited that you just sit them down and let your questions out rapid-fire.<\/p>\n

Treat Them Like an Individual<\/p>\n

As we\u2019ve already touched on, you need to be careful not to stereotype your student. They aren\u2019t a carbon copy of everyone else from their country. The sooner you let them express their unique characteristics, the sooner they will be comfortable around you and a real connection can begin.<\/p>\n

Again, don\u2019t grill them. To some degree, this always takes time and there\u2019s absolutely nothing wrong with that.<\/p>\n

Instead, just spend time with them. Anything from sharing meals to running errands can provide ample opportunity to learn about your student\u2019s culture.<\/p>\n

Once you have a connection established and they better understand your intentions, they\u2019ll also be a lot more open to direct questions about their country and culture.<\/p>\n

Hosting an international student will teach you things about a foreign culture you could never hope to learn any other way. It\u2019s only natural that you\u2019d want to begin learning from your student right away, too. However, we recommend taking a slightly more casual approach. Follow the advice above and you\u2019ll gain a brand new perspective while keeping your student comfortable at the same time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It should go without saying that hosting an international student is going to give you an unrivaled education in a foreign culture. While that\u2019s definitely something to look forward to, take measures so that you\u2019ll have a much easier time asking your student questions. Read Up on What Other Students from Their Countries Have Had to Say Long before your international student comes to stay with you, you can begin preparing by doing some Internet searches for what other students…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes"},"categories":[35,66],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ushhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1027"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ushhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ushhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ushhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ushhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1027"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.ushhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1027\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1086,"href":"https:\/\/www.ushhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1027\/revisions\/1086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ushhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ushhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ushhost.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}