If someone from Iceland, Ghana, or Oman were to visit you in the States, wouldn’t you want them to understand some things about your culture before they arrived?
From popular culture, movies, YouTube videos, articles, blog posts, and travel guides, we can derive culture, cultural context and clues. We encourage you to do this as you prepare to visit someone else’s home country! Here’s a list of resources that may help you understand your host culture and ease the transition between home and host countries:
Recommended Guides:
Lonely Planet
Diversity Abroad
Frommer’s
Travel and Leisure
CIA World Factbook: Vietnam
Trip Advisor #CISabroadtip: check out their smartphone app too!
Books to Read Before You Go:
Vietnam: A Traveller’s Literary Companion by Qui Doc Nguyen
Vietnam: Journeys of Body, Mind and Spirit by Van Huy Nguyen
To Asia with Love: A Connoisseur’s Guide to Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam by Kim Fay
Recommended Videos and Movies:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuJJ7LL-Mgs
More video Resources:
Travel Tips: Why you need a U.S. Passport Card
Travel Tips: How to Not Look Like a Tourist While Traveling
Language Resources:
Google translate
Word Lens
Mango Languages
iTranslate
Learn a language for free: the five best websites
Living Language
busuu
Duolingo
Memrise
Other Resources