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 Books and Guides:
Lonely Planet
Diversity Abroad
Frommer’s
Travel and Leisure
CIA Factbook
Trip Advisor #CISabroadtip: check out their smartphone app too!

Recommended Videos and Movies:
Travel Tips: How You Need to Pack to Study Abroad
Travel Tips: How To Not Look Like A Tourist While Traveling
Travel Tips: Best Travel Apps
Travel Tips: Why you need a U.S. Passport Card

 

Language Resources:
Google translate
Word Lens
Mango Languages
iTranslate
Learn a language for free: the five best websites
Living Language
busuu
Duolingo
Memrise

Books:

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down – Anne Fadiman

A Short History of Laos: The Land in Between – Grant Evans

Lao Hill Tribes – Stephen Mansfield

Buddhist Temple Life in Laos: Wat Lok Pa Luang – Ilse Schrama