10 biggest culture shocks no one told you about studying abroad

Everyone talks about how studying abroad will “change your life.” What they don’t tell you is that the change — and culture shocks — will hit like a truck.

Studies found that 65% of international students experience culture shock in their first few months overseas. That could mean anything from struggling to make friends, to feeling lost in a lecture hall, to being unsure how to greet someone without offending them.

These moments may seem small, but they add up and can seriously impact your confidence and overall experience.

But here’s the good news: once you know what to expect, culture shocks become much easier to manage. The key is knowing the most common — and most surprising — ones before you board that plane.

Because while homesickness is expected, things like classroom behaviour, food etiquette, or how people handle time might just catch you off guard.

The truth about culture shocks that no one tells you

Culture shock isn’t just a one-time hit — it’s a process. Experts call it the “U-curve” of adjustment: excitement at first, followed by frustration and confusion, then gradual adaptation. But most students aren’t warned about that middle dip. Instead, they blame themselves for not “fitting in” fast enough.

Here’s where you need to remember: feeling out of place doesn’t mean you made the wrong choice; it means you’re growing. It shows you’re stepping out of your comfort zone and confronting differences with honesty.

The more aware you are of what might challenge you, the better equipped you’ll be to handle it.

That’s why our next section doesn’t just list clichés. It breaks down 10 unexpected culture shocks that can throw international students off balance. If you’re prepared for them, they won’t derail you — they’ll shape you.

10 biggest culture shocks to expect when studying abroad

In certain countries, learning takes a more practical approach, while in others, it’s more lecture-based. Source: AFP

The classroom isn’t what you’re used to

The learning approach in the US and many European countries is more practical and encourages independent learning, unlike in countries like Malaysia and Turkey, where lecturers provide detailed instructions. Students often need to seek out resources, ask questions, and solve problems on their own.

It’s something Gülnaz Çavuşoğlu, an MS Data Science in Business and Entrepreneurship student at Jheronimus Academy of Data Science, experienced. 

“In Turkey, they provided us with all the theoretical background and information directly from the lecturers, and then they asked us to complete projects or assignments in Excel,” says Çavuşoğlu. “But in the Netherlands, you have to search for additional information and figure it out on your own.”

This approach is consistent even at the bachelor’s level. “I’ve talked with friends from my bachelor’s programme and Dutch friends, and they said it was the same for them,” she says. “The education style is quite different, and I wish I had known that before.”

A different social dynamic 

Moving to a new country comes with cultural challenges — different social norms, communication styles, and adapting to new routines and friendships. For Sharon Jessy, a Chevening scholar and LLM graduate from King’s College London, the biggest shift was social dynamics.

“In Malaysia, we like to involve everyone — connecting friends from different phases of our lives, going out in big groups,” she says. “But because the international students in UK-based universities come from all walks of life, some uni mates prefer one-on-one interactions and don’t mix social circles.”

Socialising also requires more planning in the UK. Jessy found this exhausting at first. “I have limited social energy, so I like to see everyone at once,” she says. “But I had to adapt and schedule time with those who matter.”

It’s common for students to wind up with a completely different group of friends by the final year, in comparison to their first. Source: AFP

Difficulty in making friends

One of the most unexpected shocks of studying abroad is how lonely it can feel. You may expect an instant social life, but language barriers, cultural differences, and tight-knit local circles can make things awkward. That was the case for a Grapevine user from India studying in the US.

“I attended social events, plastering on a smile while feeling completely out of place,” they write. “I tried joining study groups, clubs, anything to find my tribe. But I was met with polite indifference or, worse, patronising attempts at inclusivity that only highlighted how different I was.”

Sometimes, it takes months to form real bonds. The key? Patience, vulnerability, and putting yourself in uncomfortable situations like the local. Or, if you’re willing to give it a go, this international student created an app to help you find friends in a new city.

The brutal reality of the winter months

If you’ve grown up in a warm country, winter in the UK or the US can hit you hard.

It’s not just the cold — it’s the grey skies, short daylight hours, and constant drizzle or snow that can mess with your mood and routine. In northern England or the northeastern US, the sun sets as early as 2:30 p.m. in December, with temperatures often below freezing.

“The weather in Southeast Asia is hot all year long. When I went to the US, it was at the end of summer. The sunset was at 9pm, but it slowly turned into gloomy weather without sun at all,” Muylin Saing, a student from Cambodia, says about the change in seasons. “So when I have class at 8am and have to start getting ready at 7am, it really affects your mood. I feel oddly stressed and depressed during that time.”

This sense of time distortion is only made worse by how everything else slows down. Businesses, banks, and even restaurants often shorten their hours in winter, while people tend to stay indoors.

In the first half of 2024, South Korea welcomed over 200,00 international students. Source: AFP

Cult members approach you in the open in South Korea

A digital powerhouse. Fried chicken and beer. Cherry blossoms galore. The Hallyu fever. Jeju Island. These are standard terms you’d see associated with South Korea, one of the most advanced countries in the world. 

Here’s another term to add to the list: cults. Specifically, religious cults.

Study International’s very own Nicole Chin studied in South Korea for her undergraduate degree, and their open recruitment is more common than you think.

“Cult members would recruit people in broad daylight,” says Chin. “They’ll approach you asking if you’re visiting or a student in South Korea, then they’ll ask you if you’re interested in Korean culture. If you are, the next step would be them asking you to be friends and hang out with them at a place where they participate in traditional Korean culture events.”

College students are the perfect, naive, lonely target for these cult members. If successfully coerced, these graduates are seen as potential financial support for the cults.

As a tip: avoid older Korean men and women asking you to follow them to a cafe.

The lack of privacy in US public bathrooms

“On my first ever toilet trip in the US at the airport when I was 16, a child crawled under my cubicle door,” says a TikTok user.

The fact that most people in the West clean up using toilet paper, since public bathrooms aren’t equipped with bidets, is common knowledge. Everyone else crinkles their nose and complains about it. What comes as a shock is another issue in the public bathrooms – their lack of privacy.

You’ll often find bathroom stalls with doors that don’t reach the floor, the bottom gap sometimes as big as 12 inches. Some have gaps between stall doors, giving way to unintentional peeks.

It’s something even their own people hate. According to a survey conducted by Bradley Corporation, 72% of 1,032 Americans agree that public bathrooms lack proper coverage.

The sheer cost of attaining an education holds many people back from their fullest potential. Source: AFP

There’s a glaring wealth gap in schools

Being able to study abroad despite coming from humble backgrounds is a piece of good fortune. The different types of student backgrounds at university might just come as a shock, however.

“I genuinely lost count of how many student-owned Teslas I’ve seen on campus,” a Reddit user wrote. “I’ve been told tons of stories of people going on family vacations across Europe, China, or any other typical upper-middle-class tourist spot you can think of.”

Coming from a low-income area, they were blown away by the sheer wealth of some of their peers – but wealth gaps have been a longtime perpetrator of the disparity in higher education.

In 2023, a Harvard-based research study on Opportunity Insights reported that children of the richest 1% of Americans were 13 times more likely to score 1300 or higher on their SAT or ACT tests, in comparison to children from low-income families.

And it certainly isn’t because children from low-income families aren’t capable, no. It’s due to the lack of educational opportunity often bestowed on marginalised communities.

Native English speakers aren’t the most considerate of non-native speakers

Eléa Tessier started learning English at six in her hometown in the French countryside. 

Even with that advantage, though, she didn’t actively use the language unless it was in class or to watch films. So, moving to England to study abroad still proved a communicative challenge.

“It was really difficult to understand what people were saying because of the accents and how fast people would speak. I was just struggling to understand them, and the slang as well,” says Tessier. It makes sense as there are almost 40 distinct dialects in England.

“Sometimes I would just answer a question completely wrong,” she adds. “Maybe it was just the people I was living with at the time, but they didn’t really feel any sort of compassion.”

If it was a struggle for Tessier, who’d been learning English since young, imagine what it would be like for those who don’t start early. 

This isn’t just a UK issue either – it’s a native English speaker issue.

Nauru, an island country in Oceania, has the highest smoking rates in the world. Source: AFP

The different social perspectives on smoking 

Countries like Mexico, Lithuania, Sweden, Uruguay, and more have imposed strict anti-smoking laws, preserving the health of millions of people with the absence of secondhand smoke.

But if you’re from a country in Southeast Asia or the Balkan region of Europe – two regions home to the highest smoking rates in the world. In countries like Myanmar, Serbia, and Indonesia, smoking is second nature.

One Reddit user highlighted the fact that smoking is “prevalent and widely accepted” in Europe as a culture shock when they visited. “The smoking rates in most European countries are really high, and it shows when visiting,” they wrote.

Another added, “Not only that, but the number of people that rolled their own cigarettes.”

Be prepared to feel out of place

It goes without saying: when you move to a new country, you will feel like a fish out of water. Not only are you surrounded by a community that isn’t yours, but in many places, people will identify you as someone who isn’t part of theirs.

When Mayowa Gidi first moved from Nigeria to Canada, this wasn’t his experience. There was a present African community in Canada surrounding him while he completed his diploma in 3D arts.

When he moved to Sweden to do his master’s, however, it was a different story.

“Here, I feel like a full-on minority,” says Gidi. “Everybody here is extremely European; there is no one who looks like me here. It is very isolating, and it’s not their fault — they’re very nice people. You just feel like a stranger.”