How do study-abroad students adjust to a new academic system? Can anyone really make life-long friends in just a few months? How do you decide which home comforts are important enough to pack for a semester abroad? What exactly is culture shock? In her debut book, What They Don’t Tell You About Studying Abroad, author Emma Howard answers all these questions and more. Drawing on a medley of scholarly research, personal experience, and insightful interviews, Howard uncovers the good, the bad, and the ugly of life in a foreign country. From unfamiliar public transit to a different grade scale, this book details the hardest parts of spending a semester away from home — and why you should do it anyway.