Like a Fish in Water: How to Grow Abroad When You Go Abroad

I purchased this book to help me be more adventurous and take more into consideration when traveling and experiencing other cultures and countries. Rich offers so many great tips and tricks for traveling, as well as many great stories from his own travels throughout the years. I believe this book can be a great tool to help you deal with the culture shock of being in another country. As well as aide you to push through those fears and to get the best experience possible. There are a lot of hands on activities in the book that are designed to help you process the highs and lows of being in a different country. I plan to go back and revisit them when I am abroad again. Highly recommend for anybody......... Great read!

The author's personal stories and those of his students brought me back to my own experiences traveling abroad and how I could approach them with a different lens moving forward. I like to think I’m well-traveled (5 continents, dozens of countries), but this book helped me to think about my own experiences through my unique “cultural lens”. I also love how he weaves in life lessons/philosophy along the way (the unfamiliar becomes the familiar). There’s a lot here that can be applied to domestic life as well: getting over insecurities, getting comfortable being uncomfortable. The writing style is very accessible to all ages and lends to the genuine and heartfelt voice of the author. As a parent of high school and university students that are/will be considering study abroad, I plan use this book as a reference and share it with them not only when they're underway, but as they're considering whether and where to study. I'm also going to use some of the suggested activities on my next international business trip. Highly recommend for anyone studying, traveling, interested in culture, or simply wanting a different perspective on how we live in our own bubbles.

Buy this book if you or your student is going to study abroad! It will help you maximize the experience like nothing else. If you really want to grow and see the world in a magical way, you need this book as your companion!!

Even though I didn't get a chance to study or even live abroad, I found the information I garnered from the book helpful in my daily life. I was even able to pass it on to people I knew who would be able to use it to study abroad.

This book is a true gift to the field of International Education. We read and analyzed it in our team book club circle, used content from it in our pre-departure & re-entry workshops, as well as gifted it to our study abroad students and faculty-led program leaders. The book is fast yet profoundly impactful read filled with true stories and rich lessons. It's a must read for every study abroad participant. Like a Fish in Water is a necessary companion of anyone going abroad.

Well, well, well, looks like I found my secret weapon to conquer the world! "Like a Fish in Water" is the ultimate guide to international living. Say goodbye to awkward cultural mishaps and hello to fitting in like a local – I'll be rubbing shoulders with the natives in no time. Studying abroad just got a whole lot more exciting, and who knows, maybe I'll discover my inner globetrotter! Watch out world, here I come!

Rich Kurtzman wrote an incredibly helpful guide not only for students studying abroad, but for their parents as well. This book has all of the essentials needed to get started, take off, and go forward abroad. More importantly, author Rich Kurtzman personally responded to my email when I was a nervous wreck prior to my son leaving for his abroad experience. What an incredible support that was! I cant recommend this book enough for anyone about to embark on the abroad experience.

The student thought this book was excellent

A great handbook for those looking to make the most of their time studying overseas, and then use that experience to build their character and career. Kurtzman's insight will be invaluable in addressing the nerves and uncertainties of young people who are heading abroad to learn and grow.

This is THE book to read if you, or your kids are studying abroad. So much stuff in here I wish I’d known before I went. Shame it wasn’t around then. Still lots of things in here I’ll take away. Benefit from all those years of lived experience and…big tip…read it BEFORE you go!!

Excellent! A must read for anyone thinking of spending any time in another country. The insights provide help to understand how to appreciate and enjoy the differences of other cultures, languages and ways of living.