>I would be curious if someone who had the same experiences but was less isolated and had social nets would have a very different take.

That's me, and I totally have a different take.

I studied abroad as a foreign language major - but only after three full years of studying the language and culture of the country I was visiting. It was an enriching experience and I felt pretty comfortable navigating the country socially and professionally. Study abroad was a requirement for me to graduate. I did the longer trip after a previous two week trip to the same place. I met via skype with my professor back in the US weekly for an independent study course, and that gave me the chance to reflect and make sense of my experiences with a trusted mentor (who was a native of the country herself). The professor even dropped by to visit me in person during her summer trip to the country.

I think all of these things factored into making it an amazing experience and time of growth, as opposed to an isolating and depressing experience. Even with all that support and background knowledge I still dealt with my fair share of culture shock, home sickness, and isolation - all of which are important parts of the learning experience, in appropriate doses. But without the support system and preparation I had, I would imagine that the experience could have been very negative.

Study abroad is an incredible and enriching experience - but it takes a lot more resources than just buying a college kid a plane ticket to another country and sending them on their way. Of course that can be useful for a certain adventurous types as well. But institutionally, study abroad takes deliberate planning and support to make it meaningful for everybody who participates. Otherwise it can surely be just as bad as this author makes it out to be.

How fluent were you in the language after three years? Three years of French or Spanish might put you much further ahead than three years of Mandarin or Russian, for example.

It was German. I was (am?) fluent enough to function in a professional office environment without falling back on English. Of course it was a luxury to be in a country where I know 90% of people can just switch to English if the conversation goes off the rails

I agree with your reading, it feels like most of his issues were due to very different culture and language.

As an European who attended university in four European countries I can attest how enriching and fulfilling those years have been, and how much I have grown.

I would strongly recommend studying abroad to anybody who has the chance. Even as an introvert it was easy to make friends.

To me it comes down to the language barrier. Not having a good command of English (or the local language) hinders your ability to integrate with the locals. Learning English for a person from a Western country is way easier than for a Chinese person.

From my experience in the UK it was not. I spoke enough english to write and defend a PHD thesis. Yet I could never "click" with British society... even while being the "friendly mexican" I was just that... and i did want to get more "assimilated " by the culture.

It's a cultural thing, some cultures are more open and welcoming than others.

My daughter spent her freshman year in the International dorm and noticed that most foreign students tend to keep to their own nationality.

Maybe there was no other Chinese students to hang with?

(She's currently on the student committee whose purpose is to get intl' students to interact outside their cliques. But I wonder how many there will actually be this Fall term.)

At my college, the Chinese students tend to hangout with each other a lot and they are in great numbers so kinda developed a sub culture.

I was a Mexican doing a phd in the uk. I deffinitely felt isolated of the English people per se but the international student community was amazing. You always are "the expat"

But IME that's nothing to do with studying. I had the same experience later while working in Germany