Poor information boosts culture shock

KHUSHNAM Kasad remembers the culture shock of seeing half-naked people on the beach but she knows this was a small problem compared with the ones that other international students have to grapple with.

KHUSHNAM Kasad remembers the culture shock of seeing half-naked people on the beach but she knows this was a small problem compared with the ones that other international students have to grapple with.

Ms Kasad, 25, arrived from Mumbai in July 2006 to undertake a masters degree in exercise rehabilitation at Melbourne's Victoria University.

She said difficulties for some people began from the moment they arrived. "We don't have enough information before we leave home," she pointed out.

Further, students who need to find their own accommodation may be too busy doing so to participate properly in university orientation, which means when classes begin they are unsure where and when to go, doubling the disadvantage.

Students are not allowed to work more than 20 hours a week under the terms of their visas, but she knows some who do, and are further handicapped because these jobs also keep them away from their studies.

Lara Kulkarni, from Goa in southern India, is doing the same course as MsKasad. At 29 the physiotherapist has managed the challenges well, but she said it can be hard finding work.