From the book cover:

Greater numbers of high school students than ever before are participating in international exchange programs. The Exchange Student Survival Kit is written specifically to help students understand this unique experience better, and to avoid many of the common misunderstandings and problems that may occur in the course of their adjustment to a new culture, a new family, a new school, and a new community.

Beginning with an overview of the exchange experience, Ms. Hansel gives the readers insights into the special nature of the exchange student role and their relationships to the families and communities in which they are placed. In the second half of the book, we follow the course of a year-long exchange program studying each stage of the process using real incidents and examples taken from the experiences of dozens of exchange students and international travelers.

Bettina Hansel's writing is based on years of research and professional involvement with AFS Intercultural Programs. She received a Ph.D. in Geography from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and has both written and presented professionally on the dynamics of youth exchange programs.