For study abroad students the difficulty of cross-cultural barriers is a very real thing. Years ago this problem was much more difficult to overcome. Through hand-held translation dictionaries or memorization of important terms, students were able to make their way through cities where language barriers were quite difficult to overcome. 
However, many times students became homesick as they were quite disconnected from that feeling of "home", which may have affected what the students took away from the entire cultural experience. Today, this is still true to some extent. "Yet with the development of the Internet, cell phones, and a range of social media platforms, the perception that going to study in a foreign country means cutting off or reducing contact with friends and family at home has changed" (Sandel, 2014, p. 2). In fact studies conducted recently have proven that students connected to social media who are studying abroad not only have less stress, they are also more in-tune with their cultural surroundings. They are also more likely to bond with students who are currently or have been involved with study abroad programs and connect more with their surroundings (Sandel, 2014). Technology and social media are paving the way to ease the stresses of studying abroad and helping to break down some of the cultural barriers that study abroad students have faced for a very long time.
References
Sandel, T. L. (2014). “Oh, I’m Here!”: Social
Media’s Impact on the Cross-cultural
Adaptation of Students
Studying Abroad. Journal Of Intercultural Communication
Research, 43(1), 1-29. doi:10.1080/17475759.2013.865662
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