Topic: cultural shock of international students (ISs) experience in the course of studying in a new environment. Introduction Attention getter: There are about 4.6 million ISs enrolled to various institutions of higher learning around the world. About 1.1 million of them are in the US. Since such students go to countries which are new to them, they face a high risk of experiencing culture shock. They might fail to integrate well with the cultures which they find in the new places. Much focus lies in the kind of reception which they obtain in their new environments. Thesis statement: This narrative seeks to show how ISs experience culture shock and approaches which can be taken to address it through leveraging on cultural competence (CQ), community support and using an integrated model