*didn't really have any cultural shock

:p

I'm a Brazilian living in Japan right now, and, to be honest, I didn't think that making friends here was in any way more difficult than in Brazil, and I don't really had any cultural shock in this sense. Actually, usually the fact that everyone is from a different country makes things really interesting, and opened my eyes to different views of the world.

I don't know if you're thinking of a specific problem, but I think that, overall, if you don't disrespect on purpose other people's culture, then you'll have no problems, and, to be honest, I don't remember having such problem, not even once. In my experience until now, the students treat each other with respect when it comes to different cultures, and the only moment this comes into question is when people are curious to know about specific traditions or images they hold about that country. I think you must already feel very open to other cultures if you chose to study in a foreign country.

Now, the Japanese are really xenophobic, but, sadly, that's what I expected from them, too. They're very polite, so they don't really say to you that they don't like foreigners living here, but you can feel that, no matter what you do, you're being regarded as an Other and not just as a person.