Globalization has resulted in an increased number of foreign workers in Indonesia. Nevertheless, not all foreign workers can easily adapt to the culture, business, and social situation of the host country. According to cross-cultural literature, the cultural adjustment has been considered as the prerequisite for the success of the expatriates overseas. This study aims to investigate factors that affect the success of the international assignment. Using a qualitative case study approach, this

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... dy interviewed five expatriates working in the education industry in Central Java based on the U-curve cultural adjustment theory. The result of this study demonstrates that the inability of an expatriate to adjust with the host country was due to the lack of preparation toward the culture of the host country, resistance with the new culture, conflict-avoiding behavior, and the lack of two-way communication between the expatriate and the local staffs. 501 to explore a new culture. However, it might also invite a slight sense of anxiety caused by culture shock, causing an individual to spend more time to adjust to the new work and social culture (Oberg, 1960) . According to Singh & Rani (2019) , culture shock is a common phenomenon during the adjustment process of an international assignment. An individual who experiences culture shock would take months to adjust to the new environment and culture. Culture shock does not merely relate to different social norms or experiencing new foods since it tends to have an impact on immigrants even after they are getting used to and feels comfortable in the new cultures (Mendenhall & Oddou, 1985) . There are many ways to deal with culture shock during the cultural adjustment process. Lysgaard (1955) states that an expatriate usually has to go through 4 levels of cultural adjustment: honeymoon period, cultural shock, gradual adjustment, and feeling at home. The honeymoon period occurs when an individual fascinated by the new culture of the new society. This fascination, however, would soon turn into anxiety as the individual realized that he/she has to deal with the new culture on a day-to-day basis -causing a cultural shock. After a certain period of time, the individual would gradually adjust to the new culture and learning how to behave appropriately. An individual would feel at home after they are effectively functioning in the new culture. These four levels can be described in the form of a U-curve, and be known as the "Lysgaard U-curve model" (Lysgaard, 1955) . Based on the review of previous research on cross-cultural adjustment topics, several gaps could be identified. Firstly, there is a lack of attention to the cultural adjustment process in the education sector despite the growing number of expatriates due to the rise of the global education export industry. The focus of cultural adjustment research in the last decade were on the trade and services sector, and was rarely conducted in