Reading Between the Lines

First, I find Barna's article very informative and fit well in most of my experiences when I was settling and adapting to the U.S. Hence, I am going to give an example for each "stumbling block" throughout my experience in Australia so far as a perspective of an international student.

1) Assumption of Similarities

Generally, I have not encountered any noticeable assumptions of similarities both from myself toward the host country people and from the hosts toward me. Since I have exposed to intercultural differences and have been used to being the minority for years, I have formed the habit not to assume anything and just keep my mind open for learning and exploring. Besides that, Australia perhaps has also been exposed to multiculturalism with a long history bind into the nation as part of the culture, I have found myself being treat very well: neither like a person with a foreigner looking nor "you must be an Asian Aussie." Instead, they tended to allow me to introduce myself or greeted me with a friendly manner as they might great any other.

2) Language

Overall, my English is good enough to communicate well for these necessary purposes: asking for help/information, studying, making friends/having fun, filling forms/applications and reading public signs/messages. However, I sometimes have problems with Australian accents. Therefore, some fast and informative speaking occasions such as lectures, micro/speaker announcements (with the bad sounding quality), and TV news, I would feel lost. Another problem I had is to understand some casual conversations and jokes which required certain cultural knowledge or backgrounds.

However, if I have to be a bit more "picky," I'd say perhaps that is because I have not lived here long enough to encounter the subtle assumptions.

3) Nonverbal Misinterpretations

For this particular stumbling block, I would say I do not encounter any so far because generally, Australian people are also an open-minded culture in which attitudes generally do not so much rely on gestures or facial expressions.  

4) Preconceptions and Stereotypes

In term of stereotypes, I could say this particular stereotype is related to the first stumbling block. The assumption of similarities (also, stereotypes in this case) I have toward the Australian people is that their lifestyle, beliefs and values are very similar to that of the American people. I tend to generalize sometimes using the term the "Western world." So far, my assumption is still applicable because from my perspective, there are more similarities than differences compared to my original country. Nevertheless, when I interviewed five Australians for opinions on the Americans, two answered they found more similarities, while three tended to claim the differences. 

5) Tendency to Evaluate

This is an interesting one. If I show my straight forward opinion, I might sound like I do have a "tendency to evaluate." But if I don't do so, nothing gets evaluated, and no truth get revealed. Barna (1998, p.343) mentioned that a foreigner secretly does not like the question: "how do you like it here?," and most of the answers tend to be positive to serve the polite purpose, instead of honesty. In my opinions, Australian people, similar to American people, are usually too afraid to be not polite and hence, tend to distort the actual thinking they have in their mind when got asked for opinions. In other words, they avoid the "tendency to evaluate" and more likely to say something nicer. Of course, this is not a bad thing at all. It's just if you decide to be closer or to form an honest friendship, the action of "breaking the chain" might be necessary.
The problems related stumbling block tie back to the question: "can we be objective at all? Or anyone always have some sort of bias, and it is okay...just understand it?     

6) High Anxiety

The anxiety and depression due to lack of support from family and the on-going pressure to meet up your surroundings' expectation are not surprising to me. Putting in a different way, I see myself as having a "floating life" and have been used to the lifestyle where I tend to not rely or look for stable things (because it did not work). Therefore, such attitude is a form of coping mechanism toward any vulnerability, self-esteem attack, frustration I might encounter while living away from home. Hence, I do not experience any major anxiety in Australia compared to when I was in America (because I was there longer). The most recent stress I have been through was when I have to write a hard paper within a short period of time. When I felt the stomachache, I decided to sleep to lessen the pain. I did not know that I was stress until this physiological reaction occurred.

In short, the six stumbling blocks might be unfamiliar with whoever rarely travel. However, to who has been abroad, especially the "long-term experts," these stumbling blocks are not only no longer surprising, but also treated like any other facts. They can be overcome with the help of time and willingness to change attitudes within each individual. However, some of them would never completely disappear as long as one does not settle down to live in one place.

References:
Barna, L.M. “Stumbling Blocks in Intercultural Communication.” In Larry A. Samovar and R.E. Porter,
Intercultural Communication: A Reader, 7th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 337-346.