I think the working part was a required part of orientation.  In many cases many internatioanal students come from  a very different cultures, thus a brief explanation of what is observed in US can be very helpful. The bathing part, laundry might have been such a intent. I myself had to take a entire 2 credit course in US Cultures. It was a requirement when i came here. Nepal bata dherai students haru aauchhan so most of us know what to expect here, but its not the case for everyone else. We had a student from Russia who when a cop here pulled him over, got out of car and tried to approach the cop when he should have just remained in his car. The cop simply drew his gun and took him to the station. So a bit of education on the American Way of living wouldt hurt I thnk.