Welcome Back! We hope that your study abroad program provided you with unforgettable experiences and invaluable memories. Right now you may be feeling a variety of emotions while you adjust to being back home, just as you experienced when you first arrived overseas. We would like to help make this transition a little easier by providing you with information about Reverse Culture Shock or Re-entry Shock.

Reverse Culture Shock

 What Is It?

Does it feel as though your friends and family don't understand the importance of your experience abroad?

Do they ask questions about your time overseas, but then seem to lose interest after a few minutes? Does everyday life here seem to be so trivial?

Do you feel any of these emotions?

Depression	Wanting to be Alone
Uncertainty	Changing goals and priorities
Confusion	Negativity towards the US
Restlessness	Reverse homesickness

If these questions identify feelings you've been having recently, you may be experiencing "reverse culture shock". Just what is this phenomenon? In the same way that you may have experienced culture shock when you were adjusting to your new cultural surroundings abroad, you will now experience a re-adjustment period in the United States.

While you were abroad, you may have initially looked at some local customs as silly and wondered why people there did not "do things right" or do things "the American way." Over time you probably lost some of these feelings and began to feel that your host culture had even better customs and ways of dealing with situations than at home. Now that you've returned to the U.S., you may experience similar feelings, wondering why Americans don't do things right or follow what you have now come to believe as the correct way to deal with a situation.

Every individual deals with these feelings in a different way. Some people want to be left alone by everyone and allow interaction only with others who were abroad with them. Others will want to tell everyone they meet all about their experiences abroad! Some returnees will have a difficult time finding anything positive to say about the U.S., while others will hardly feel out of place at all.

The real key to re-entering your home culture is to realize that there may be frustrations with readjusting to life in the United States, and that the frustrations are a normal part of the total learning process, and an on-going part of your entire cross-cultural experience.

If friends, roommates or parents seem to be somewhat mystified or bothered by your behavior once you're back home, you may want to explain to them a little about reverse culture shock and what you're experiencing. Knowing what is happening and that there is a process of adjustment going on can make you more understandable to those close to you, and can help them to be more supportive and understanding of what you're going through.

Stages of Reverse Culture Shock

Emotional Health

Most students expect to experience culture shock when they arrive in their host country, but did you expect it when you returned home? This shock can be attributed to your new attitudes, values and perceptions that you developed while abroad. Research has shown that re-entry shock is at least as frequent as the initial culture shock. It is therefore an inevitable part of your study abroad experience.

STAGE 1: Disengagement
While you are still abroad, you begin to start thinking about moving back to the U.S. and moving away from your overseas experience and friends.

STAGE 2: Euphoria
You may be very excited to be back in your own country and others may be equally delighted to have you back. After people express their pleasure at seeing you again, and listen politely to your stories for a few minutes, you may suddenly and/or painfully realize that they are not particularly interested in what happened to you and would much rather prefer to talk about their own affairs.

STAGE 3: Alienation
In this stage, you experience dampened euphoria with feelings of alienation, frustration and anger. You may even feel like an outsider - a foreigner in your own country. America will be different from how you remembered it (The pollution may be worse. The pace may be more hurried and hectic, etc.) Suddenly you feel irritated with others and impatient with your own inability to do things as well or as quickly as you hoped. Resentment, loneliness, disorientation and even a sense of helplessness may pervade.

STAGE 4: Gradual Readjustment
The fourth stage of reentry includes a gradual readjustment to life at home. During this stage, you will no longer be shocked by the variety you find on the supermarket shelves and be able to contain your comments about differences between cultures that come to your attention. If you have difficulty filtering out the foreign words in your conversation, you will find that your English-only conversational skills will improve during stage four.

Comments

It may be helpful for you to identify with your fellow returnees. They will be able to relate to your growing pains and can provide you with needed support as you readjust to living at home. The best immediate remedy for reentry shock is to talk to others who have gone through a study abroad experience. They will be natural partners for communication.

Communicating will reduce your sense of loneliness and frustration. Rest assured, you will eventually regain your balance and reach Stage 4, where your overseas experience becomes an integrated part of your life!

If you are experiencing any emotional stress, are having a difficult time readjusting or feel the need for individual counseling, please contact the Counseling Services in 108 Murphy Hall at 334-7727.

Physical Health

You should not expect problems adjusting back to the local cuisine. Some students, however, do experience some bouts of diarrhea, colds, and other minor discomforts after returning.

If you do not feel well or are returning from a developing country, please see your primary care physician for a check-up.

Coping with Reverse Culture Shock

One way to ease back into life here is to spend some time with people who have also had experiences abroad, or those who are just beginning to plan their own journey abroad. Contact OIP for volunteer opportunities and to speak with students who are considering the program you went on; keep up your language studies; take a course with international flavor; get to know an international student in one of your classes; keep up your reading of international current events. These activities as well as many others will help to keep you in touch with your overseas experience, and will allow your learning and growth from that experience to continue here in the U.S.

Hints to Make Transition Easier

Remember that you are experiencing a transition with distinct stages. You may encounter all or none of the feelings described in the four stages of Reverse Culture Shock. Learn ways to take care of yourself and ease into your surroundings.

Realize that most students experience some stress readjusting to the American culture - you are not alone! Typically, the more you immersed yourself in the host culture, the more difficult you may find reentry. Find someone who can update you on the university, local and national changes that may have taken place while you were abroad.

You may recognize that many of your values and beliefs have changed. Learn to incorporate this new way of thinking into your life.

Understand that your friendships and relationships might change as a function of your new experiences. Explore new places and people with whom you can share your international experiences.

Recognize that you need some time to adjust to the hectic pace and pressures of university life. Learn to gradually increase the pace of your academic studies and extracurricular activities. You may notice that the "old ways" of managing your time and stress are no longer appropriate. Seek counsel from academic advisors, "veteran" study abroad students, and other supportive faculty and staff.

Recording Your Experiences

Just as you may have done when you were abroad, you may choose to keep a journal of your experiences and feelings after you return to the U.S. Some possible questions to ask yourself are:

• What did I learn about the host culture? About myself?
• How can I apply what I learned to my life back in the U.S.?
• Who will listen to my stories? Who could I meet with (the OIP, campus organizations, etc.) to get more involved in international activities?
• Do I think of the U.S. any differently now that I have returned? What do I like most about my home culture? The least?
• What advice would I give to those who are leaving tomorrow for my host country? How did I learn those things?
• How could I describe the "world" that now surrounds me? How does this differ from the "world" I just left?

Staying Involved

In addition to keeping a journal for private reflection, do you feel like you want to do more? Would you like to compare your experiences with others who have been abroad, or even share those feelings with students who are about to go? Consider the following options that will help you stay involved with study abroad.

• Volunteer at OIP to help recruit students to study abroad. You will be able to share your experiences, both positive and negative, with students who are interested in going to the same country that you lived in. Don't you wish someone had done this with you before you left?
• Fill out a study abroad program evaluation form. The OIP will keep it on hand to share with students who are looking for a first-hand perspective.
• Maintain your language proficiency by contacting the Department of Foreign Languages to join (or start!) a foreign language club, tune into short wave, cable TV foreign language news channels, and/or the internet.
• Get involved with the International Student Association. You're international too!
• Contact the"A&T Register" to see if they would be interested in doing a spotlight on study abroad, featuring your experiences.
• Contact OIP to volunteer to help international students from your host country, or another country.
• Enroll in the Global Studies Certificate program (GSCP) where you can directly apply what you learned from your recent academic and travel experiences.
• Talk to your professors and advisor about conducting a project(s) that extends themes addressed in your experiences abroad.

Maintaining Language Proficiency

After spending a summer, semester or year in a non-English speaking country, you no doubt developed language skills that take years to perfect in the classroom. Now that you have this ability, don't you want to keep it? Here are some suggestions for maintaining your language proficiency:

• Register for a class taught in the target language.
• Stay in touch with your friends and host family abroad. Make an arrangement so that they can not only practice English, but you can practice their native language as well.
• Tune into news broadcast in your foreign language by using a short wave radio or the Internet.

Getting Back Abroad

Now that you have had a taste of the world, you probably want to go abroad again - whether to earn academic credit, work experience or just for fun! Again, the OIP staff will be happy to assist you.

Conclusion and Acknowledgments

This information was created for students like you, coming home from studying abroad. We welcome your input that would be helpful to future students.

Once again, welcome home!

Adapted from the University at Buffalo The State University of New York Study Abroad Programs and Michigan State University International Studies