Re-Entry Shock
Welcome Back! So you think coming home should be easy? You are back in a familiar land and seeing your family and friends. You missed it all so much while you were away, and now here it is. You are home…. or are you?
You may discover, like so many others, that coming home is not as easy as it sounds. While you were away learning about the world, traveling, meeting new people, speaking new languages, broadening your horizons, everyone else was here, living the same routine they lived before.
You just had one of the most exciting and exhilarating times of your life, and when talking with friends and family, you will find they want you to summarize it up in 5 minutes(or less ). Two rolls of film later (and 30 more to go), their eyes will be glazed over.
When with your friends, you will find yourself talking about politics, futbol (“the real kind”), and all the amazing things you saw; and your friends will be talking about the latest Britney Spears gossip.
This is called Reverse Culture Shock (Re-Entry Shock). Be prepared… You will begin feeling the effects of it soon (if you haven’t already).
Below are some of the top challenges students face:
- Boredom
- "No one wants to hear about this"
- It's hard to explain
- Relationships have changed
- Feelings of alienation; seeing home with critical eyes
- Fear of losing the experience, like storing it away in a souvenir box that we only occasionally look at
- Fear of losing the new friends you have made overseas
Top
These feelings are all normal; and most students have reported feeling them. You feel them because you went abroad and had a good time, you’ve changed and you have a new outlook on life.
It is important to react to these adjustments much like you did while you were abroad. Keep your sense of humor in tact, stay open-minded and flexible, and remember to take care of yourself. You will survive!
Articles:
Coming Home: Life After Study Abroad
http://www.middlebury.edu/academics/ump/sap/reentry/cominghome.htm
The Shock of Coming Home: Dealing with Re-entry
http://www.magnapubs.com/issues/magnapubs_ier/2_1/news/597070-1.html
Website:
Re-Entry Shock (Ball State University)
http://www.bsu.edu/studyabroad/reverseshock/