This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at American chapter.
When planning to go abroad, everyone always warns about culture shock: that you might take a little time to become assimilated to the customs and cultures of your new host city. But hardly anyone talks about the opposite and what happens when you return to your home country and campus. Often referred to as reverse culture shock, it can produce similar and even stronger effects as its well-known counterpart, such as feelings of disorientation, isolation and even homesickness of your abroad experience. To ease these feelings, there are certain dos and don’ts that will make re-entering into your home community a smooth transition.
- DO: Reconnect with old friends. This is the ideal time to recharge your friendships and become closer to people who you haven’t seen in months! Enjoy the familiarity and share adventures with each other— both from away and at home. Close friends can also act as a support group and make you feel less isolated until you reenter your culture completely.
- DON’T: Only talk about your abroad experience. Your friends are excited to hear about all your experiences while you were away. However, only talking about your host country and telling the same story again and again can make even the nicest people annoyed. Keep this in mind when sharing your experiences and you won’t be “that” person that went abroad.
- DO: Join more clubs. Coming home from abroad can almost seem like a new beginning. Take this opportunity to explore interests and hobbies that you may have forgotten about or neglected during your time abroad. You could even join a culture group devoted to your abroad country and share your experiences with others.
- DON’T: Overload yourself. It’s good to join clubs but keep it to what you can handle. Avoid stretching yourself too thin or stressing yourself out. You are going to be handling a lot with the start of the semester coupled with the effects of reverse culture shock.
- DO: Keep in touch with your abroad country. You made many new friends, had incredible experiences, and enjoyed one of the best times of your life which you should be proud of that. Consider creating a photo album or blog when all the memories are fresh in your head to ensure you always remember, or setting up Skype dates with your friends from overseas. This can also help with freeing your mind of only thinking about your time abroad, helping to smooth out transition back into everyday life.
- DON’T: Become stuck in the past. Living abroad is a life changing experience. However, it will not be the only monumental experience in your life! Remember that there will be other opportunities to travel and that there are many exciting experience to be had in the States. Welcome home and adventure awaits!
Photo Credit:
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02423/london_2423609b.jpg