study abroad re-entry session

Study Abroad Re-Entry SessionCastleton State

College

• “Just like being overseas, where daily life abroad can be magic one day and really trying the next, so can reentry seem once back home. Our flawed projections about what overseas life was going to be like before we went abroad were often paralleled to some extent in our preconceptions of reentry. Just as confronting reality once abroad, although painful, often leads to personal growth and a far deeper understanding and appreciation of things cultural, so can the struggle to readjust and readapt to US-American life after a significant study abroad experience.

– University at Buffalo Study Abroad

Culture Shock Again!?

Process of returning home after spending time abroad

Yeah, but in reverse…and maybe even stranger this time!Reverse Culture Shock…

When do we feel The Shock?

• Degree of cultural difference• Degree of cultural immersion (or cultural

isolation)• Contrast between individual’s status in host

country and home• Prior intercultural experience• Motivation (or reason) for returning

Top Re-Entry Frustrations

• Boredom• “No one wants to hear about this”• Others don’t seem excited• Not being able to explain• Reverse “home sickness”• Inability to apply new knowledge and skills• Fear of “losing” the experience (shoeboxing)

What can it do for you?• Allows for personal growth

• Enhances skills for professional life• Furthers your knowledge about the world and your

place within it

Moving through the cycle

• Helps overcome emotional challenges• Pursue social action or civic engagement

• Embody global understanding experienced abroad

What’s the goal?

Maximizing your experience

Making yourself marketable

Understanding yourself better

Forming a more complete world view

???

allow experiences to unfold and be open and flexible

• The 3 things that have bothered me most about being home are:

• The 3 things I have enjoyed most about being home are:

• The 3 international things (people, places,

situations, etc.) I miss the least since I have returned home are:

• The 3 things (people, places, activities, etc.) I miss most from abroad since I have returned home are:

Make A List:

I definitely do not want to forget:

• 1. What made me laugh out loud?• 2. What brought tears to my eyes? • 3. My greatest personal insight?• 4. My biggest cultural gaff? • 5. My biggest cultural success?

Discussion Questions• How has re-entry been? What have been the most

challenging aspects of coming back into your U.S.-based life?

• When you look back, what did you learn about yourself?

• What is the most interesting thing you learned about your host country?

• What new insights do you have about your own place in today’s global community?

• If you were to do it all over again, what would you change?