Lehigh University - Study Abroad - Reverse Culture Shock

Reverse Culture Shock

The Process of Re-entry

One of the biggest challenges for students who participate in study abroad can be the difficulty in re-adapting to the realities in the U.S (otherwise known as "re-entry"). Many students who studied abroad went through many changes, re-examining their priorities, their values, and what they think of themselves and the U.S. The "return culture shock" may be more difficult than the "culture shock" they felt when abroad. If return culture shock is severe, it is important to seek help/counseling to help you through this.

Often students expect to be able to pick up exactly where they left off. A problem arises when reality doesn’t meet these expectations. Home may fall short of what you had envisioned, and things may have changed at home: your friends and family have their own lives, and things have happened since you’ve been gone. This is part of why home may feel so foreign.

Feelings You May Experience

The inconsistency between expectations and reality, plus the lack of interest on the part of family and friends (nobody seems to really care about all of your "when I was abroad" stories) may result in: frustration, feelings of alienation, and mutual misunderstandings between study abroad students and their friends and family. Of course, the difficulty of readjustment will vary for different individuals, but, in general, the better integrated you have become to the culture abroad and overseas lifestyle, the harder it is to readjust during re-entry. This is where reverse culture shock (sometimes called re-entry shock) comes in.

The University of the Pacific has excellent modules to help walk you through the returning home process. You may not think right away that you need to “unpack” mentally your study abroad experience but this may change as time goes on. Take some time and review the modules: http://www3.uop.edu/sis/culture/

Reverse Culture Shock

There are usually two elements that characterize a study abroad student’s re-entry: an idealized view of home and the expectation of total familiarity (that nothing at home has changed while you have been away).

Reverse culture shock is usually described in four stages:

Disengagement
Initial euphoria
Irritability and hostility
Readjustment and adaptation

Stage 1 begins before you leave the host country. You begin thinking about re-entry and making your preparations for your return home. You also begin to realize that it’s time to say good-bye to your overseas friends and to the place you've come to call home. The hustle and bustle of finals, good-bye parties, and packing can intensify your feelings of sadness and frustration.

Stage 2 usually begins shortly before departure, and it is characterized by feelings of excitement and anticipation – even euphoria – about returning home. This is very similar to the initial feelings of fascination and excitement you may have when you first entered the country where you studied. The length of this stage varies, and often ends with the realization that most people are not as interested in your experiences abroad as you had hoped. They will politely listen to your stories for a while, but you may find that soon they are ready to move on to the next topic of conversation.

This is often one of the transitions to Stage 3 of Reverse Culture Shock, which parallels the Culture Shock you may have experienced when you first entered the country where you studied. In fact, your transition into Stage 3 might occur sooner than it did when you first went overseas. You may experience feelings of frustration, anger, alienation, loneliness, disorientation, and helplessness and not understand exactly why. You might quickly become irritated or critical of others and of American culture. Depression, feeling like a stranger at home and the longing to go back overseas are also not uncommon reactions. You may also feel less independent than you were abroad.

Most people are then able to move onto Stage 4, which is a gradual readjustment to life at home. Things won’t be exactly the same as how you left them. You have most likely developed new attitudes, beliefs, habits, as well as personal and professional goals, and you will see things differently now. The important thing is to try to incorporate the positive aspects of your international experience with the positive aspects of your life at home.

There are many different ways to continue your involvement and ease reverse culture shock please see the Returning Home page for more suggestions.