The Following is a List of Tips for Students Preparing to Return Home
1. Prepare for the Adjustment Process
The more you consider your experiences, think about what is to come, and know about how returning home is both similar to and different from going abroad, the easier the transition will be. Anticipating is useful. Know the answer to these questions: In what ways have I changed? In what ways might my family and friends have changed? How would I like my family and friends to treat me when I return home?
2. Allow Yourself Time
Reentry is a process that will take time, just like adjusting to a new foreign culture. Give yourself time to relax and reflect upon what is going on around you, how you are reacting to it, and what you might like to change. Give yourself permission to ease into the transition. Process these questions: What are the lessons I have learned that I never want to forget? What are some skills I have learned?
3. Understand That The Familiar Will Seem Different
You will have changed, home has changed, and you will be seeing familiar people, places, and behaviors from new perspectives. Some things will seem strange, perhaps even unsettling. Expect to have some new emotional and psychological reactions to being home. Everyone does. How would you answer this question: What am I looking forward to the most?
4. There Will Be Much “Cultural Catching-up” To Do
Some linguistic, social, political, economic, entertainment, and current event topics will be unfamiliar to you as new programs, slang and even governmental forms may have emerged since you left. You may have some learning to do about your own culture. (Note: most returnees report that major insights into themselves and their home countries occur during reentry.) Can you identify: What have been the important things about this study abroad experience that I want to share with family and friends? What do I want to do with the experiences I’ve had (e.g., continue studying the language)?
5. Reserve Judgments
Just as you had to keep an open mind when first encountering the culture of a new foreign country, try to resist the natural impulse to make snap decisions and judgments about people and behaviors once back home. Mood swings are common at first and your most valuable and valid analysis of events is likely to take place after allowing some time for thorough reflection.
6. Respond Thoughtfully and Slowly
Quick answers and impulsive reactions often characterize returnees. Frustration, disorientation, and boredom in the returnee can lead to behavior which is incomprehensible to family and friends. Take some time to rehearse what you want to say and how you will respond to predictable questions and situations: prepare to greet those which are less predictable with a calm, thoughtful approach.
7. Cultivate Sensitivity
Showing an interest in what others have been doing while you have been on your adventure overseas is the surest way to reestablish rapport. Much frustration in returnees stems from what is perceived as disinterest by others in their experience and lack of opportunity to express their feelings and tell their stories. Being as good a listener as a talker is a key ingredient in mutual sharing.
8. Beware of Comparisons
Making comparisons between cultures and nations is natural, particularly after residence abroad; however, a person must be careful not to be seen as too critical of home or too lavish in praise of things foreign. A balance of good and bad features is probably more accurate and certainly less threatening to others. The tendency to be an “instant expect” is to be avoided at all costs.
9. Remain Flexible
Keeping as many options open as possible is an essential aspect of a successful return home. Attempting to re-socialize totally into old patterns and networks can be difficult, but remaining aloof is isolating and counterproductive. What you want to achieve is a balance between maintaining earlier patterns and enhancing your social and intellectual life with new friends and interests.
10. Seek Support Networks
There are lots of people back home who have gone through their own reentry and understand a returnee’s concerns. You might consider talking to: faculty, exchange students, international development staff, diplomatic corps, military personnel, church officials, and/or business people about the concerns you have as a returnee. University study-abroad and foreign student offices are just a few of the places where returnees can seek others who can offer support and country-specific advice.