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Reverse Culture Shock

Reverse culture shock refers to the difficult set of emotions felt by those who have spent an extended period of time abroad.

It is common for people returning from an international trip to experience a mixture of emotions when they return. The transition period can often take one or two weeks, and even longer for some.

Symptoms of Reverse Culture Shock

Everyone's experience is different. You may relate to some, all, or none of these.

People who experience reverse culture shock may feel and/or experience the following more common symptoms:

  • Boredom: You are back to being nanny for the family down the street and can no longer decide to take a quick trip to Paris for the weekend or climb Machu Picchu just because you feel like it. Life is not as exciting as it used to be.
  • No one wants to hear: Everyone was excited to see some pictures of where you lived in Taiwan, but now it is week five since you have been home and no one seems to care or want to hear about your weekend trip to Hong Kong.
  • You cannot explain: Have you ever had experience that was so empowering or life-changing that the only way someone could understand is if they had experienced it themselves?
  • "Reverse homesickness": You miss your Spanish host-family and it is just not the same not visiting the your host city's local market every Saturday morning.
  • Relationships have changed: Before you left for study abroad you just knew two of your good friends would be engaged by the time you got back. But now they are no longer together and your group of friends is divided. Wasn't time supposed to stand-still when you left?
  • People see the "wrong" changes: You think, "I am so much more independent now and can make decisions more easily." Your sibling thinks, "Gosh s/he is so bossy now and doesn't consider anyone's opinion when making decisions.
  • Feelings of alienation: You are out to dinner with group of friends and they are reliving a funny situation that happened while you were overseas. You have nothing to contribute to the conversation and are not laughing because you were not there.
  • Inability to apply new knowledge and skills: After studying in China for an entire year, you are very fluent in Mandarin. However, you do not know anyone that speaks Mandarin and it is getting hard to keep up your language skills.

Managing Reverse Culture Shock

Here are five ways you can reduce or eliminate feelings of reverse culture shock:

  • Stay connected: Keep in touch with new friends and family who you met abroad. This will allow you to talk about all of the exciting things you experienced while overseas.
  • Find other past participants: Just because someone did not study in the same program as you, does not mean they are not experiencing some of the same feelings and situations that you are. Join the Study Abroad Mentor Program to meet other people who studied abroad in different programs and help students about to go abroad.
  • Talk about how you've changed: Change is not always bad and the more you talk about how you have changed, the quicker you will assimilate back to life at home. This could be a great opportunity to talk to family and friends who might see the "wrong changes" in you.
  • Get involved: Help out the Study Abroad Office as a past participant or program representative at events, meet international students in cultural-based registered student organizations, or get involved with I-House. Don't be afraid to get back into some of your old, healthy routines. If you rock climbed a lot before you left, try incorporating it back into your new life. For that one example, ISU's Recreation Center has a rock climbing wall!
  • Be patient: Adjusting to life back at home takes time. It can take a set of weeks or even months, in some cases, to get readjusted. ISU's Study Abroad Team and staff are available to assist in any way we can ease your transition home. Stop by our office in Fell Hall (2nd Floor) or call us at (309) 438-5276 to set up a meeting with a staff member to discussion your opportunities!

Native Foreigner Magazine published an article called "Reverse Culture Shock" which was the source for much of the information above.

2023-12-14T13:18:28.79996576-08:00 2023