归国留学生

有很多理由期待回家, 但也有一些心理上的, social and cultural aspects which can be difficult – often because they are unanticipated. The following list was generated by interviewing students 像你这样的 who have been through the experience and survived nicely.

1. Bordem

After all the newness and stimulation of your time abroad, 回归家庭, 朋友, and old routines (however nice and comforting) can seem very dull. It is natural to miss the excitement and challenges which characterize studying in a foreign country, but it is up to you to find ways to overcome such negative reactions – remember, 一个无聊的人也很无聊.

2. “没人想听”

One thing you can count on upon your return: no one will be as interested in hearing about your adventures and triumphs as you will be in sharing those experiences. 这不是对你或你的成就的拒绝, but simply the fact that once they have heard the highlights, any further interest on your audiences’ part is probably unlikely. Be realistic in your expectations of how fascinating your journey is going to be for everyone else. 是短暂的.

3. 你无法解释

Even when given a chance to explain all the sights you saw and feelings you had while studying abroad, it is likely to be at least a bit frustrating to relay them coherently. It is very difficult to convey this kind of experience to people who do not have similar frames of reference or travel backgrounds, 不管他们作为听众有多同情你. 你可以告诉别人你的旅行, but you may fail to make them understand exactly how or why you felt a particular way. 没关系.

4. 扭转“乡愁”

Just as you probably missed home for a time after arriving overseas, it is just as natural to experience some reverse homesickness for the people, places, and things that you grew accustomed to as a student overseas. 在某种程度上，可以通过写信来减少, 打电话, 通常保持联系, but feelings of loss are an integral part of international sojourns and must be anticipated and accepted as a natural result of study abroad.

5. 关系发生了变化

It is inevitable that when you return you will notice that some relationships with 朋友 and 家庭 will have changed. Just as you have altered some of your ideas and attitudes while abroad, the people at home are likely to have experienced some changes. 这些变化可能是积极的，也可能是消极的, but expecting that no change will have occurred is unrealistic. The best preparation is flexibility, openness, minimal preconceptions and tempered optimism.

6. 人们看到了“错误”的变化

Sometimes people may concentrate on small alterations in your behavior or ideas and seem threatened or upset by them. Others may ascribe “bad” traits to the influence of your time abroad. These incidents may be motivated by jealousy, fear, or feelings of superiority or inferiority. To avoid or minimize them it is necessary to monitor yourself and be aware of the reactions of those around you, 尤其是在你回来后的头几周. This phase normally passes quickly if you do nothing to confirm their stereotypes.

7. 人们误解了

A few people will misinterpret your words or actions in such a way that communication is difficult. For example, what you may have come to think of as humor (particularly sarcasm, banter, etc.) and ways to show affection or establish conversation may not be seen as wit, 但是攻击性或“炫耀”.“相反, a silence that was seen as simply polite overseas might be interpreted at home, 不正确, 表示同意或反对. New clothing styles or mannerisms may be viewed as provocative, inappropriate, or as an affectation. Continually using references to foreign places or sprinkling foreign language expressions or words into an English conversation is often considered boasting. Be aware of how you may look to others and how your behavior is likely to be interpreted.

8. 疏离感

Sometimes the reality of being back “home” is not as natural or enjoyable as the place you had constructed as your mental image. When real daily life is less enjoyable or more demanding than you remembered, 感到一些疏离感是很自然的. 许多海归培养了“挑剔的眼睛”, a tendency to see faults in the society you never noticed before. Some even become quite critical of everyone and everything for a time. 这和你第一次离家时没有什么不同. 心理比较很好, but keep them to yourself until you regain both your cultural balance and a balanced perspective.

9. 不能应用新知识和技能

Many returnees are frustrated by the lack of opportunity to apply newly gained social, 技术, 语言, and practical coping skills that appear to be unnecessary or irrelevant at home. To avoid ongoing annoyance: adjust to reality as necessary, 改变可能发生的事, 要有创意, 要有耐心, and above all use the cross-cultural adjustment skills you acquired abroad to assist your own reentry.

10. 丢失/经验划分(鞋盒)

在家, 再加上工作的压力, 家庭, 和朋友, often combine to make returnees worried that somehow they will “lose” the experience. Many fear that it will somehow become compartmentalized like souvenirs or photo albums kept in a box and only occasionally taken out and looked at. You do not have to let that happen: maintain your contacts abroad; seek out and talk to people who have had experiences similar to yours; practice your cross-cultural skills; continue language learning. Remember and honor both your hard work and the fun you had while abroad.

• Talk with others who have come back from abroad and share your experiences, frustration, and joys. 这些人可以帮助你度过难关. 几乎每个人都同意.

• 锻炼. 内啡肽可以消除重返悲伤.

• 保持自然.

• 与家人和朋友谈谈你的学期.

• 花点时间放松和减压.

• 保持你在离开时建立的关系.

• Focus on how you are now better off from the experiences you have had.

• 重燃你在国外的冒险精神. 探索家.

• Go out of your way to make new 朋友, just as you did abroad.

• 寻找当地的物理支持. Go to the World Market and get German chocolate if you miss Germany, Japanese tea if you miss Japan. 一切都可以在互联网上找到.

• Continue language learning if that was a part of your study away experience.

• Speak with a counselor if your readjustment to home is challenging.

• Be a mentor to an 国际 Student now that you know what its like to be a foreigner. 联系 留学生办公室 & 学者 或你的家乡校园获取更多信息.

• Showcase Your 出国留学 Experience in a Professional Setting

• The 职业生涯的办公室 is a great resource to help you learn how to discuss your study away experience in a professional setting (job interviews, résumé, etc.)

如果你在国外学习一门语言, 你可能会想尽一切办法, 一旦你回来, to maintain the proficiency you've worked so hard to achieve. As difficult as it was to insist on speaking that other language on your program, 即使是和其他以英语为母语的人, it will be that much more difficult 一旦你回来 stateside...——但这是可以做到的.

We list below a few strategies for attacking this problem:

• 如果这是圣. 爱德华的，上语言的高级课程. If St. Ed没有正式地教, contact the chair of the Languages Department for other options for additional Instruction or other resources.
• 联系 Director of 出国留学 and the Director of 国际 Students Services, about social events involving other returnees and international students from countries where the target language is spoken. This gives you the added benefit of spending time with people who, 像你这样的, are dealing with "re-entry shock" and re-adjusting to St. 艾德在国外学习之后.
• 重视听课, 方, and other events on campus related to the language and culture of your study abroad destination. Many language departments invite speakers not only to a lecture, 而是和老师和感兴趣的学生共进晚餐. Some ask majors to give a presentation in the target language about their experience abroad (and others might be encouraged to do so). Several departments hire Foreign Language Teaching Assistants (FLTAs), who are in much the same situation as you were while abroad. It is both their job and their pleasure to speak with you in their native language. And you will each find a natural ally in the battle for cross-cultural understanding!
• 租用目标语言的视频和dvd. If you're still struggling with the language, consider subtitled materials. 如果你能不看字幕，那就更好了.
• Look for summer and on-campus jobs that will allow you to use the language.
• Consider selecting paper and thesis topics for which you will need to read 或者做研究 in the target language.
• Online newspapers and magazines are a good way to keep up with what's happening in your host country. Olin may well have fiction or other books in the target language, 所以也要留出一些时间来阅读. You may well be able to order books from your host country online.
• 与你的寄宿家庭保持联系, 教授, 当地的朋友, 你的项目主管, and others you met abroad is a great opportunity not only to keep up with the language, but to maintain your sense of belonging to a community abroad. Many study abroad participants go back to their host countries to visit, work, 或者做研究, 当然, those visits are much nicer when you have people you care about seeing!
• Especially if you have a car or access to transportation, find ways to connect to the expatriate community from your host country here. 举个例子, you may want to ask about connecting with public schools to help teach the language and culture of your host country to local students.

Books

• 逆向文化冲击.E. Rybol
• The 出国留学 Journal: Your Roadmap to an Epic Experience Abroad by Brooke Roberts and Natalie Garrett

文章

• 返回 from 出国留学 Feels like Starting Over by Mark Marino
• The Six Stages You Go Through After 返回 from 出国留学 by Nicole Mormann
• Re-Entry: 返回 Home from Studying Abroad by Jake Fischer
• 7 Ways to Cope with Re-Entry Shock after Studying Abroad by College Tourist
• 5 Years Later: What I Really Learned from 出国留学 by Mary Ellen Dingley
• Tips for Dealing with Reverse Culture Shock When You Return Home by Trixie Cordova