What Is Reverse Culture Shock?

Many people that spend a significant amount of time abroad such as during a college program experience what is called a reverse culture shock. After spending several months in a different country, students returning to their home country can start to be overwhelmed by the things that they once found somewhat normal.

Some of the main symptoms of reverse culture shock include:

• Feeling nostalgic about your old street or old location
• Feeling like your friends and family don’t understand you anymore
• Feeling like you’ve grown as a person but nothing else at home has changed
• Having feelings of contempt for certain elements of your life.

When many people return from their time abroad, they develop a new outlook on their country and their community. It’s often difficult to figure out where your place is after you return, especially after a six-month hiatus. Your glorious return home can sometimes be overshadowed by you missing the independence and the life that you were living when you were abroad.

Some excellent strategies for dealing with reverse culture shock include:

• Trying to make some local delicacies from your exchange program
• Staying in touch with some of the friends that you may
• Keeping busy
• Spend more time with friends and family and the people that you missed while you were gone.
• Get creative with the photos and souvenirs that you collected during your time

Remember that a reverse culture shock is completely normal if you’ve been out of the country for some time. Immersing yourself in a new culture and getting used to a new way of life will happen during your time studying a semester abroad. Finding ways that you can get back to your previous lifestyle and working to overcome your reverse culture shock can be a great way to find enrichment from your experience and value your home even more.

This post was written by Liana Achikyan of World Education. https://worldedu.co.uk/ is a powerful portal to support educational endeavors. WorldEd provides a wide range of services for all parties in a fast and effective way.