Rentry culture shock

8/14/2019 Rentry culture shock

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Reentry

the process or act ofreturning to one's native

(passport) country afterliving or working abroad.


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Re-entry /ReverseRe-entry /Reverse

Culture ShockCulture Shock


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Culture Shock is the expectedconfrontation with the unfamiliar; re-entry culture shock is theunexpected confrontation with thefamiliar.

-Michael Paige, PhD


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Occurs after you have returned home.Perhaps the most shocking because itis unexpected.

You are a different person than whenyou left. Had new experiences

Gained new understanding

Developed new skills

Learned new words or language

Possibly developed different way of dress

Have different interests and differentCOM 340 5

Re-entry Shock


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Meanwhile, life at home has notstopped. People are older.

Important things happened in their lives.

People may not care about yourexperiences.

They may feel that your experience

has spoiled you, or made yousnobbish or rude.

They keep waiting for you to get back

to normal. COM 340 6

Re-entry Shock (cont)


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studying or living abroad, some commonexpectations: Everything will be the same. Everything will be great.

I will fit back into life with no problem. I can pick up my relationships where we left off. I have the same needs and goals as before. People will be open minded.

People will be interested in my stories. People around me will recognize and applaud

my personal growth.

COM 340 7

Upon returning from


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Re-entry Progression

Just as initial culture shock hasdefinable stages and a predictiveprogression, so does reverse cultureshock.

The Honeymoon phase of initialeuphoria or relief at being home ispresent.

Followed by some degree ofirritationand alienation.

With an eventual readjustment.


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Recovery

Culture Shock

Arrival

Adaptation Return Home

Recovery

Reverse

Culture Shock

Reintegration

While abroad At home

Sense Of

Satisfaction

Reverse Culture Shock


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10 Immediate Re-entry Challenges

BOREDOM

After the novelty and stimulation of time abroad, returning to you

family, friends and old routines (however comforting) can seem dull.

It is natural to miss the excitement and challenges which

characterise living in a foreign country.

2. NO ONE WANTS TO HEAR

It is common that no one is as interested in hearing about youradventures and experiences as you are about sharing them. This

should not be viewed as a rejection of your achievements because

once they have heard the highlights further interest is less likely.


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1.YOU CANT EXPLAIN

It is likely to be frustrating trying to explain all the sights you saw

and feelings you had while abroad, as it is difficult to convey this

kind of experience to those who do not have similar frames of

reference or travel backgrounds, no matter how interested or good

they are as listeners.

5.REVERSE HOMESICKNESS

Just as you missed home when you first arrived overseas, it is

natural to experience some reversed homesickness for the people,

places and things you grew accustomed to while living overseas.

This can be reduced by keeping in contact, for example by writing

letters, but feelings of loss should be anticipated and accepted as a

part of moving back home from overseas.


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5. RELATIONSHIPS HAVE CHANGED

It is inevitable that when you return you will notice somerelationships with family and friends will have changed. Justas you have altered some of your ideas and attitudes whileabroad, they are likely to have experienced some positive ornegative changes.

It is unrealistic to expect no change, however the bestpreparation is flexibility, openness, minimal preconceptionsand tempered optimism.

It is helpful to realise that however keen some of yourfriends back home are to listen to your stories, sometimesthey just wont get it.

Some of your experiences may need to be internalised,processed and integrated into your own life in ways thatmake sense for you, without being able to fully share themwith anyone else.

Other students who live near you at home can relate to


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1. PEOPLE SEE WRONG CHANGES

Sometimes people may concentrate on thesmall alterations in your behaviour or ideas andseem upset or threatened by them.

Or they may ascribe bad traits to the

influence of your time overseas.

These incidents might be motivated byjealously, fear, or feelings of superiority orinferiority.

To minimise these, monitor yourself and beaware of the reactions of those around you,especially in the first few weeks following yourreturn. This phase normally passes quickly if

you do nothing to confirm their stereotypes.


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A few people will interpret you words or actions in such a way that

makes communication difficult.

E.g. what you may have come to think of as humour

(particularly sarcasm, banter, etc.) and ways to show

affection or establish conversation may not be seen as

wit, but with aggression or showing off.

Also, a silence that was seen as simply polite overseas might be

interpreted at home incorrectly, as signalling agreement or opposition.

New clothing styles or mannerisms may be viewed as provocative,

inappropriate, or as an affectation.

Continually using references to foreign places or sprinkling foreignlanguage expressions or words into an English conversation is often

considered boasting.

Be aware of how you may look to others and how your behaviour is

likely to be interpreted.

7. PEOPLE MISUNDERSTAND


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8. FEELINGS OF ALIENATION

Sometimes the reality of being at home is notas natural or comfortable as the place you hadconstructed as your mental image. When dailylife is less enjoyable or more demanding thanyou remembered, it is natural to feel some

alienation.

Many returnees develop critical eyes, atendency to see faults in the society you never

noticed before. Some even become quite criticalof everyone and everything for a time. This is nodifferent to when you first left home. Mentalcomparisons are fine, but keep them to yourselfuntil you regain both your cultural balance and a

balanced perspective.


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Many returnees are frustrated by the lack of

opportunity to apply newly gained social, technical,

linguistic and practical coping skills that appear to

be unnecessary or irrelevant at home.

To avoid ongoing annoyance: adjust to reality as

necessary, change what is possible, be creative, bepatient and above all use the cross-cultural

adjustment skills you acquired abroad to assist you

own re-entry.

9. INABILITY TO APPLY NEW KNOWLEDGE

AND SKILLS


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10. LOSS/COMPARTMENTALISATION OF

EXPERIENCE (SHOEBOXING)

Being home, coupled with the pressure ofjob, family and friends often combine tomake returnees worried that somehow theywill lose the experience. Many fear that it

will somehow become compartmentalisedlike souvenirs or photo albums kept in a boxand only occasionally taken out and lookedat.

You do not have to let that happen:maintain your contacts abroad, seek outand talk to people who have experiencessimilar to yours, practice you cross-cultural

skills, continue language learning.Remember and honour both the hard work


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Tips for coming home

1. Focus on how you are better now from the experiences youhad.

2. Dont get isolated.

3. Read a lot about everything. It will get you brain working.

4. Stay spontaneous.

5. Rekindle your spirit of adventure. Explore home.

6. Go out of your way to make new friends, just as you did

abroad.7. Dont let failures in your home culture be any less a learning

experience than they would have been while you were abroad.

8. Continue to reflect on what you learned abroad, allow yourselftime.


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More tips for coming

home2. Dont dwell on the past.

4. Exercise. Endorphins kills re-entry sadness.

6. Look for the good in the present situation.

8. Write down what you thought was great about theGHANA while you were abroad.

10. Keep your memories alive dont store them away in ashoe box. It wasnt a dream and it was important.

12. Accept that you have changed and that things are notgoing to be the same as when you left and thats a goodthing.


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More Tips

1. Dont be upset if people seem indifferent to your

experience.

3. Recognise that things at home have changed while youwere away and respect those changes. No ones life wenton hold just because you were gone and their experiencesare important to them.

5. You will need to rebuild relationships, not merelyresume them.

7. Talk with others who have come back from abroad andshare you experiences, frustration and joys. These are thepeople who can help you though it.

9. Reverse judgements try to resist making snap decisionsand judgements about peoples behaviours when back athome. Most returnees report gaining major insights intothemselves and their home country during re-entry, butonly after allowing a sufficient time for reflection and self-analysis.

R fl ti Q ti


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To what extent have I adopted new

(American/European) values and behaviors (i.e.,

personal independence)? How do I expect this

change to affect my interactions with my family andfriends?

Reflective Questions:


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Values & Behaviors

The following is a list of possible newvalues and behaviors that you mayhave picked-up during your time inthe United States.New sense of autonomy.

Feel more self confidence.

Feel more responsible about my lifestylechoices and their global impact.

Feel more concern for international politics.

Greater awareness of other behaviorpatterns.


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Greater awareness of different male/female

relationships.Feel less consumer-oriented.

Feel more interested in social, justiceand/or political issues.

New ability to think more critically aboutcurrent issues.

Higher tolerance for ambiguity insituations.

New ability to suspend judgment on othersand their actions.Source:Paige, R.M., Cohen, A.D., Kappler, B., Chi, J.C., & Lassegard, J.P. (2006). Maximizing study

abroad: A students guide to strategies for language and culture learning and use. 2nd Edition.

Minneapolis, MN: Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition, University of

Minnesota


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Skills & Qualities

The following is a list of possible newskills or personal qualities that you mayhave acquired during your time in the

United States.SkillsUnderstand cultural differences and

similarities

Adapt to new environments

Learn through listening and observing

Establish rapport quickly

Function with a high level of ambiguity

Take initiative and risks


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Skills continuedIdentify problems and utilize available resources

to solve the problems

Accept responsibility

Communicate despite barriers

Learn quickly

Handle difficult situations

Handle StressManage and organize

Lead others in formal and/or informal groups

Conduct research despite language and culturaldifferences

Cope with rejection


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QualitiesSelf-reliance

High energy level and enthusiasm

Appreciation of diversity

Perseverance

Flexibility

Open-mindedness

AssertivenessInquisitiveness

Self-confidence

Self-knowledge

Independence

Source:

Paige, R.M., Cohen, A.D., Kappler, B., Chi, J.C., & Lassegard, J.P. (2006). Maximizing study abroad: A

students guide to strategies for language and culture learning and use. 2nd Edition. Minneapolis, MN: Centerfor Advanced Research on Language Acquisition, University of Minnesota


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Coming Home

In a sense, it is coming back, thereturn, which gives meaning to thegoing forth. We really dont knowwhere weve been until we come backto where we were only where wewere may not be as it was because of

who weve become, which after all, iswhy we left.

Bernard from Northern Exposure, upon returning fromAfrica


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Bringing it Home

As part of the small percentage of the worldscitizens who have had the opportunity to liveon another cultures terms, you have probablyfound that the experience awakened yoursenses and led you to new understandingsand personal growth.

Coming home might feel like a let down afterall that excitement. But it is also anopportunity to put your new skills to use. Thechallenge now is to take both your newknowledge and you exploration skills andintegrate them permanently into your lifeahead. It might sound like a daunting task,

but supported by you horizontal roots thei d ti d t th i

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Rentry culture shock