-
Talk with others who have
come back from abroad and share your experiences, frustration, and
joys. These are the people who can help you though it. Almost everyone
agrees.
-
Accept that you have
changed and that things are not going to be the same as when you left and
that that's a good thing.
-
Exercise. Endorphins kill
reentry sadness.
-
Read a lot about
everything. It will get your brain working.
-
Don't isolate.
-
Don't brood. Self-pity is
unattractive.
-
Try new things. If you
return to the same place a different person, redefine the place. Take up
a new hobby, residence, sport, mode of transport.
-
Don't dwell on the past.
-
Keep your memories
alive--don't store them away in a shoe box. It wasn't a dream and it was
important.
-
Find local physical
supports. Go to the World Market and get German chocolate if you miss
Germany, Japanese tea if you miss Japan. And everything is available on
the Internet.
-
Write down what you
thought was great about the US while you were abroad.
-
Use your cross-cultural
study-abroad skills to observe your own culture.
-
Stay spontaneous.
-
Don't let failures in
your home culture be any less a learning experience than they would have
been while you were abroad.
-
Continue to reflect on
what you learned abroad.
-
Focus on how you are now
better off from the experiences you have had.
-
Look for the good in the
present situation.
-
Don't be upset if people
seem indifferent to your experience abroad.
-
Recognize that things at
home have changed while you were away and respect those changes. No one's
life went on hold just because you were gone, and their experiences are
important to them.
-
Don't talk about what
happened abroad unless you listener wants to hear it. But find a
confidant if you can.
-
Rekindle the spirit of
adventure you had abroad. Explore home.
-
Go out of your way to
make new friends, just as you did abroad.
-
Try to apply what you
learned abroad to your life here. What can be saved? What is useful?
-
You will need to
"rebuild" relationships, not merely "resume" them.
-
Don't jump off a
cliff: like culture shock, reentry shock passes in time.
