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[Are
you a Global Nomad?] [The Curriculum] [ReEntry] [International
Studies Philosophy] [SIS
Core Program] [Program Outline]
ReEntry Another difference between the regular Global Nomad student and a "mirror image" international student is the sequence in which "mirror image" Global Nomad students might take Cross-Cultural Training courses. All University of the Pacific students prior to going abroad are required to take Cross Cultural Training I ("Orientation") as an introduction to living and studying in another country. Upon return, all School of International Studies students are required to take Cross Cultural Training II (ReEntry), a course which students analyze their overseas experience as they readjust to being back in the U.S.. Global Nomad students who come as 'regular' enrollees would take them in the same order as other American students who participate in study abroad and then return.
For obvious reasons, a U.S. American Global Nomad, familiar with living abroad and proficient in crossing such boundaries, might prefer to be in the ReEntry course ~ because that might be the arena where the most salient and immediately applicable themes for Global Nomads are addressed. In short, it might be in ReEntry that they would find the most practical help with issues of altered and multiple identities, reverse culture shock, and integration of their experiences with current and future course work.
Conversely, if a Global Nomad student chooses to go abroad, it is possible in some cases that they will not be required to take the Orientation course. Our Orientation course covers all the traditional study abroad issues (culture shock, intercultural communications, culture learning techniques, etc.) and puts a stress on ways to successfully and sensitively participate in a new social setting. Like the ReEntry course, Orientation meets for seven weeks, three hours per week, for a total of twenty-one instructional hours and also earns two semester credits. However, most Global Nomads decide to avail themselves of the opportunity to learn more about intercultural communication and cross-cultural adjustment theory and take the Orientation course as some time. Occasionally, a Global Nomad student will take the Orientation course in the first semester as an introduction to American life through the eyes of American students about to go overseas. Such Global Nomad students believe the Orientation would do them more good by taking it immediately rather than waiting until they are about to study abroad again. In all these cases, the goal is to allow sufficient options for incoming Global Nomad students to the School of International Studies so that they can construct a course of study which makes sense to them and best use of their prior experience. Since both Cross Cultural Training courses (Orientation and ReEntry) are offered each semester, it is a simple matter to work whatever choice they have into their current schedules.
The idea is to have a sufficient range of curricular possibilities that Global Nomads, however disparate their backgrounds, might find a program within School of International Studies which will meet their individual needs and goals while providing a quality, undergraduate degree in International Studies. We think it is an appropriately flexible approach to assist Global Nomads to maximize their time with us as well as adding an undeniably international component to our student body. An international school without Global Nomads would be a much less interesting place. We appreciate the special contributions they have made in our classes and our community in the past and anticipate their future participation on our campus. The School of International Studies "dual-track" system is one way we try. to welcome and accommodate U.S. American Global Nomads. To date, it has worked rather well. Most American Global Nomads choose the standard, non-"mirror image" curriculum. To date, only a few have chosen to become "mirror image" students, but for them it was a wise decision. The point is that they have a choice and it is they who choose, We think preserving these options is a reasonable way to deal with the diversity of Global Nomad student experiences. Moreover, it can be done with a minimum of bureaucratic red tape and no additional expense whatsoever. We see this as a win-win situation no matter which path a Global Nomad chooses at our institution. We encourage others to think about how they might offer a greater range of curricular options to incoming American Global Nomad students as they come "home" to attend college. Of course, in this account we have focused on returning U.S. American Global Nomads, but we have had many other Global Nomad students in School of International Studies. Among those who have come to us from other countries as international students include Japanese nationals raised in Latin America and Europe, a Mexican national raised largely in Spain, a Portuguese national raised in the Azores, and a Turk raised in Germany. These students are automatically classified as international students (i.e. "mirror-image") in School of International Studies due to their holding foreign documents. We obviously differentiate early on between a Global Nomad Japanese student who may hold a Japanese passport but never have lived for any significant time in Japan and a newly-arrived Japanese student who was born and raised in Kyoto; nevertheless all such students take the same curriculum as those American Global Nomads who choose to be "mirror-image". We welcome inquiries and comments about our programs as well as suggestions on how to effectively recruit Global Nomad students and appropriately respond to Global Nomad concerns. Dean of School of International Studies, Margee Ensign, can be reached at mensign@pacific.edu. The author, who is School of International Studies Director of Cross-Cultural Training, can be reached at blabrack@pacific.edu.
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However,
a "mirror image" student might take the ReEntry course in their first
semester on campus if they feel that they might benefit more from that
courses emphasis on resocialization and 'reverse culture shock' as part of
their adjustment to American college life. The ReEntry course runs for
seven weeks, three hours per week, for a total of twenty-one instructional
hours and earns two semester credits. It was designed originally for School of International Studies
students who had recently returned from a period of overseas living in
order to put their experiences into a larger intellectual framework and to
assist students to integrate their new skills and perceptions into ongoing
course work. It was, above all, to be a critical reflection upon the
changes which are inherent in crossing cultural boundaries and was
designed to give the returnees ways to deal with the inevitable
dislocations and adjustments of "coming home". 
Like
the study abroad students for whom the course is primarily constructed,
U.S. American Global Nomads, too, are returning "home", but with less
familiarity and perhaps more emotionally-charged issues than students
Nomads, taking ReEntry as soon as they come to our campus makes a great
deal of sense and assists them in making the transition to U.S. college
life. 