Reverse Culture Shock Remedies

Ways to Handle the Shock of Coming Home After Being Abroad

Jul 10, 2009 Katherine Kocisky

Whether it's been a study abroad year, months of nomadic traveling, or several years of work in a foreign land, returning to one's home country is sometimes difficult.

The first steps one takes in a new country are often filled with wonder and curiosity that is soon replaced with frustration and obstacles. Most people anticipate challenges when traveling abroad, but many forget the stress experienced when returning home after months or years away.

Reverse Culture Shock is Normal

It's important to realize that feeling like a fish out of water in one's native land is completely natural after living abroad, where every minute detail is different. Once accustomed to life in a foreign country, coming home feels like exploring a new place.

Part of reverse culture shock is the quick transition from one's current life to the one left behind. Many believe life at home has carried on as normal, when in fact, friends and family may have moved on or changed as well.

However, the opposite can bode true as well. The experiences one has while traveling and living abroad can change a person faster than one may realize. In this way, those who come home may find that they no longer share the same interests, goals, or common ground with friends and family.

Leaving behind the people, the food, the language, the landscape, the mentality, the sights, sounds, tastes, and smells of a foreign land can create an unexpected shock. There are simple ways to ease the anxiety that may accompany even those who can't wait to get home.

Ways to Ease Reverse Culture Shock

Before leaving, it's important to take advantage of those last few weeks and days. Instead of being constantly preoccupied with packing and organizing, one should purchase souvenirs, take photographs, visit friends and get contact information. Taking the time to say goodbye is important.

Once home, it's natural to miss the routines from the life left behind. Just like going to a new country for the first time, one may find comfort in the souvenirs and photos from time abroad. Staying in contact with people is easier than ever with Skype, Facebook, or email. Making plans to return or meet up with old friends is always a possibility and provides one with something to look forward to.

Quick Ideas for Remembering Time Abroad

After a long stint away, those at home aren't usually interested in hearing every detail of one's voyage, but want a broad re-cap. Here are some quick ideas to share experiences abroad with friends and family at home, while keeping one's own memories strong.

• Cook a specialty meal from a country abroad for friends and family.
• Visit a restaurant of one's favorite foreign cuisine.
• Create a scrapbook complete with photos, museum stubs, quotes, language expressions, and drawings.
• Start a blog of life at home to keep those abroad and at home abreast of one's current activities.
• Take evening language classes to keep skills polished and meet people interested in that particular culture.
• Read foreign newspapers and discuss current events with family and friends.
• Watch films and read books from the country left behind.
• Make souvenirs and photographs a part of current life by displaying them as decoration around the house.

Coming home can be difficult, but there are ways to make the transition from life abroad to life at home easier. And if all else fails, there's always the possibility to go back.

The copyright of the article Reverse Culture Shock Remedies in Personality/Anxiety/Mood Disorders is owned by Katherine Kocisky. Permission to republish Reverse Culture Shock Remedies in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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