Personal/Emotional Aspects
of the Re-entry Process

The hardest part of re-entry was people seemingly not caring how my life had been transformed.

- SIT Ecuador Alum

Adjusting to life at home after studying abroad can often lead to a range of emotions and confusing questions. Often these emotions are described as reverse culture shock.

The key to facilitating your personal/emotional re-entry is staying connected to people. The resources in this section are an attempt to get you talking to people, reflecting on your experience, and working through some of the challenging mental and emotional aspects of coming home. Remember there are lots of resources out there. This toolkit is just to get you started and to give you some ideas.

Strategies for Personal/Emotional Re-entry

• Make time to show your pictures or gather others’ pictures from abroad. Some good on-line sites are http://picasa.google.com or http://www.flickr.com  World Learning would love to post your pictures so we can share them with others about to embark on a similar journey.
• Say meaningful goodbyes and plan ways to stay in touch with friends from the host country and from your group.
• Be aware of the importance and challenges of re-entry. Check out Dr. Bruce LaBrack’s list of tips, “Preparing to Return Home”.
• Discuss or write about (in a group or individually) the fears and expectations of returning home and dealing with relatives, friends and acquaintances.  Keeping a journal during this time may be extremely useful. 
• Read articles that outline common re-entry emotions and coping strategies. The Re-entry Worm offers a great visual for common re-entry emotions.
• Reflect on your time abroad (i.e. keep a journal of your thoughts, ideas, questions, etc).  Here are three resources to get you started:
  -“Final Journal Entry” (worksheet)
  -“A Thoughtful Re-entry” (worksheet)
  -"What’s Up With Culture?" (website)
• Develop and participate in support groups with others on the program.
• Identify others you can talk to upon return. Check out networking at World Learning. 
• Plug into a network of prior program participants you can contact. Check out World Learning’s regional networks or look up old friends on World Learning’s alumni directory. 
• Serve as a contact for future students who are about to embark on a similar experience. Click here to find out how. 
• Develop ways to effectively share your experience and self-growth with people at home (see sections on academic reintegration and civic engagement for ideas).
• Acknowledge the new set of values and beliefs adopted in the host country while continuing to celebrate your own cultural heritage.
• Take advantage of on-campus counseling.
  

Featured Alum

 
Resources