Culture Shock: Adjusting to Your Study Abroad Experience

Perhaps the most profound difference you will find upon returning home will be in yourself. Living abroad gave you opportunities to test and refine your decision-making abilities, organizational skills, motivation, and drive, and these experiences result in a remarkable personal growth. You’ve probably become accustomed to a high level of activity and anticipation, confronting new places and meeting new people constantly. Without this, some people feel a bit restless or depressed when they return home. Give your body and mind time to adjust. Take time to think about how you have changed and how your experience abroad contributed to the “new you.” You may want to contemplate how studying abroad has influenced your life goals, especially now that you’re home.

Being aware of potential problem areas in adjustment to studying abroad and returning home can help you adapt more easily to the changes. It is important to handle culture shock with adaptability, a sense of humor, and a lot of common sense. Give yourself time to become accustomed to the cultural differences. It can be valuable to keep a journal. Don’t compare everything with home. Discovering cultural differences and experiencing culture shock are both powerful tools to gain a higher sense of self-understanding and personal growth.

There may be difficult and even frustrating times for you during your study abroad experience, but be sure that good experiences will far outweigh the bad ones, and that even the bad ones will prove to be extremely valuable.