The school year is coming to an end, which means that you and other NWSE exchange students in the U.S. and around the world are preparing for your journeys home. It’s difficult to know what to expect at the end of an exchange program. 和大多数交换生一样, you are probably thinking about the homemade meal you have been craving, or about finally seeing your beloved pet again. But once you have survived your 10-hour-long flight, 睡了一觉消除时差, and escaped all of the hugs and kisses from your happy relatives, a different set of emotions may begin to set in.

Students returning from exchange programs are often surprised by how they feel when they return home. Many expect to feel a certain way when they step back into their house – maybe comfort, 救援, 或者骄傲. After all, it’s something they have been anticipating for weeks. Instead, they have feelings they didn’t expect: boredom, anxiety, or loneliness. 事实上, these emotions were the very feelings they experienced at the beginning of their exchange, 被称为 文化冲击. It may be no surprise that the feelings associated with returning home have been called 反向文化冲击 (or 造成冲击).

罗宾·帕斯科, 美国作家, describes 反向文化冲击 as feeling “like you are wearing contact lenses in the wrong eyes. 一切看起来 几乎 正确的.”

一切都变了. For your part, you have gone through a deep, personal transformation you might not even notice yet. Some parts of your home life may also have changed while you were away. Social circles may have rearranged, or someone you know may have moved away. 时间并没有静止. This makes returning home especially challenging. 此外, 在最初的一两天之后, you may find that people are less and less interested in hearing your amazing stories from your time abroad. After months of constant excitement and new experiences abroad, life at home may seem unexciting or even disappointing by comparison.

Like 文化冲击, 反向文化冲击 will be difficult for you at first. After adapting fully to a new culture, you must now re-adapt to your home culture. 对你来说最重要的事, 你的家人, and your friends to understand is that the complicated emotions associated with 反向文化冲击 are completely normal, 克服这些困难需要时间.

NWSE has some helpful advice for managing 反向文化冲击:

• 开始一些新的东西: While abroad, you realized just how independent and clever you really are. Now is the perfect time to join a club or a new sports team to keep your momentum. A busy schedule will also help fight off the feelings of boredom or anxiety.
  
• Keep in touch…and not just on Facebook! Write a letter or send a package to your host family. Make a photo album or scrapbook to send to your friends. These projects will help you process the experience and show you that you can still stay connected even across oceans.
  
• Stay engaged with your host culture: Just because you’ve returned home does not mean you have to forget everything you learned about your host culture. You can find creative ways to keep your interest in your host culture alive. Try to make a dish you loved while overseas or volunteer to be a language tutor so you can use your language skills.
  
• 为未来做计划:You may not know it yet, but you have learned so much. Now is the perfect time to think about how you want to use your new skills in the future. Perhaps you now want to attend college overseas or even learn another foreign language.
  
• 讲述你的故事: Most importantly, find a way to share your experiences with others. Send NWSE some of your favorite photos from abroad or share a happy exchange memory with us. 加入我们的校友网络 and connect with other NWSE exchange students who understand 完全 你的感觉如何?.
  

 

Check out some of the links below for more information about 反向文化冲击:

卡拉瑟斯F. (2017年7月). My 反向文化冲击: Returning from a year abroad is tough. 《澳门买球投注网》. 

科尔多瓦,T. (2016年8月). Tips for dealing with 反向文化冲击 when you return home. 多样性在国外. 检索:

Expatica. (2018). 反向文化冲击: What, when and how to cope.

学生出国. (2012). Study abroad student handbook – Cuba.

美国国务院. (2018). 反向文化冲击.

黄,. (2013年4月). 10 ways to overcome 反向文化冲击. The Verge杂志.