Even when given a chance to explain all the sights you saw and feelings you had while studying abroad, it is likely to be at least a bit frustrating to relay them coherently. It is very difficult to convey this kind of experience to people who do not have similar frames of reference or travel backgrounds, no matter how sympathetic they are as listeners.You can tell people about your time abroad, but you may fail to make them understand exactly how or why you felt a particular way. It’s okay.

1. Solution: Have a sound answer, story, or picture to answer the question! Gauge the interest of the person asking about it. But never water down your experience for that person.

2. Varying levels of responding...

   1. People who ask to be kind but don't/won't understand your experience in this quick conversation

      1. One word

   2. People who ask because they are curious or have had a similar experience. These people generally have more time or will ask to hear more.

      1. One word plus a story, plus a video, plus a photo

   3. People who are interested and willing to give the time to hear what you have to say.

      1. Bring out all the pictures

         1. Slido question - "What words do you use....?"

         2. Slido show and tell - one photo

Just as you probably missed home for a time after going abroad, it is just as natural to experience some “reverse” homesickness for the people, places, and things that you grew accustomed to as a student overseas. When daily life back home is less enjoyable than you had remembered, it is natural to feel some alienation, see faults in your home society that you’ve never noticed, and become critical of everyone and everything for a time.

Begin processing how your experience has impacted your identity. Recognize that who you were abroad is still who you are, only with all this immense growth.

1. Activity: Answer any or all of the following questions in a small group or with a partner

   1. What new experiences did you have while abroad that shocked or surprised you about the world?

   2. How do you feel now about those experiences after returning to the US?

   3. Are there certain stereotypes that you have let go of? Kept? Modified?

   4. Finish the sentence: "My family/friends understand I studied abroad, but they don't understand..."

Being home, coupled with the pressures of job, family, and friends, often combine to make returnees worried that somehow they will “lose” the experience. Many fear that it will somehow become compartmentalized like souvenirs or photo albums kept in a box and only occasionally taken out and looked at. You do not have to let that happen: maintain your contacts abroad; seek out and talk to people who have had experiences similar to yours; practice your cross-cultural skills; continue language learning.

1. Solution: Remember and honor both your hard work and the fun you had while abroad!

   1. Popsicle Sticks

● What was the strangest food you ate? 

● How were the restrooms different? 

● What was your most memorable experience? 

● What was the funniest thing that happened to you? 

● What was your most embarrassing cross-cultural communication moment? 

● What do you miss most about your host country? 

● Where would you go if you had the chance to study abroad again? 

● What was your living situation like abroad (host family, dorm, etc.)? 

● Who did you spend most of your free time with abroad? 

● Where did you travel before/during/after your program? 

● What was your favorite place in your host city? 27 

● Where did you want to go but didn’t get the chance to? 

● What was the best language experience you had? 

● What was the best present you brought back for a friend/family member? 

● What was your favorite thing to do on a Friday night? 

● When did you start to feel more “at home” in your host country? 

● Who did you wish would visit you abroad so that you could share the experience with them? 

● Did you have the chance to see live theater, dance, or music performed? 

● What was your first impression of your teachers? 

● What was the best photograph you took during your stay? 

● What was the biggest change in your daily routine? 

● Why did you choose to go on a program to your host country in the first place? 

● What was the place you missed most in the US while you were abroad? 

● What was the thing (food, clothing, activity, etc.) you missed most while you were abroad? 

● What is the most special item you brought back from your host country? Why is it such a treasure?

2. Question: When you start to feel like you are losing your study abroad experience, what do you do?

After all the newness and stimulation of your time abroad, a return to family, friends, and old routines (however nice and comforting) can seem very dull. Furthermore, many returnees are also frustrated by the lack of opportunity to apply newly gained social, linguistic, and practical coping skills that appear to be unnecessary or irrelevant.

1. SOLUTION: See the opportunity around you.

   1. What Post-study abroad adventures are you getting exposed or involved in?

2. Slido