The experience with Reverse Culture Shock!

What’s up, everyone?!

I hope that this post you gain some essential information on how you can adjust and adapt to a new culture and your own culture when you return home. If you look up the definition of“reverse culture shock” on google this is what you will find:

“The shock suffered by some people when they return home after some years overseas. This can result in unexpected difficulty in readjusting to the culture and values of the home country, now that the previously familiar has become unfamiliar”.

Although this definition states this can occur after some year’s reverse culture shock can happen after a few months. The experience depends entirely on the person, location and how much they immersed themselves while overseas. I wanted to share some information this week on what to expect from reverse culture shock, before getting into my experiences from the Social Innovation & Cultural Exchange project.

Although everyone’s experience is different, for the most part, these are the stages of reverse culture shock:

Disengagement: This can (and usually) happens before your departure. Essentially what this is, is that you start to feel upset that you’re saying goodbye to all the friends you have made in the place you were. Also, you may make it so that your last few days go by very fast and stay busy so that you do not have time to reflect on your emotions and experiences. Initial excitement: This typically occurs before your departure. This feeling is similar to when you were preparing for your initial trip to the Country you were visiting. You get excited to return and see your friends and family. During this phase, you might also realize that most people are not as fascinated with your experiences as you wanted them to be. They will listen to your stories but notice they are ready to continue to the next topic of conversation. Irritability & hostility: At this point, you might feel frustrated, lonely, alienated and may not fully be able to understand why you feel this way. You may find you get irritated quickly and even become critical of others. Readjustment and adaptation: Gradually you will feel readjusted to life at home. Although you might not fully feel like yourself yet at this point most things will feel normal again and you will fall back into some old routines. BUT things won’t be the same as how you left them – and this is important to remember. You will feel different once you’re adjusted, you may have new attitudes, beliefs, and perspective.

“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change” – Stephen Hawking