Re-entry Shock and the Expatriate Experience
Coming Home after Work or Study Abroad is a Difficult Adjustment
Mar 25, 2009
After a period of study or work abroad, a returning expatriate may expect to feel comfortable “back home” – after all, hasn’t it been hard to suffer homesickness all the time abroad? And yet the once familiar home town seems strange and the foreign country left behind evokes homesickness and feelings of loss.
Changed by Expatriation
Immersion in a foreign culture is a profoundly transforming experience, and it should not be surprising to find that the person who comes home is not the same person who left. Even a few months or a semester overseas can stretch the mind and heart in unexpected ways, making it difficult or impossible ever to return to formerly familiar grooves.
The home culture may seem narrow and provincial after exposure to a wider multicultural world, and issues and projects that previously seemed important may appear trivial in light of the overseas experience. The sense of being different can become a burden if there is no way to connect the overseas experience with life and work back “home”, and returning expatriates often feel cut adrift, unsure how to find a sense of direction and move forward in life again.
Sharing the Overseas Experience
One common problem encountered by many returnees is the difficulty of telling the story, or explaining to family and friends what happened, what was done, what was seen, what was learned, and what the experience of cultural immersion is really like. People will ask a few questions, listen politely for a short time and then move on, not delving into the heart of what may be a rich and complex story. Especially for those who have not had any kind of cross-cultural experience, understanding the true dimensions of life in a foreign culture may be difficult to grapple with. Returnees should try to find companions who have had similar experiences overseas and who can enter into the emotions and difficulties with more empathy.
Stages of Repatriation and Re-entry
Just as when first going overseas, a returnee should expect that the adjustment back home will occur in stages. Culture shock and re-entry shock are really two sides of the same coin, and each phase has to be acknowledged. The stages cannot be skipped or avoided. Many people will experience a prolonged period of maladjustment, irritability, fault-finding and nostalgia for the place of life and work overseas.
Settling back into old patterns and routines can take much longer than expected, and can sometimes be a painful experience. If the human resources manager or campus has resources available to assist with repatriation, these should be accessed. Knowledge is power, and educating oneself about the re-entry process can make it easier to endure.
Gradually the adjustment process will begin to work, and the returnee will begin to re-learn life in the home culture. Some will look for more opportunities for overseas sojourns, while others will settle back in more permanently. All will find that life “back home” is different, and must be learned as if in a completely new culture. Re-entry shock can also be a positive experience for expatriates if they take the time to adjust and integrate their learning both overseas and at home.
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