Returning from Abroad

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. 怀念在国外学习的兴奋和挑战是很自然的, but it is up to you to find ways to overcome such negative reactions. Try new things, travel domestically, and continue cultural and linguistic studies.

有一件事你可以指望在你回来的时候:没有人会像你分享这些经历一样对听你的冒险和胜利感兴趣. This is not a rejection of you or your achievements, but simply the fact that once they have heard the highlights, any further interest on your audience's part is probably unlikely. 要现实地期望你的旅程对其他人来说是多么的迷人. Be brief.

即使有机会解释你在国外学习时看到的所有风景和感受, it is likely to be at least a bit frustrating trying to relay them coherently. 要把这种体验传达给没有类似参照系或旅行背景的人是非常困难的, no matter how sympathetic they are as listeners. You can tell people about your trip, but you may fail to make them understand exactly how or why you felt a particular way. It's okay!

Just as you probably missed home for a time after arriving overseas, it is just as natural to experience some reverse homesickness for the people, places, and things that you grew accustomed to as a student abroad. To an extent, writing letters, telephoning, emailing, and generally keeping in contact can reduce them, 但失落感是国际旅居不可分割的一部分，必须预料到并接受它，作为出国留学的自然结果.

不可避免的是，当你回来的时候，你会发现一些与朋友和家人的关系发生了变化. Just as you have altered some of your ideas and attitudes while abroad, 家里的人可能经历了一些对他们来说非常重要的变化. These changes may be positive or negative, but expecting that no change will have occurred is unrealistic. 最好的准备是灵活、开放、最小的先入之见和适度的乐观.

有时，人们可能会关注你行为或想法上的微小变化，似乎受到了威胁或不安. 这些事件可能是由嫉妒、恐惧或优越感或自卑感引起的. To avoid or minimize discomfort, it is necessary to monitor yourself and be aware of the reactions of those around you, especially in the first few weeks following your return. This phase normally passes quickly if you do nothing to confirm their stereotypes.

一些人会误解你的言语或行为，从而使交流变得困难. 例如，你可能会想到的诙谐幽默(尤其是讽刺、戏谑等).)，而一种表达感情或建立对话的方式可能被认为是侵略或“炫耀”.“在英语对话中不断提及外国地方或胡乱使用外语表达或单词通常被认为是吹牛. 要意识到别人会怎么看你，以及你的行为可能会被如何解读.

有时候，回到“家”的现实并不像你在脑海中想象的那样自然或愉快. When actual daily life is less enjoyable or more demanding than you remembered, it is natural to feel some alienation. Many returnees develop “critical eyes,” a tendency to see faults in the society you never noticed before (e.g., Americans are so wasteful, materialistic, fat, in a hurry, etc.). 批评与调整过程中的不适和轻微的“文化冲击”密切相关. "Mental comparisons are fine, 但在你重新获得文化平衡和平衡的视角之前，你要把它们留给自己.

Many returnees are frustrated by the lack of opportunity to apply newly gained social, linguistic, and practical coping skills that appear to be unnecessary or irrelevant at home. To avoid ongoing annoyance: adjust to reality as necessary, change what is possible, be creative, be patient, and above all, use all the cross?cultural adjustment skills you acquired abroad to assist your own reentry.

Being home, combined with the pressures of job, school, family, and friends, often conspires to make returnees worried that they might somehow "lose" the experience. 许多人担心它会变得像纪念品或相册一样被分隔开来，只会偶尔拿出来看一看. 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. 尽可能地将你的海外经历融入到你的日常生活和活动中.