Welcome home! Chances are you might be going through some stages of culture shock again (now called reverse culture shock), or might begin experiencing this within the next few months as you try to adapt to your environment at home, IU, and the U.S. again.

You are not in a new environment, but you are a changed person coming back to an old environment, and you may not have expected that reverse change to be hard. Your semester abroad may have included speaking a foreign language, adapting your lifestyle to a culture that doesn’t go to sleep at 11 p.m., but begins to go out at that hour, and being successful in a different academic culture. Through new experiences, you’ve gained an incredible amount of independence, and a new perspective on the world. Not only have you had to readjust to life back in the US, but you’ve also had to reconnect with friends and family who didn’t experience your study abroad program.

Overseas Study encourages you to look for opportunities to apply your experience abroad to your life at “home.” You might consider being a language partner for an international student, or participating in language coffee hours/tables. We have several opportunities to help you integrate your overseas experience back at IU. Please read the specific announcements below for more details!

Check out this post from our fall 2013 blogger Natalie about reverse culture shock for more insight.

Sign up to be a returnee contact and help other students explore their study abroad options. If you participated in an IU program, visit our website to complete the online form that will add your name to a secure web-based database. Students can then access your information and contact you with questions. Students that participated on a non-IU program and would like to be a returnee contact should e-mail us.