A visitor to a new country is assaulted by many changes, both environmental and cultural. Expecting things to be different the visitor is shocked by what he/she finds, thus the term %ulture shock'. A second shock, possibly more traumatic, awaits the international sojourner upon his or her arrival home. The experiences of the returnee typically do not match his or her expectations. Frequently, the individual returning home is not anticipating adjustment difficulties. Compounding the problem is the fact that re-entry has not been widely recognized or researched and thus, little has been done to help individuals to prepare for it.
Focusing on international students, who by definition return home, this paper refers to a wide range of social, cultural, political, educational and professional difficulties. The many variables which determine the extent of re-entry shock are identified and discussed. A group program is suggested as one strategy for assisting those about to return home. The results of a pilot study of such a program illustrate how it can be a powerful force to minimize the disorientation and shock of re-entry.
This paper serves as a challenge to all those who are responsible or work with international students. Re-entry preparation is also a prerequisite if individuals, institutions, corporations, home countries and host countries are to maximize the benefits and minimize the problems of studying or working abroad.
Moving from one social environment to another requires individuals to change both their perceptions of the world and their actions upon it. This can be a truly profound experience, nothing less than the destruction of one world and the construction of another, formerly unknown and unexpected. The change demands that the individual assume new ways of coping and communicating. This experience, while it can be exhilarating, often is felt as unpleasant or disagreeable. This phenomenon, of moving from the familiar to the unknown, popularly known as 'culture shock', is paralleled in the case of the individual returning home