By Alexia Finney | Staff Writer
What once felt like home, students describe as distant and constrained after returning from studying abroad. Students said adjusting to life back on campus was more challenging than expected, with many experiencing reverse culture shock.
Erie, Colo., junior Lauren Adams said returning from her month-long Baylor in Great Britain program was bittersweet.
“I did the Baylor in Great Britain program, where we were based in London,” Adams said. “We had a new excursion and experience every day, and I learned so much about their culture and history as well as how to be a good traveler.”
Adams described her time abroad as incredible, with trips to Paris and Scotland and weekend trips to Wales, Cambridge and Oxford. Adams said once she returned to life in Waco, she found herself missing the independence of studying freely in Europe.
“I miss my study abroad every day being home,” she said. “Coming back to Baylor, I was super excited to be back on campus and see all my friends, but I really missed how different and unpredictable every day abroad was.”
Adams said the adjustment process was challenging, although she eventually found comfort in rejoining familiar routines and organizations.
“Getting back into classes and my schedule filling up again helped me feel part of Baylor again,” Adams said. “I’m part of student government and in a sorority, so going back to meetings and attending events helped me feel back at home.”
West Hampton Beach, N.Y., senior Delaney Variale has studied abroad twice, first in Prague through a summer program and later in East Asia. Variale said the transition returning to campus was more jarring than she expected as well.
“When I was in Prague, no one was watching over me,” Variale said. “I could do what I wanted. I could adapt to the culture over there.”
Returning to Baylor, Variale said she felt isolated and distant from her friends.
“They make you go to an orientation to talk about what you will experience when you come back,” she said. “They said try not to talk about your experience too much … you feel like you can’t talk about it with your friends because I didn’t want them to get sick of me talking about it.”
Variale said many students don’t realize how lonely returning to the country can be, and it feels like no one can understand.
“The people you study abroad with you don’t really see as much after you go abroad,” Variale said. “It feels a little isolating.”
Variale said Student Global Engagement encourages students who struggle to return to visit faculty in the study abroad office.
To cope with the reverse culture shock, Variale recommends staying in contact with peers from abroad, and this is advice she wishes she had taken.
“Find someone abroad and talk to them about it,” Variale said. “It’s a lot easier to talk about it if you keep those connections going.”
Variale added that her international experiences reshaped her career goals moving forward.
“I wanted to be a lawyer,” Variale said. “Now, going abroad, I want to work in international law.”
