Returning from Studying Abroad

First, I would like to thank those of you who read through my entire re-published study abroad blogs from 5 years ago. It was nice to look back at that experience and include some things I did not include in the original version. You all thought I was done with that series, but surprise! Consider this the “vault track” or the “surprise song” of the series. After returning from my semester abroad, I thought everything was going to be normal being back in the US. It turns out it was far from normal as I went through something called “reverse culture shock.” For those of you that don’t know what “reverse culture shock” is, it’s basically the opposite of culture shock. The only thing is that you are experiencing it upon returning. Everything feels normal, but it turns out that it doesn’t even after being gone for so long. It is as if you are coming out of a different reality, and time has moved differently.

  When I came back home initially, I was relieved to get back into my old cultural norms, and eat some food that I couldn’t eat in Japan. I couldn’t wait to share my experiences in Japan, and bring back some souvenirs for the holidays. I even got to have a longer winter break since my semester in Japan ended early before everyone else back home. However, as soon as I came back to my home university the following semester, it was a whole different story. There were many situations I experienced that pointed to tell-tale signs of reverse culture shock, and let me tell you that I ended up having a severe case.

  Upon returning, I expected everyone I knew at my college to be happy to see me and know how my study abroad was. Unfortunately, it seemed as if everyone had moved on and when they asked, I could only reply “it was great.” It is like as if they forgot about me during the entire semester. I didn’t expect a homecoming celebration, but it would have been nice to at least have a conversation with someone. Fortunately, there is now this blog where you can look back at these revamped posts for those of you who attended my college and knew me! But that is typical of someone who is returning from spending time overseas.

Another thing I had to get used to again was having roommates. If you recall, I did not have a roommate during studying abroad since everyone had a single dorm room, and lived with a host family as well. When I returned, I had not one but two roommates, and I lived in an on-campus apartment. I was in for a rude awakening when I found out my roommates were very loud blasting their music almost every night. They were also very messy as they left their utensils and food all over the place. It wasn’t like I was going to clean it up for them. In case you were wondering, no I did not bother to tell them about the noise and mess issue since I assumed they weren’t going to listen. Yeah so, I wasn’t looking forward to having roommates, and they didn’t even care I was here. I don’t think they even remember me since they were a year older at the time, and about to graduate.

The academic load was also another part of my reverse cultural shock. To be honest, I really didn’t have a lot of homework assignments besides a couple papers, presentations, and a few exams. Therefore, I wasn’t looking forward to the academic grind back in the US. And no, I did not get special treatment or excuses for studying abroad. There was this marketing class I took where I had to do a final presentation/paper about my career. I spent an entire semester in another country, and I was expected to figure out what to do after graduating?! The worst part of it was that I had to present in front of a few business panelists. The presentation wasn’t too bad, but I bet you can guess if ended up following my future career based on that project. Another guess that was a big issue post-study abroad was my Japanese class. I was required to take one more Japanese language class which means I had to face the two other students I was in the same program with in Japan. The ones whom I lost trust after that whole rail issue. I also had to do another project for that class where we all had to go on an “excursion” to a Japanese-based company, and interview with one of the executives there ALL IN JAPANESE! I couldn’t even catch that entire semester, and don’t get me started on the social aspect of my reverse culture shock.

  When it came to social activities, I wasn’t too enthusiastic about them as I used to be. For instance, I was part of the Hawaii Club where they always put on a spring lu’au every year. However, I wasn’t feeling as excited probably because they put me on the least popular side of the stage, and my friends/family from Japan wasn’t physically there to support me. I also didn’t fit in with many of the other student participants. Unfortunately, it wasn’t one of my best years participating in the lu’au, and I was not able redeem myself the following year due to the pandemic. The reason why it contributed to reverse culture shock because no one really cared what I was going through and never bothered to reach out.

The last sign that contributed to my reverse culture shock was lack of convenience. My college was located in a very small town with nothing much to do. It was an hour away from the big city and there was no way you could get there unless you had a car (which I don’t have). There is a rail system, but it isn’t as efficient as the ones in Japan. That is when I missed the times where I could travel by myself during my free time while abroad. There also weren’t much affordable and convenient places to get food unlike in Japan where there were hundreds of options. We do have a Starbucks on-campus, but that can be very costly and doesn’t have a lot of food options.

Because I was going through severe culture shock, I ended up seeing a counselor from the student health center (which isn’t a bad thing). It was actually one of the toughest semesters that I had in college. There were times where I felt nostalgia for all things Japan, and sometimes I would end up listening to Studio Ghibli music. Fast forward to now, I have gotten better dealing with reverse culture shock. It isn’t as severe due to being more hesitant to travel post-pandemic. As I have said before, I barely keep in touch with my host family and some of my Japan friends since I have gotten busy. I could still eat a lot of Japanese foods since we have a large influence of Japan through tourism where I currently live. If reverse culture shock has taught me one thing, it is to always live in the moment while traveling even if it isn’t always great. Once that is over, there is no going back to that exact point of time. You will always have those once-in-a-lifetime memories wherever you go, therefore don’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zone. Even after you are done traveling, you have those stories/experiences that you can share to anyone. It might even inspire someone to travel to the same destination you went to. Once again, I am glad I got to share my study abroad experience through my blogs five years ago, and five years later just so I can not only inspire others, but so I can remember the unique experience I had.